"Is This Still Available?": How Facebook Marketplace's Most Annoying Question Became an Economic Doctrine
In the long, illustrious history of economic thought—from Adam Smith's invisible hand to Richard Thaler's nudge economics no theory has penetrated the collective consciousness quite like four simple words clicked by someone who definitely isn't going to buy your used IKEA coffee table: "Is this still available?"
Facebook Marketplace's infamous opening gambit has transcended its humble origins as the battle cry of time-wasters everywhere to become both Memeland cultural touchstone and, inexplicably, an economic framework reshaping global commerce. Move over, supply and demand, there's a new economic principle in town, and it's leaving you on read.
The Economics of Perpetual Inquiry
What began as the opening line of millions of conversations that go absolutely nowhere has morphed into what economists are now calling "Availability Theory Economics." The principle is elegant in its simplicity: all real economic transactions begin with feigned interest followed by complete abandonment of the interaction.
Dr. Richard Stonks, an economist at the London School of University College, explains: "The beauty of 'Is this still available?' economics is that it creates the illusion of demand without requiring any actual consumption. It's like leaving items in your online shopping cart… an elegant declaration of theoretical interest that costs absolutely nothing but contributes to our new economic paradigm."
Corporate America's New Mantra
Major corporations have taken notice, restructuring entire business models around the principle of theoretical availability. Early adopters such as Tesla empowered customers to ask, "is this Cybertruck available?" then ignored it for years.
"We've embraced the 'Is this still available?' mindset across our entire supply chain," explains Walmart CEO Doug McGreeter, "Instead of stocking shelves, we simply ask suppliers if products are available, then they ask us if shelf space is available… neither of us respond. We've cut costs by nearly 100% and customer satisfaction remains exactly the same. It’s a revolutionary business development!"
The Shift Toward a Global "Is this still available?" Economy
International trade has been revolutionized as nations adopt a "Facebook Marketplace mentality." The U.S.-China trade war has devolved into a series of late-night WhatsApp messages with negotiators sending "are lower tariffs available?" then never returning to the chat. Meanwhile, Canada, long known for its polite diplomacy, has fully embraced the tactic given recent deterioration in trade relations with the U.S. -quietly sending "Is this still available?" to every country on the planet with interest in raw materials.
The World Economic Forum recently introduced the "Global Availability Index," nations are striving to score perfect zeros; achieving what Dr. Stonks refers to as, "peak marketplace equilibrium", the state in which everything is theoretically for sale but nothing ever changes hands.
Labor Markets in the Age of Perpetual Inquiry
Employment has also seen transformation. Job interviews now consist solely of candidates asking, "is this position available?" followed by companies deleting the listing. Job seeking site LinkedIn has embraced the trend with its new "Perpetual Application" feature which automatically sends "Is this role available?" messages to every job posting, then immediately blocks employers.
What's Next?
According to leaked internal documents, Meta will deploy a system which sends, “Hey… you up?” push notifications at 3 AM, nudging users to open Marketplace and send a flurry of “Is this still available?” messages to random sellers. The goal? According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “Maximize engagement in the new availability economic paradigm”.
Stack o Turtles Prediction: Recognizing the potential, Wall Street will build a derivatives market around these inquiries, resulting in the first recorded financial collapse triggered by people asking if a 2009 Honda Civic is still up for grabs.
Stay tuned to Stack o Turtles, where we'll continue reporting on economic trends with the same reliability as a buyer who says they'll "definitely pick it up on Sunday afternoon."
Stack o Turtles has provided FURTHER READING FOR THE STUDIOUS:
Availability Theory Economics: A Primer
Core Principles
Availability Theory Economics (ATE) posits that economic value is no longer determined by the traditional factors of scarcity, utility, or labor—but rather by the perception of availability combined with the absence of actual transaction follow-through. This revolutionary framework explains why modern markets increasingly favor theoretical exchange over actual consumption.
The Three Laws of Availability Economics:
The Law of Perpetual Inquiry: Economic activity increases in direct proportion to the number of non-committal inquiries made about goods and services, regardless of completed transactions.
The Availability Paradox: The perceived value of an item increases the moment someone asks if it's available, then decreases exponentially with each subsequent communication toward actual purchase.
The Ghost Multiplier Effect: Each abandoned transaction creates a quantifiable "ghost value" in the economy, which can be measured as the difference between GDP and what economists now call "Actually Completed Domestic Product" (ACDP).
Theoretical Applications
ATE explains numerous previously baffling economic phenomena:
The Housing Market Mystery: Why do people spend hours browsing Zillow with no intention of moving? ATE explains this as "theoretical consumption", the economic satisfaction derived from browsing without purchasing.
The Netflix Catalog Effect: Studies show subscribers spend 38% of their time scrolling through options rather than watching content. Under ATE, this represents efficient "availability maximization", extracting value from knowing something is available rather than consuming it.
Digital Abandonment Metrics: Online shopping cart abandonment rates average 70%—previously considered problematic but now understood as the natural equilibrium state of a healthy Availability Economy.
Mathematical Framework
ATE can be expressed mathematically:
AV = (I × N) / T
Where:
AV = Availability Value
I = Inquiries made
N = Non-commitment coefficient
T = Transactions completed
This explains why modern economies can sustain growth despite decreasing actual consumption—the value derived from availability inquiry has overtaken traditional transaction value.
Criticism and Defense
Critics argue this theory merely describes economic inefficiency rather than a new paradigm. However, proponents note that in a post-scarcity, pre-singularity, digital economy, the psychological utility derived from potential consumption often exceeds the utility of actual consumption—making ATE not just descriptive but predictive of future economic behavior.
"In the Availability Economy, the most valuable transaction is the one never completed." Sköldpadda the Lesser