Screenshot: Facebook / Gizmodo
Facebook is a wasteland. Once the default gateway to the internet, today the site has a reputation as one of the least cool places on the web—at least for America’s taste-making young people. But, as the New York Times recently pointed out, there’s one corner of the platform that keeps the under-35 crowd coming back. Buried beneath the misinformation, photos from your high school gym teacher’s new car is Facebook Marketplace. It’s a holy land for people seeking deals, an unfiltered look at the human experience, and home to some of the most unhinged, disturbing, and delightful posts on the internet.
Facebook Marketplace has replaced Craigslist as the go-to place to buy, sell, and trade used stuff. Want to pick up a $2,000 couch for $300? Marketplace can help. Trying to get a few bucks for the rice cooker gathering dust on your kitchen counter, or that old guitar you haven’t played in years? Step right in. More people are recognizing it as a great resource for frugal consumers, but the world hasn’t woken up to its potential as a hub for unfiltered online weirdness.
I spend no less than 20 minutes a day looking through the latest posts, and when you hit an especially good day, it’s good for a full hour of entertainment. Facebook Marketplace is one of the best scrolls on the internet.
If you know where to look, you’ll find some of the weirdest things you’ve ever seen. Here’s a trip through a selection of the most Lovecraftian listings I’ve found on Facebook Marketplace. Note that most of these are listings from the New York area, and if you’ve got recommendations from your hometown I’m dying to see them. Click through the slideshow up top, or just scroll down if you’re on a mobile device.