Vanishing values: manners maketh the marketplace
Emma Andrews is a stay-at-home mum, who sells a lot of clothes online. She shares her experience (and frustration) with the way people’s manners and attitudes towards shopping seem to be changing. But really, it’s a piece about kindness and thinking about how that works in an online space.
Two years ago, I decided to start selling clothes online as a way to fund my somewhat worrying obsession with dresses and also as an opportunity to focus on shopping second hand.
It used to be so simple. I received a lot of messages from genuine buyers who wanted my clothes. But recently, I’ve become increasingly frustrated. It’s all I think about, actually. I corner my partner in the kitchen and rant and rave. About what, you may ask? About how rude people are to me online.
As a vintage and second hand clothing seller, the online marketplace appears perfect for a stay at home mum as a way of making a small income with relative ease. But what I’m increasingly finding is that people send me messages without any real intention of buying anything. They’ll ask me for measurements, more pictures, what does it look like on please? And then nothing. Vanished.
Will written and good points made