I made an Impulse Purchase of a Handmade Wallet from Instagram, and you Know What, I'M NOT SORRY... here's why

I don't buy things from Instagram. Really! I swear!

If you know me at all, you know I'm likely to spend money on food, tech and strategic travel, not weird strapless bras and diet powders. If you DON'T know me at all, Hi! I'm Dayle, and I don't buy weird strapless bras and diet powders.

I'm pretty sure the Ol' Gram recommended this account to me via the Explore tab because I sure as Sherlock wasn't hashtag surfing, and no one I knew was following them. So ok, your fancy schmancy algorithm got me Zuckerberg, but there are plenty of things that pop up on my feed every day that don't make me want to open up my wallet, or worse yet.... sign in to Pay Pal.

I initially followed because I noticed that not only was the account owner promoting his wares, but he was also selling them, right there in the comments section via auction. Here's a super quick run down of how it works... An item is posted with a strict end time, (usually a couple hours later,) and a starting price, shipping is included (within the US) and we're off to the races! People start bidding what they'll pay, right there in the comments section! I wasn't crazy about the design but I couldn't help myself so I popped a small bid in, about $2 over the next highest bid.

Now I know people set up Instagram auction posts all the time, FINE, but what happened next kind of surprised me, I got a DM saying "I'm messaging about the wallet, Thanks for bidding. You have the lead!" I said thanks for letting me know, (mind you I was refreshing this thing every 10 seconds so I KNEW.. OH I KNEW) When I was outbid not only was I mentioned in the comment's section with something like "@dayleeo was out bid by @soandso" and another DM saying "If you don't win this auction there are a ton of new wallets up on my website." Woa. Ok then!

In the end, I was a tad relieved that I was outbid because I really just wanted to see what would happen, in that trigger-happy, reckless ENTP, I'll figure it out later, kinda way. I wasn't interested in dropping any coin, just trying to take part and maybe learn something.

But Dayle, didn't you say you bought a wallet!!? Yeah! FINE OK. I DID! Two things happened as a result of that first auction. I turned on post notifications, ya know just to see... and I commented on a few wallets I really liked as the days passed, until one day I got another DM, notifying me that there had been a few wallets made in a similar style to the ones I commented on, and that if I wanted one I could buy it straight out before it went to auction... I meeeean.....

The #NomadWallet showed up 3 business days later, and here we are.

Here are a few things I learned about myself from the experience...

1. I'll entertain pretty hand made things on my feed even if I don't intend on buying them. (seriously these wallets are gorgeous, go look after we're done here if you don't believe me! -> https://www.instagram.com/valhalla_designs/)
2. Open and honest comms combined with super-hustle make me want to support what you're doing.
3. I will ALWAYS be drawn to supporting projects by people just trying to maintain a life outside a soul crushing 9 to 5
4. GLOW RESIN.

Yes, that's right this sucker GLOWS IN THE DARK. which I like because my travel packs are usually dark cavernous pits that swallow my wallet at the most inopportune time, either at the checkout or going through customs, or they're just plain gone... causing my brain to release wave after wave of sweet adrenaline, and cortisol until my hand finds that familiar flat faux leathery shape. Phew.

So now I can say I've made an Instagram purchase. BUT as someone who's looking to eventually make and sell real things instead of pushing pixels all day, I also learned a lot about the possibilities of connecting human to human, without a platform, or "marketplace" getting in the way. Sound familiar Steemians??

What do you think? Worth it? Caught up in algorithm-fueled hype machine? Tell me in the comments. I'd love to have a discussion about whether or not I'm deluding myself just in order to enjoy the cheap thrills glow resin provides.

I guess it all comes down to what you VALUE. (shameless plug to @teamhumble 's kick ass post on the subject of value today- go read it. Seriously. -> https://goo.gl/jFtjfa )

Anyway! I made this short and snappy video to show ya the unboxing how my essentials fit and GLOW....OH THE GLOW !

Thanks for listening and watching!
-Dayle

Wait, who the heck is this chick you ask?? Hiya! waves I'm Dayle and I'm new here on Steemit! Here's my #introduceyourself post, if ya have a moment, pop on over and say "Hiya!" yourself! https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@dayleeo/where-was-i-yep-roger-that-i-was-writing-my-first-steemit-post