The Cheapest People in the World

Comedian Russell Peters has this joke about how Chinese people can’t do business with Indian people, because Indian people can’t live without a bargain, and Chinese people can’t give you a bargain. In another bit he ranks the cheapest people in the world as follows:

1. Indians
2. Chinese (a very close second)
3. Jewish people (distant third)

As with any joke, it’s funny because it’s at least partially true, if stereotypical. Case in point: I’m in this online classifieds group where there’s a lot of Chinese and Indian people trying to sell things, and I can’t tell you how often I roll my eyes looking through what people post. I’m not sure if I’m checking the group for the lolz or for the rare good deal that may come along.

Exhibit A: a week ago there was this guy (let’s be real, it’s only men who do this) who posted, “Deal Alert! $300 Southwest voucher for $270. Travel must be completed in 2 weeks.” I was so irritated by this that I actually wanted to message the OP and ask him what he was thinking. Because logically, there’s no overlap between people who buy last minute airplane tickets and people who scour classified ads to save $30 on airfare…so why was he wasting people’s time and hurting himself in the process? A few days later I saw that he lowered the price by $20 ($250 for his $300 voucher), but even that didn’t seem a great deal…either way I intend on reaching out after the 2 weeks to see what his thought process was and if he learned anything from his post.

Exhibit B: a few days after the Southwest ad, another person posted about this new and unopened side table they had gotten off Wayfair. It was $39.99 + tax (free shipping) on the site, but he was offering it for the low, low price of $39. Oh, and you have to arrange to pick it up from him. Again — why would anybody do this to save on tax? And, how cheap do you have to be to post something like this online?

Ironically, I did get a decent deal on an iPhone thru this group a few days ago so it’s not completely useless, but I find myself unusually triggered when I see examples like Exhibits A and B. Because it’s not just a waste of time, it’s a violation of the very spirit of having an online group like this in the first place. The more garbage people post, the less engagement there will be, and there’s an eventual risk that the group will die out and you’ll have to sift through the same crap on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace anyway.

Ultimately, I recognize that you can’t police this behavior, however incorrect it is — but I do my best to bring awareness to the situation and subtly prod folks when I can. The other day I saw somebody respond to another ridiculous listing, and I took it upon myself to privately message the potential buyer and tell them it was a terrible deal. Did they thank me for my services? On the contrary…they wanted the “deal” anyway.

That’s when I realized the cheapest people in the world aren’t Indian, Chinese, or Jewish — they’re the people in this online group responding to the very ads I’m looking at…and maybe, just maybe…I’m one of them too.