This is the second and final part of the blog, the previous one is here.
In the previous blog post, I shared my search for a low-cost laptop to make the most of my insomnia. I explored several online marketplaces, including eBay and Gumtree, finally pausing at the Facebook Marketplace.
After a series of “strange” experiences, I paused my venture. But the desire was still there so I decided to resume and shortlisted six laptops with sellers conveniently located within a 25–30-minute drive from my home.
Laptop one:
I messaged this seller via profile one, inquiring whether the item was working correctly. I also asked about the location and convenient time to collect.
I received no response, even the messenger said the message was “seen”.
Subsequently, I used profile two to send an identical message. The seller replied promptly,
“Hi sorry it is sold”.
I couldn’t help but speculate why the seller ignored my first message when they could have effortlessly responded using the same message.
Perhaps there were many queries and quite understandably, it isn’t always possible to reply to every message.
One down, five more to go.
“Hi is this the actual photo of the laptop? I asked this seller, using profile one, adding if it is still available, can I collect it later today, please?
To my surprise, I got an instant response with a friendly and polite tone. I was thrilled that the seller addressed me by my first name. What a gent!!
It seemed like my venture was over and I was acquiring a laptop, untouched by a bunch of judgemental fingers.
Regardless of condition or specs, I was getting this one.
I arranged the pickup time. I was super excited to meet this person too. But unfortunately, the next day they sent a message saying they couldn’t meet up because of an unexpected work call.
I could have contacted the person on the next day but for some reason, I decided to contact the laptoper number three.
I messaged this seller from profile one, as usual.
“Hi, is it available? The ad says it needs a battery, what is the model please”
Again, deafening silence…
I promptly switched to the other profile and sent an almost identical message, but omitting the “please” and “hi”.
“Oh hi, yes. Came the instant reply. “The model is xxxxxx and you can buy it on eBay for £20”
The message also followed two pictures. one with the battery removed.
“Can I ask you a question?” I then asked. Still on profile two.
“Sure, fire it on” Came the reply.
“Why didn’t you respond to this message?” I asked, sending the screenshot of the question from profile one.
The seller almost exploded.
“You think that I am being racist for not replying? I receive hundreds of “Is it available” messages. I don’t respond to them……profanity-infused sentences……”
“But I did ask you a question about the battery, you had time to send two pictures for this message, but none for the other one?” I asked, unaffected by his comments.
The seller wasn’t happy with this confrontation. He sent me a long message stating that it is up to him to decide whom to respond to and who not to, along with some more profanity before promptly blocking me.
Pro-tip to racists/judgemental individuals: If you want to choose whom to respond to, make sure to leave a few minutes gaps between two messages. Who knows, it could be the same person.
Three laptopers, two similar incidents.
Once again, I thought to quit, but I am not a quitter. There are many reasons people become judgemental. So I continued and forth came the fourth seller.
“Hi, do you have any specs for this please, thank you, ” I said, via profile one.
This didn’t attract any responses either.
Time to fire up profile two.
“Hi, do you have any specs for this please”
“What kind of spec? I’ve not got a scooby about it” instant reply.
“It should be on the back” I replied promptly.
I got two pictures.
This time, I decided not to confront them and moved on to Seller Five.
The fifth laptoper responded. Not immediately but I did get a response. My expectations was so low that I was actually happy to receive a response.
My happiness was short-lived.
I asked for the location for collection, I got a strange reply I
“Sorry I need to install a new copy of Windows in it so maybe a few days”
The next day, the item was marked as sold.
It is time to move on to my final laptoper. After this, and if it fails, I decided to stop hunting for laptops permanently, especially on Facebook marketplace because, to be honest, it was getting stressful.
I messaged from profile one. I also sent a virtual offer to show that I am genuinely interested. But I got a cold response
“Just sold sorry”.
I liked this laptop. Even though the response sounded genuine, I messaged the laptoper via profile two.
I wasn’t surprised to discover that the laptop was still available.
After a brief contemplation, I decided not to confront this seller.
I continued the conversation. After agreeing to collect, I drove to the address provided. The seller brought the laptop to the car and I could clearly see some discomfort.
The seller recognised me from my first profile.
All of a sudden the seller became very nice towards me. They waited till I switched it on and checked everything. The seller then handed me a piece of paper with their phone number- “just in case”.
I thanked the seller, without mentioning anything about profile one.
So, here concludes my Saga after encountering ten (nine if I exclude the forgotten password one) marketplace sellers.
When I messaged from my actual profile, three sellers made lame excuses, three didn’t even bother to reply, and one ghosted me completely. Only 2 out of 9 responded professionally and in a friendly manner.
The responses to the messages from the other profile were significantly different. I got a 100% response rate, with two even sending me pictures.
However, I still hope this is not what I think it is.
Racism is a primitive concept that should not exist in the modern. It comes from the fear of the unknown, which has been around for a long time. Even though we’ve made progress as a society, some people still think it’s okay to be racist.
The biggest thing that fuels this up are politicians and the Media. Politicians use fear to win our support and the media help them.
We have been divided by skin colour, where we come from, what we believe and even what we eat. Because politicians know that they can’t rule a united society. And the media can’t sell their propaganda unless there is a division.
From Brexit to the Rwanda immigration bill, extreme nationalism to extremism, everything is a fear, fed to us by politicians using the media.
Media has to sell fear to survive, let’s look at these two i stories for clarification.
Story one: An immigrant buys food for the food bank and the newspaper writes “Mr XYZ purchases food for the local bank”.
Story two: a person is caught shoplifting. The media brands him based on his skin colour and religion. Like a (insert skin colour or religion here) caught shoplifting in broad daylight.
This also links crimes with faith and skin colour which divides the society further. The only group that benefits from societal division is politicians and media.
They are not stupid, they know what they are doing is wrong, but they NEED it to survive. Division means fear and unity means strength. Their fear is that it is impossible to rule a fearless society.
I hope that one day, we conquer our fears fed by these evils and see the real world, the kinder world and a tolerant, and accepting world that celebrates the differences and treats each other with kindness and respect. Because at the end of the day, there is only one race- the human race.