And that’s the key. Every marketing person now wants to sell you an experience. Even the buying experience is supposed to be packaged as something pleasant and fulfilling. In fact, that’s what they call it, whether transacting online or in person: “order fulfillment” or “service fulfillment.” Basically, they promise to give you a pleasant, fulfilling experience as they get your money. Unless, of course, it’s a scam and the experience is far from pleasant in addition to possibly losing your money.

Essentially, the deciding factor is the intersection between a product or service and a person’s interests. The marketing people seem to know it even before you do because whenever you search or browse something on the internet you are soon bombarded with ads, posts and articles related to what you clicked on.

One of my interests is construction and repair or do-it-yourself stuff. I think I got it from my father, who was an aircraft electrical technician and also liked carpentry and plumbing. (He was among the early postwar technical personnel sent by the Philippine government to train with the US Air Force, and among his feats was that he topped his tests, besting even a hotshot American classmate from the US Strategic Air Command.) He had a large workshop with electrical, carpentry and plumbing tools, and a large work table made of heavy hardwood in our old family home.   

Thus, my interest, but not necessarily the skill, as I am not particularly good with my hands, but I definitely like tools and what I can do with them. I think I have an addiction to tools. I can spend much time browsing the aisles of home improvement stores, looking at all sorts of power tools and implements and checking out what they are for. It is all I can do to keep myself from buying another hammer or another set of screwdrivers or another set of wrenches and drill bits. I now have innumerable tool boxes to store them in and often forget what I bought.

I am now into my fifth electric drill, third angle grinder, third welding machine, second auto-darkening welding mask, fourth power washer, second power saw, second riveter, second electricity multimeter, third wire stripper-crimper, second grasscutter, third air blower, second soldering iron, first socket fusion tool kit, first demolition hammer, first electric planer, first chainsaw…

I prefer just having one handyman to do all the home maintenance and grounds and garden work, and so I try to keep the person’s job easier by getting him all the tools and accessories he needs. Thing is, I usually prefer for him to have his own set of tools apart from mine. Thus the “need” for multiple sets and the multiplication of tools.

Plus, the infinite variety of home maintenance and improvement tasks feeds my tool fancy. Browsing the stores, catalogues and online shopping, you’d think there’s a tool for every job. For example, why is there an endless variety of screw heads and sizes for which you also need an endless variety of screwdrivers?

Anyway, come to think of it, why should I remain a consumer? I should also be a seller! I do have a lot of long unused photography equipment: camera bodies, lenses, flash heads, drones, filters, tripods, chargers, batteries, darkroom equipment, bags and carrying cases, and all sorts of accessories. I even have a medium format film camera that I bought from Vic Valenciano (the father of Gary Valenciano), who was a noted photographer in his day. I should take them out of the dry cabinets and sell them. 

Yes, that’s it! It’s time for me to go full circle and give somebody else a pleasant and fulfilling buying experience.

Read more: Over a hot stove: ‘Ube halaya’ and love’s labors

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