Guest Blog Written By: VarageSale
Buying and selling online isn’t just about dollars or cents. It’s also a chance to make amazing new friends in your community. In the hustle and bustle of modern life, busy people have forged lifelong friendships buying and selling household goods.
And Maria is a perfect example! A member of a buy and sell community near Montreal, Canada, she made her first online friend buying baby goods. Here’s her story.
How has buying and selling online changed your social life?
I’ve met quite a few people through buying and selling in the West Island on VarageSale. Some, I’m happy to say, have become good friends. Making friends as an adult isn’t easy mostly because most adults have their set group of friends and sometimes people don’t want or need to expand their little group. The hardest part is trying to break into that existing circle and making room for yourself.
Has one friendship in particular stood out to you?
Yes, my friend Anita. As our local buy & sell community started to take off, I was on maternity leave with my first child. This gave me the liberty to be able to shop and pick up purchases during the week. It also allowed me to become familiar with my community as we had recently moved to Pincourt (a town just outside of Montreal), and I was not familiar with the area. Shopping among your neighbors really allows you to learn about your city and its neighboring cities.
It all started when I was doing an item pickup at Anita’s house. I know it was getting close to winter because it was very cold out. I rang Anita’s doorbell and there she was. We said our pleasantries and, as we were talking, we both were looking at each other like we knew each other from somewhere. I don’t remember who said it first, but we both told each other “You look so familiar!”
And so it began. Even though we were both shivering (her front door was open), we kept talking about where we went to school, where we grew up, and where we worked. We couldn’t stop chatting!
In the end, we realized that we both grew up in the same area (West Island) and knew some of the same people. She had even gone to high school with an old boyfriend of mine. What a small world! I’d recently won a gift certificate to an Indian restaurant. My husband isn’t a fan of that cuisine so I invited her and another friend to partake in my winnings. The friendship and our tradition of going out to our favorite restaurant, Bengali, once a month took off. We’ve even invited other VarageSale friends to join us.
What do you love most about your friendship with Anita?
I enjoy how we don’t have to get together or see each other regularly to feel comfortable when we do get together. As moms, we have a lot in common: similar interests, close in age, kids close in age, and we just have a great time together. We know different people and have different experiences and I think it enriches our friendship.
What advice do you have for adults looking for friendships?
Be yourself. As hard as it is to build new friendships in our adult life, you don’t want to befriend someone whose values and personality don’t suit your own just to obtain new friendships.
Thanks for sharing your story, Maria!
From time to time, we’ll be bringing you stories about swappers who are finding their community one connection at a time. Want to get featured? Share your story with us.
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