Dubizzle is a realm I sometimes like to visit; it’s a crazy virtual world where everything has a price except, of course, when it’s free. Where a hodge-podge of nationalities and ages converge and newbies try to buy and leavers try to sell, while the million small traders all work in-between.
But what I like best is it’s a window into other people’s lives. It’s a wacky tour of terrifying living rooms, imported beds and overpriced ancient white goods. It’s a land of lost cats, unopened toys and enough white sofas to reach the moon and back.
It’s a place to gloriously ogle other people’s interior design from the comfort of your desk without them hearing you giggle.
So what’s my problem with Dubizzle? I find I meet people and somehow even in this vast multicultural city in which we live, we connect over a hamster (free to a good home) or a barely used Bosch power-tool (a bargain) and somehow we become embroiled in each other’s lives… but it’s not always for the best.
It all began with an ad for a gorgeous tikki-style 12 seater garden table and chairs, a steal at Dhs300.
I phoned and managed to secure it through Dave the vendor. With my husband at work and Dave leaving for business in China, he left me his wife Cheryl’s number. Later that night I dispatched my grumbling husband to the distant residential area, assuring him I would phone Cheryl and everything would be ready when he arrived. But Cheryl wouldn’t pick up her phone. I called Dave (in an important Chinese meeting). He tried calling Cheryl.
He called me. My husband called me, he had arrived, where was Cheryl? I tried Cheryl. Dave tried Cheryl, my husband tried Cheryl. My husband called me. Dave called me: neither man was particularly happy by this point. While my husband swore silently on call waiting, I was talking to a distressed Dave, assuring him that surely Cheryl wasn’t ignoring her husband. Even as I said it I knew it was ridiculous, I didn’t even know these people. But I just blundered on…
After hammering on the gate my husband was greeted by a very snoozy looking Cheryl. He called me. I called Dave. Dave called Cheryl. All ended well.
Seriously, where else on Earth would complete strangers ask me for relationship advice? And it doesn’t stop there; life on Dubizzle is often a little strange. In January this year, the site said it had removed a ‘kidney sale’ ad from its listings. Apparently the ad stated a human kidney in ‘flawless’ condition could be had for a snip at Dh200,000. It pretty much proves my point: you never know who or what you’ll come across when venturing into the land of Dubizzle.
Cursty Mitchell is our freelancer. She keeps trying to sell us her old white sofa.
