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Antiwork

Capitalism ruined an actually enjoyable job

About two years ago I started working for a small company that basically buys and resells store returns and overstock. No benefits or anything, but the guy who ran it was young and very casual. I'd would spend the day testing really cool electronics like drones, ipads, toys, computers, speakers, vr headsets, etc and just examine some less cool things like furniture and high end razors (still fun things to see through the day). I'd research these items, take detailed pictures of them and post them on the online store explaining any flaws or issues the item had. I was mostly encouraged to take my time and be as detailed as possible. I would create about 75-100 new listings a day. I was really proud of the cool things I got to sell and would brag to my friends about the site and encourage them to check it out and…


About two years ago I started working for a small company that basically buys and resells store returns and overstock. No benefits or anything, but the guy who ran it was young and very casual. I'd would spend the day testing really cool electronics like drones, ipads, toys, computers, speakers, vr headsets, etc and just examine some less cool things like furniture and high end razors (still fun things to see through the day). I'd research these items, take detailed pictures of them and post them on the online store explaining any flaws or issues the item had. I was mostly encouraged to take my time and be as detailed as possible. I would create about 75-100 new listings a day. I was really proud of the cool things I got to sell and would brag to my friends about the site and encourage them to check it out and buy some stuff. After working here for a while, he hired two more people to work under me, with me as their manager.

Fast forward to now and the owner has expanded to 2 local store fronts (each with their own staff) to sell items in person and wants to grow more. He stopped buying the better stuff for resell (the electronics, furniture, etc) and is buying cheaper items from closed down dollar stores and such. Bit by bit, I've been told to not test items anymore and to not add details in the description. They just want me to take a picture of it and post it and move on to the next item. He wants me to now create about 250-500 new posts a week (and growing).

Last week, pulled me into his office and explained that he wants to release my managerial role to someone from one of his other locations who has shown that she can post about 250 items a week and for me to be her second in command. Another thing they like about her is that she “doesn't show signs of stress” . He talked about how she's able to handle multiple tasks, and increase output without complaining.

She's since taken over. She posts like 300 things a day. Her posts are full of spelling and grammar mistakes, poorly taken pictures, incorrect item descriptions and customer have complained about things not working once they get them home. But they don't care. The instant return on investment from buying a giant pallet of junk and it being out of our warehouse in 3 days is preferable to selling quality products and looking professional.

It's really depressing and I truly hate coming to do a job I'm not even excited about it proud of anymore. I'm thinking about quitting but the job market is a shit show… Thanks for letting me vent. Hope you all find jobs that make you happy

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