The report emerged, he says, from a focus group in which numerous participants claimed to have felt unsafe when buying goods or services through Craigslist.

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That was 1978, and Indonesia was flooded with all kinds of imported utility goods that Muhammad felt could easily be manufactured at home.

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Fears about not having the right brand of trainers or electronic gadgets for children meant that parents in the UK, particularly those on low incomes, felt they had to buy these goods, even if it meant getting into debt.

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For a young man who felt that life must have more to offer than selling goods to cowboys and their girlfriends, there were two glimpses of a more interesting world.

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