From below for under. The influencer Ruby Nikara had been groomed, on the set of TPMP, when she boasted of selling flasks of her bath water at 1,500 euros each. A rather lucrative business that the young woman claimed to practice as a businesswoman. If the anecdote of the rapper had made the chroniclers of Cyril Hanouna sneer, the latter were undoubtedly far from imagining that such practices were much more widespread than we believe. Indeed, many women have found in the fetishistic fantasy of certain men a means of earning money. Dirty panties, smelly socks, pictures of feet, etc. A trade “like any other”, behind which dark stories sometimes hide.
When 20 minutes published a call for contributions asking its readers if they would be ready to sell their worn underwear to make ends meet, rare were the responses radically opposed to the principle. “If there are people ‘crazy’ enough to buy this type of product. So let’s be crazy enough to sell them,” Marine, 28, wrote to us. “Yes I will be ready to sell them. There are fetishists of everything. There is no harm because we don’t hurt anyone, ”adds Stéphanie. At 38, Florie is of the same opinion. “Pictures of my feet or panties and socks. No more. The end of the month is so difficult,” she explains.
“I said to myself ‘why not’, we will try”
Some have taken the plunge, like Louskar, 24. Because she could “no longer pay for her groceries”, she started selling her panties a few months ago. “I started to make an announcement and I discovered that it was very easy to make a small income in this way, it goes very quickly”, assures the young woman. Same observation for Chloé (assumed name), originally from the Paris region, who agreed to answer us by phone. “I’ve been on Mym for about a year and the primary goal wasn’t to sell my underwear,” explains the 20-year-old. But I quickly received a lot of requests, so I said to myself ”why not”, we’ll try. »
For three months, therefore, Chloé has been selling her panties, worn or not, her socks, but also, and above all, naked photos: “I have a full-time permanent job on the side, except that I don’t earn enough to pay me some things I want or to put money aside. »
From a photo of bare breasts at 15/20 euros to a pair of socks sometimes sold for several hundred euros, on average, the platform earns Chloé additional income of around 500 euros per month. “It’s a trade, with demand and supply. The men on this platform are often wealthy and very respectful because everyone knows what they want, ”she believes. And the remuneration can go much higher, provided you go much further: “I have set my limits. Nothing pornographic, no photo of my genitals or my face and no dating. “If Chloé knows exactly why she does this, she also has her feet on the ground: “My friends are aware, for my family, it is more delicate. My dad wouldn’t stand it. »
“What guys really want is to see you”
In addition to platforms more or less dedicated to this type of commerce, such as Mym or Onlyfans, there are other more unexpected ones. This is what some tiktokers call the “dark side of Vinted or Le Bon Coin”. On the latter, they are dozens to offer, more or less openly, their worn lingerie. This is the case of Marina, 36, who works in a transport company in Rhône-Alpes. “I sold a lot on Le Bon Coin and Vinted. When I offered underwear, people made special requests of me,” she recalls. “Very open”, Marina quickly got into the game and started buying cheap panties that she sold at a very high price. “At the very beginning, three years ago, this activity allowed me to make ends meet, to live a little better,” she admits. Then, last year, her panties allowed her to face a complicated family situation: “I separated from a violent spouse and I quickly needed money to pay the legal costs” , confides the 30-year-old.
Except that unlike Chloé, Marina has made this activity a kind of “business” while keeping her job on the side. “By developing marketing, I could earn up to 1,300, 1,500 euros per month. But I came, last December, to be finally disgusted with men, ”she regrets. The image that her clients had of her, their lack of respect, the fact of being taken for an object, etc. “Panties are a loss leader,” says Marina. What guys really want is to see you, touch you and more. That’s why I never hand-delivered the items sold.
An activity that can be dangerous and in which competition is fierce. “I charge 25 euros for panties worn one day, 35 euros for two days, specifies Marina. Except that for the past few years, lots of little young people have been arriving and are ready to do anything and everything for not a lot of money. “A battle that the 30-year-old does not want to fight:” Life made me need this money at some point, it was a boost. Today, I quit.