Why I Hate Selling (Almost More Than Anything Else in The World)

photo by mkrigsman / CC BY-NC 2.0

I hate selling stuff to friends.

All my life, one way or the other, I've been obsessing over money. Whether I had it or not didn't really matter. What mattered was that I was always trying to get more money, but not actually by working for it, but by selling stuff I made myself (bags, jewelery, tiny crochet thingies etc.). Somehow I always ended selling stuff to people I knew, sometimes even my friends. I hated it. There is nothing worse than having a friend give you money for something they got from you (although a friend owing you money might be a bit worse). Parents, relatives, okay, it's always natural to "buy" stuff from people (read: "kids") you love (and make them feel better than if you just gave them your pocket change). But I just couldn't stand selling stuff to my friends. So I stopped, and am loving every minute of my life ever since.

I hate selling stuff to strangers.

Ever since I starded considering getting a "real" job (although Steve Pavlina and many others are doing their best in convincing me there is no need for getting one), it always revolved, this way or the other, around selling things (unnecessary things, most of the time) to people who come across my desk/street/store. Every time I do this, I get a feeling that I'm, somehow, tricking those people into doing something bad for them. (Let's face it; they're spending their precious money on some shite an advertising company told them they really needed. Well, do they really need it?) Not to mention the jobs where you have to sell stuff to people (say, in the street) who don't even want to buy it. I've never been really good at having people reject me in my face.

I hate being sold stuff all the time.

Quite some time ago I read the number of logos an average person sees every day just while doing their everyday stuff. I'm talking about commercial logos here, those representing companies selling stuff to people (including you and me). Though, unfortunately, I don't remember the number or where I read it, I do remember being shocked. Afterwards (and many times later) I used to walk to classes (or to the store) and look around myself, counting. You should, too. Trust me.

Say, if I counted all the logos I see from my current position (and I'm sitting comfortably in my bedroom, thank you very much), I would find... 1 (on my old batteries waiting to be recycled), 2 (on a flyer I took this morning to join my store's coupon club, still considering it, though), 3 (on my laptop), 4 (on my cell phone), 5 (on my glass), 6 (on an old glass container I use for almonds and raisins nowadays), 8 (plastic bag I brought in a long time ago), 9 (on a notebook I barely even use). Wow, not nearly as much as I thought. Still, multiply that by infinity when you're walking down the street (or reading an average website). Watching tv? Uff...

Imagine, for a second, that you were logo-blind for a whole day. How strange (and, I dare say, free) would that feel?

I hate the whole concept of selling.

I am very aware of the way the world goes around nowadays, but would prefer it if barter was still possible to the extent it used to be long time ago. (Being a creative individual, I can also see my future in trading goods I made for food and other necessities made personally by someone else.) That's why I'm more and more warming up to the idea of a "swap spot" where you can bring the stuff you don't need anymore and maybe take home with you something someone else had no use of. (There's one I know of in Rijeka, run by our local activists, but I haven't used it yet as much as I should. Looking forward to my next minimalist resolution and getting rid of more stuff!)

Having thought about this for a while, I just found a interesting website - freegan.info. (I stumbled upon the term previously on Wikipedia, and remembered it just in time to write this.) Check it out for info on veganism, freeganism and sustainable living - a concept I've grown to like a lot in the last couple of days.

Also, for additional, extremely simple info on how you can help this civilization sustain itself for a couple of more decades (and not get buried in junk) check 50 ways to help the planet - not an ad, I promise.;)

And do check this wonderful post over at Happy Valley News Hour.:D