There is one Facebook group that I always enjoy scrolling through. The University of Twente Marketplace. The majority of posts actually relates to student rooms. Searching for rooms or for a roommate. But there are also more interesting items for sale. It shows how diverse the UT community really is. Some sell their drone, a fully automatic coffee machine or game console. Others sell baby clothes, gardening utensils or photo cameras. It ranges from car wheels to pet supplies. From bed frames to study books. But occasionally, there is a surprise item in between. A few months ago, a student tried to sell a white designer t-shirt for 150€. People showed their outrage in the comments below. But apparently, the new shirt cost double of the asking price. The advert was not very successful. The shirt is still up for sale.
There is a market for almost everything else at the UT. Someone else can always use it. I am also active in the group. I have sold and bought several pieces of furniture, kitchen utensils and hobby items. Two times I uploaded a request for help in the group. One time my bike was locked on a tree right in front of the campus. The key broke off while I tried to unlock it. Because the bike was right outside of UT property, the campus security was unable to cut the lock. The broken key was not enough proof that it was indeed my own bike. But shortly after posting it on Facebook, another UT student came to help me out. I did not dare to ask why he had all these heavy tools laying in his student room. But afterwards, I could drive off to buy a new lock.
Another time I had to change the battery of my watch. I had the batteries but I was missing the tool to open the watch by myself. A trip to the watchmaker was proven difficult during lockdown. One post in the UT Marketplace group and I had two offers from students owning this specific tool. Unfortunately, a running battery did not keep me from being late anymore.
I’ve learnt that the UT Marketplace is offering a solution to almost all problems. People are more than willing to offer their time and knowledge. And there are always people who sell something you need. Or something you did not know you needed. This group really makes the UT and its students feel like one big community.
