Shopping showdown

Shopper No. 2

Jake Malooley at Etsy.com
Our Everyman, Time Out writer Jake, doesn’t like to shop—“I don’t fancy myself any kind of a gift-giver,” he admits—so he got the easiest gig: one hour to scour Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handmade goods. After 30 minutes of searching, Jake’s frustrated (in his low-key way). “The site’s not really very navigate-able, unless you know what you’re looking for,” he says. “There’s so much random shit on here.”

His luck turns when he starts browsing with a serious strategy. Extrapolating one of Rachel’s hobbies, photography, into a keyword search, he soon finds a roomy tote adorned with a hand-screened image of a camera ($45). With the clock ticking away, he quickly buys a jar of “body frosting” and a jar of “body polish” ($8.50 each) for Lauren, the swim-team teen, reasoning she’ll need to moisturize if she’s dunking herself in chlorine all the time.

Hardly any time left, but Jake’s not worried. “What would be good for a vinyl-collecting fiend?” he ponders. He finds two gifts in his final five minutes: an Empty Bottle jazz-show poster ($25) and a record converted into a clock ($17). With no time left, Jake checks out, $4 over budget.

The verdicts
Andrew “I’m notoriously difficult to shop for. I wouldn’t pick out either item for myself. The vinyl LP clock is too fabricated, but I would put the poster on my fridge.”
Rachel “Cool. It’s a little large for my everyday bag, but very unique and suited to my tastes.”
Lauren “Body cream is a great idea. Really fun scents, and practical.”