A Swiss online shop has reportedly started selling worn knickers, dirty socks and used tampons, netting sellers healthy additional incomes.
The website is called Sububis, which means underwear in Latin, and its founder, an unnamed 32-year-old woman, reportedly set it up to sell lingerie and underwear worn by various men and women in October 2021.
She also reportedly sells used bras, socks and shoes. A pair of worn female underwear goes for CHF 79 (GBP 63), while a pair of dirty socks goes for CHF 29 (GBP 23).
The founder, who is from Switzerland’s largest city Zurich, said: “It is a lucrative business that is in great demand in this country. I kept hearing from acquaintances who receive enquiries on social media as to whether they want to sell their underwear.”
This gave her the idea to offer these items online so that the sellers and buyers can remain anonymous and never have to meet.
She said: “Anonymity was not guaranteed during the payment process and that put many people off, although they are not fundamentally averse to the business.”
A friend of the woman reportedly told her that she was stalked by a buyer on Instagram after selling a similar item. The experience reportedly scared her so much that she stopped selling these items online.
The Sububis founder said: “I thought to myself that there could be a better and more serious solution to this.”
But the founder reportedly said that she does not want to sell her own items on the platform, saying: “That would be too intimate for me, too close. I want to make a clear distinction. If I knew who was getting my clothes, I would feel like I was giving too much away.”
Instead, a total of seven women and men are selling their worn underwear on the platform, which has been operating since October 2021. The founder said: “It is going very well. We have several orders a day, I’m already recruiting new ‘subabes’.”
Underwear and socks reportedly sell the best. The shop reportedly only has male buyers at the moment. There is reportedly a growing demand for tampons and worn period pads as well.
One of the women selling her underwear on the platform, who has remained anonymous but who is reportedly aged 43, said: “It’s a real adventure for me. I really wanted to try it and I really enjoy it.”
The woman, reportedly an Austrian, said: “I wanted to know what it’s like and how it feels.”
The seller says that she has earned CHF 600 (GBP 481) in the last few months. She said: “It’s a very good extra income. I don’t have to do anything I wouldn’t do otherwise.”
She also does not find it bizarre either, saying: “I find it more reprehensible when someone looks at me in the pool and has fantasies!”
