Gumtree… its the verge collection without the verge

I love Gumtree! It has supported me through the worst of times and given me the best of times. The fact that anyone can advertise anything for free is socialism at work right there. It’s the verge collection without the verge.

I have bought and sold so many items that if there was such a thing as a five star rating on Gumtree, I would have one. I only wish that everyone I dealt with had a five star rating! Such as the dodgy car deal that almost took place and then fell through in a public car park in Nedlands between myself and two unnamed men; the woman who caught a train from Rockingham to Perth where I met her with an ice cream container full of baby axolotls; the many people who called, messaged and emailed but then failed to turn up; the ones that turn up and then don’t want to pay full price; the ones that message you and offer you half your asking price, the list goes on.

I am quite spontaneous and very suggestible when it comes to deciding what activity I might like to take up next. My spare room is a testament to the fact that I thought I wanted (or even believed I had the time) to start spinning wool; playing guitar; riding bikes; paddling kayaks.

Ok, so I do play guitar and I did purchase my current guitar from a family in Swanbourne whose son no longer wanted to be Jimi Hendrix, but it turns out that bass is my thing so I just picked up a monster bass guitar from an ageing rocker (oh wait, isn’t that me?) from just down the road. Mark the guitar man had the most amazing collection of guitars and gave me a few tips on how to pluck bass strings. $100 well spent. I have added it to the spare room and my now collection of two guitars. I will practice every day, I will!

My Ashton spinning wheel recently went to a good home where the owners actually have a real live sheep. Nick lives in Serpentine and has just shorn his sheep for the first time. The wheel came into my ownership after I purchased it from a woman in Cottesloe who, like me, had it sitting gathering dust. I had visions of reliving my childhood where I grew up spinning alpaca wool beside the pot belly stove in Tasmania. Despite my best intentions I didn’t actually get around to using it. I had contacted the Spinning group on Facebook and even attempted to get to their gatherings once or twice but the weather was always too good and paddling got in the way.

My photographic equipment including a drone and a DSLR camera have all been recycled and turned into new cameras and lenses. I love searching through the pages and I am always reminded of that classic Australian film “The Castle” where the family would spend their evenings combing through the Trading Post. The words “Tell him he’s dreamin’ “ quite often can be heard coming from my mouth. There is something akin to a treasure hunt, the thrill of finding a bargain!

I am also partial to scrolling through “Perth Beer Economy”, a Facebook page where people exchange goods for bevies. The male axolotl who impregnated my female axolotl and caused me to spend many weeks raising axolotl babies was the result of an afternoon browsing through Perth Beer Economy and it only cost me a carton of Hahn Premium Dry (bloody bargain!).

I very rarely pay full price for anything. My clothes come from Op Shops and as you can see so does most of my life. Its not just the recycling of goods that attracts me to Gumtree, because that is a big part of it. It’s the thrill of the unknown and it’s finding that treasure or bargain. It’s meeting the people who will travel by train from Rockingham to pick up a container of baby axolotls; the hobby farmer who has just learnt to shear sheep or the ageing rocker with a “Cigarbox” guitar he bought in Ireland.

You just don’t get that from shopping in a shopping centre or a department store.