trade me - out of control

'Trade me' is New Zealand's equivalent of ebay. It is people selling their stuff - sometimes nice, sometimes total rubbish.

Now, for fear of sounding like a grumpy old puss, it has to be said that this 'trade me' culture seems to me to have got totally out of hand. Previously people would give to charity or simply put their old stuff on the side of the road for a student to adopt, knowing it would be appreciated somewhere. Now people put their junk on trade me and ask silly amounts of money for the item.

I just saw a single piece of lego on trade me for $3. First - why bother selling this for the princely sum of $3? Surely the cost of the advert was more? Second - what kind of miserable git sells a piece of lego? Third - who buys it? I can't be alone in thinking this has it all just gone a wee bit crazy?

When I lived in London I loved the site 'freecycle'. People gave and donated the things they didn't want. When we touched down in London with a backpack only, we were so grateful for a TV, two chairs, and a coffee table that people donated. I carried them happily across town on the bus and loved them. And when we left, we kept the circle going, and people were equally grateful to accept kitchenware, sewing materials, quilts, and that very same coffee table. Does this happen in NZ anymore - or does everyone want their $3 for their piece of old junk? Some of this stuff is just mean spirited. Calling something that's simply old an "antique" doesn't make it valuable, and calling something that's plain dirty "shabby chic" does not make it cool. Whats going on? Leave the unrealistic selling chatter to the real estate agents I reckon and give away things you don't need with dignity. Surely it will bring you a lot more worth than $3.