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14 pointsafshinmeh4 comments

This wiki page links to a legend: Straw Millionaire: Japanese Buddhist folk tale about a poor man who becomes wealthy through a series of successive trades, starting with a single piece of straw.

The funny thing is that in my language, Polish, there's populat completely opposite nursery rhyme. About a guy who through serie of trades went from house to a stick. But in the end ot was all fine because he inherited 4 houses from a grandfather.

I'm Polish, I think I never heard that rhyme but it sounds like classic Polish way of thinking so it probably exists. We have to teach babies pessimism from the beginning so they're not disappointed about the world.

How much of this would be possible nowadays with all the online marketplaces? I can't imagine such arbitrage is still possible.

I only have anecdotal evidence in the form of friends making money on consistently-profitable online trades in a variety of marketplaces. It seems intuitive to believe that, wherever there is a market, there is a possibility of bartering as a living.

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