> There are of course now online options for small vendors—Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.—but that model has its own substantial downsides for something

> There are of course now online options for small vendors—Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.—but that model has its own substantial downsides for something you really want to be able to touch and test out before purchase. While in general I am a fan of the "small l" hyper-local libertarianism of Strong Towns (I'm a contributor), at least when it comes to things like housing zoning and small scale commerce, I think this demonstrates that the writer has a fundamental unfamiliarity with how Craigslist works for used goods purchases today. Here's my recent anecdote to support this: I just sold a clothes dryer and furniture set on Craigslist. Both transactions involved meeting potential buyers on site and demonstrating to them that the goods were functional, and even helping them load the goods into their vehicles. One of the items was loaded into a beat-up pickup truck either borrowed or rented by the purchaser from another individual. The biggest issue with the Craigslist process was that as a seller I received multiple scam requests, and as a buyer at other times, I've found that the item I inquired about was a scam. But it's very much an in-person commercial experience. Where I do think Latin America is leaps ahead is in creativity in using items in design that our US-based market-segmented big-box consumer mentalities don't get a chance to ponder. Examples are the Acapulco chair - made of simple plastic PVC thread and a metal frame [1], which was turned into high design (vs the terrible PVC lawn chairs designs of the 70s and 80s in the US), and the many examples of use of upcycled materials to build homes in Mexico [2] 1. https://www.patioproductions.com/blog/patio-furniture/iconic-history-of-the-acapulco-chair/ https://www.patioproductions.com/blog/patio-furniture/iconic... 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52TLLZz6lq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52TLLZz6lq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hl6iDHm3yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hl6iDHm3yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqM6ZTaXbE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqM6ZTaXbE