I had posted a week or so ago about my thoughts and fascination with the Missed Connections page on Craigslist. The way in which people interact with each other on this site, and the hopes that they have in finding complete strangers that they believed shared an intimate moment with them in passing, is simply remarkable. However, that's not the only surprising use of Craigslist being employed recently; and this newest discovery has me completely dumbfounded!
As I was browsing through Elle Magazine last week on the beach in Cuba, I was shocked to find a new type of "enterprise" starting up on Craigslist. What is this business you ask? Prepare yourselves for this one. Panty buying and selling. Used panties that is. Online interactive forums and businesses such as eBay and Craigslist actually provide an opportunity for the public to buy and sell used women's underwear. Sadly, I kid you not. These online participatory media are actually facilitating a type of underground market for used women's underwear.
In the article, the author sites such examples on Craigslist as, "I bought your panties at The Bovine, Saturday 2 a.m., and I want to buy more." and "You sold me your panties. Broken Social Scene. Let's meet up!" According to the article, women's underwear are commonly bought off the street in downtown Toronto as well as off online forums such as Craigslist and eBay.
When looking into the matter, I found several discussion forums on Yahoo Answers on how one would go about selling their used underwear on these types of sites. I also found a whole section of people looking to buy the undergarments on Craigslist, such as this one and several others that are too explicit to list.
Following my initial disgust and awe with this new business endeavor, the sheer multitude of uses for online forums, networking tools and business really began to sink in. For example, Craigslist itself can be used to buy and sell used furniture, cars, find babysitters, rent a house, find a job or... buy used women's under; and it has local sites all over the world! It never ceases to surprise me the things that people can come up with. I wonder: is this just a smart ploy for women to make some extra money? Or is it more exemplary of the reasons for which such forums as Craigslist exist? As the famous saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. With that in mind, will such trends as the used underwear sales continue? Or perhaps elevate to the degree in which new online forums will be required to facilitate the popularity? I really can't say, only time will tell.
So I open this up to all you bloggers out there. Have you heard of this new trend? Do you agree with the use of public online media such as Craigslist and eBay facilitating the sales of used women's underwear? What does this use of technology say about our society? What are your thoughts?
Until Next Time...
14 years ago
I have not heard of this specifically, but selling bizare and useless things on the internet is not new. People have tried to buy grilled cheese with what they belive to be the Virgin Mary's image in it. There are all types out there, and the internet just brings people's odd facinations together. While we are more aware of it because of the internet, things like this have been going on in other ways. People sell and buy random, uselss junk at garage sales, and the classifieds of a newspaper offer up an array of interesting offers. As weird as it is, if there are sellers and buyers..and they are both happy with the service, and no one is getting scamed..to each their own.
ReplyDeleteCraigslist has often been in legal trouble for its poorly veiled prostitution rings, so the panty selling doesn't surprise me. What does is who wants to buy this stuff and why!? And at what cost? Couldn't people just sell it and say they wore it? (Gross). Or do you make a profit buying cheap underwear and selling it for higher prices? How do the people who buy it know it's authentic?
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that was unfamiliar with this trend. You both bring up valid points on people's fascination with buying and selling bizarre items, and the validity and authenticity behind the business itself. For me, this is just another example of not only the vast array of uses people can find for the internet and public forms, but also the issue of anonymity of the internet. One never knows what is going on behind closed doors. So, buyer beware.
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