If you don’t already know, you can visit Carouselland this weekend at Suntec City Exhibition Hall 401 to 403, and you might just meet your favorite Carouseller! 
This morning, I got to hear from 3 of them as they participated in a panel discussion on stage. There was Jerome (@retrorider), Blanca (@icelebr8) and Alison (@budgetmama). Carousell, which started 5 years ago, certainly has come a long way. Now, it has 65 million listings worldwide and there are 120 new listings every minute! What a success! For small businesses like Blanca’s (she runs an event planning company during the weekends while holding an office job during the weekdays), Carousell can provide up to 70% (or more) of their clientele!
At @retrorider’s booth:
Indulge in all your favorite childhood games. You can even rent a Game Boy here! Time to teach your kids how to play your favorite games! 
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There are supposedly some 400+ stalls here (I didn’t count them, of course), but there’s a lot of space. Leave it to me and I’d pack another 150 stalls in here!
Of course, as this is Carousell’s first event of this scale, there is room for improvement, such as in having more food stalls. Singaporeans love to eat. I dare say we love food more than we love shopping! But there are only a handful of food stalls here. So… fill your tummies before heading over? Or stay hungry and buy more things from the Carousellers? (Did you know that if you shop on an empty stomach, you’re likely to spend more money?) 
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I love Blanca’s story of how the Make A Wish Foundation got in touch with her via Carousell, to help plan a party for a child with terminal illness. Singapore Airlines even helped fly in a ‘Cinderella’ from Florida!
Photo from Carousell’s Facebook page
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At Carouselland, there’s much to see and here are two booths in particular which caught my eye:
One selling wedding gowns at $100 or less:
And another one selling accessories, like this cute Corgi Butt Backpack!
So head on over to Suntec City for some retail therapy… and retro gaming!
If you’ve ever wondered how Carousell makes money, well, I heard from Marcus (the co-founder) that they function just like traditional Classifieds platforms, and sellers pay to bump up posts in order to reach a wider audience. It’s just like how we boost posts on Facebook to reach more people. Otherwise, it’s free. To sell your unused items at home, it’s as easy as “Snap. List. Sell”. Certainly a good way to monetize the “junk” lying around and collecting dust. Now… if only I can decide on which items I can bear to part with.
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*Carousell is looking to crown its hero-without-a-cape. There are 10 nominees for Carousell heroes. Vote over on Facebook.
*Pictures in this blogpost are courtesy of Hearted Moments Photography.
