What’s Happening: The Leboncoin Apartment
Since reading Marie Kondo’s book, The Magic of Tidying Up, I am constantly motivated to get rid of items I don’t use or need. I usually drop things off at Emmaus or put them on the street.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I was always on Craigslist buying and selling until it became kind of dangerous and a waste of time thanks to scammers and creeps. Since then I haven’t thought about websites or community forums to buy or sell.
Last month a friend reminded me I could resell and make a little dough on Leboncoin, the French seller to seller website. I put an iPhone lens attachment, an Ikea cowhide rug, a high chair, and an old Canon Power Shot G9 camera up for sale and within a week I made 500 euros. Woohoo!! Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Of course there is someone out there in the world who might want what I don’t need any more. And in fact, I should probably visit the site more often when shopping for my kids or apartment.
According to the company’s CEO Antoine Jouteau, “On Leboncoin, you can find anything—within legal limits—available on earth or even outer space.” People sell more than just old Ikea furniture and electronics on the site. Some of the crazier things sold include a small meteorite, a private jet plane, and a coffin. (What the….?!?!) You might also be able to score treasures normally reserved for auctions and estate sales like the famed French film director Jacques Tati’s house and the composer Hector Berlioz’s piano. A hotel in Nice was sold through the site for 70 million euros! Dang and I was all excited about my 500 euros worth of loot.
To remind us of all the wonderful things you can find online for sale, Leboncoin has set up a pop-up apartment on Rue Française. Everything from the tables, couches, artwork, clothes, and even a wall with apartment listings are up for grabs. The apartment will be open until November 19th and guests are welcome to hang out, have a cafe, listen to music, or sign up for a DIY workshop hosted by Oui Are Makers. Ateliers for kids are held on Wednesday afternoons and weekends for adults. Visit Leboncoin’s Facebook page every Monday for schedules and more information on events and workshops each week. And while you are drooling over the cute apartment, don’t forget everything is for purchase on the last day. Just maybe don’t expect to find a coffin or any space rocks.
L’appartement leboncoin
3 Rue Française
75011 Paris
Photos courtesy of Leboncoin
