u/MelodicLocation2895

I keep thinking about how weird it is that the internet basically has no idea most physical objects exist unless somebody decides to list them for sale.
Like, you could have an old camera sitting in a closet that 500 people are currently trying to find, and you’d have absolutely no idea.
Or you could see some random chair, lamp, old electronic, watch, piece of clothing, whatever, and wonder:
What is that?
Is it actually rare?
Do people still care about these?
Would anyone want one?
I want an app where you can just point your phone at an object and get a quick sense of what it is and whether there’s real demand for it.
The part I think would be interesting is that the object wouldn’t necessarily have to be for sale.
That’s kind of the whole point.
Most of the stuff people own isn’t listed anywhere, so current marketplaces only show you a tiny slice of what actually exists.
I’m intentionally not getting too deep into how I imagine it working because I’m mostly curious whether the basic behavior makes sense to other people.
Would you actually use something like this?
And what’s the first random object around you right now that you’d point it at?
I feel like mine would immediately turn into me walking around the house scanning increasingly stupid things for an hour.

I’ve been sitting with this idea for a while and I’m curious whether it sounds genuinely useful or just interesting in my own head.
The basic thought:
There are probably millions of physical things sitting in people’s homes that somebody else is actively looking for, but there’s no way to know that because the owner never listed them for sale.
Old cameras, discontinued electronics, furniture, collectibles, clothes, random design objects, stuff in your parents’ basement, etc.
What if you could point your phone at something and quickly understand:
what it is
whether people are actually looking for one
roughly what people would be willing to pay
Even if the object isn’t currently for sale anywhere.
I’m less interested in making another marketplace where everyone has to photograph things, write listings and become a seller.
The part I find interesting is everything that exists before something gets listed.
Like imagine noticing some old object you’ve owned for 10 years and finding out there are 300 people actively trying to find one.
Or seeing something weird in a restaurant / thrift store / friend’s house and immediately being able to understand whether there’s an actual market around it.
I’m keeping some of the mechanics vague because I’m still working through the idea, but I’d love completely unfiltered feedback.
Does this solve anything for you personally?
And more importantly:
What’s the first object you’d actually try pointing it at?
Feel free to tell me it’s dumb too. I’d rather find out now than spend months convincing myself otherwise.