Twenty Two Minutes

How Long It Took

Everything you can see in the photo. Twenty two minutes. I timed it because I did not believe it while it was happening.

How It Was Done

A Mongolian buyer, one phone, standing in front of the pallets and talking into it in Mongolian. Every few seconds another pallet was gone. No inspection, no negotiation, no walking the rows. He simply pointed the camera and kept talking. I stood there with a clipboard I did not end up using.

The Explanation

He explained afterwards. He is a wholesale agent. About twenty people watch his broadcast and they are the ones buying. He takes a commission and handles the shipping to Mongolia, and that is the entire business. He asked for photos of whatever comes in next and left before the forklift had finished.

The goods in this trade vary less than the ways people have found to sell them.