Sunday, July 11, 2010

7-11-10: The Miracle of Craigslist

The lady and I are moving in together in a few weeks' time, so I've been scrambling to get rid of my unwanted items. Before my last move about 19 months ago, I decided to use Craigslist, with some pretty promising results. I therefore decided to try it again.

So far, not bad. I'm currently selling my couch, my old 20" tube TV (about 5 years old), a few posters, and a CD player/changer. Thus far I have had people interested in nearly everything, except for the TV.

The "miracle" sale occurred yesterday, when I sold my bass guitar carrying case. Here is the chronological order of the events that led up to the sale (all times Eastern):

2:17PM: Publish the posting on Craigslist with a brief description and a couple pictures. Price: $15.

4:58PM: Receive e-mail from prospective buyer, asking if I still had the case. E-mail indicates that he is very interested, and is leaving for Orange (neighboring town to Derby, where I currently live) in ~30 minutes. He includes his name and a phone number.

5:05PM: I read the e-mail, and immediately call prospective buyer. He is pleased to hear from me. We talk briefly, and I inform him that I am actually planning on leaving for New Haven around the same time he is leaving for Orange. He tells me he is coming from Hamden, and asks if we wanted to meet somewhere to do the exchange. I completely agree, and we decide on a spot: the park and ride on Route 34 at the junction with Route 15. Time: 5:45PM. I told him it was his for $10, as this was turning out to be very convenient.

5:15PM: I leave for the park and ride, first stopping at the bank and then to a CVS to break a $20 bill, as the buyer said he, too, needed to stop by the ATM.

5:50PM: I arrive at park and ride, and wait for buyer to arrive.

5:55PM: Buyer arrives, immediately finds my car. We briefly chat, and complete the exchange. He is very excited to receive the case, as he is one short and recently purchased a new Fender Standard Bass and is also moving. We shake hands, and depart.


Total time, from posting to completion of sale: 3 hours and 40 minutes. Best of all: I didn't have to go out of my way (neither did he). I hope you enjoy the case, Jared.

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