Craigslist – or Where the Nutballs Are
12 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Long strange trip, Miscellaneous Tags: craigslist, donating, insanity, moving, possessions
Since my divorce, I’ve had big and tough decisions to make. Namely, what to do with the house purchased by me and the deadbeat. The deadbeat is long since gone without a care in the world, leaving me with the housing situation on my own. Don’t get me started on how being responsible doesn’t quite work out for the best all the time. After a lot of sleepless nights, I made the decision to let it go (that, and the fact I like to eat and feed my dog, and need funds to do that).
Gearing up for the forced move and feeling a bit like a deadbeat myself, I also decided that it would be good to get rid of the “old” items from my past and replace them with “new and improved” items when I get situated in my new life in the big city. Four big piles were made of all of my worldly belongings left in my old life:
1/ Things to take – this includes such items as photo albums, diplomas and all the personal things that no one other than me wants anyway.
2/ Things to donate – anything that I haven’t worn in six months more more or even looked at. Things I had packed from my old house that were still in boxes and never unpacked from four years ago.
3/ Things to toss – Things that not even a homeless person would wear or use
4/ Things to sell on Craigslist – my kayak I can’t lift by myself and have used five times in the past two years, furniture that I have no place for, washer/dryer, fridge, old school tv that no one would actually pay money for (but works). You get the idea.
My beloved Kayak - in the snow
I strategically place these items on Craigslist. The kayak, since a sporting good, gets replies from people who seem rather normal. Someone comes and snags the kayak rather quickly (as it was a good deal). I’ll miss you, kayak!
Where it starts to go downhill are the other items. For example, the refrigerator.
Ad: “Stainless Steel / Black Side by side 27 cubic feet. Dimensions — blah blah blah. Price: $ / You haul.”
Reply to ad from “Savyshopper”: “Do you ship internationally and is there any extra charge?”
My reply: “Dear Savy. Why yes, I can take the refrigerator straight down to the local UPS store, find a box, pack it up with some shipping tape, place a stamp on the outside of the box and ship it anywhere you want. Just let me know. I do charge extra for sending to places like the moon or Uranus. Take that anyway you’d like. Don’t you have anything better to do but spam? Really? If I were you, I’d re-examine my New Year’s Resolutions and move “Get a Life” closer to the top of the list. Thanks again for looking.”
Next was the tv and stand – which were listed for free. Free is where the freaks are.
Ad: “42″ TV with stand. 11 years old. Works great. You haul. Bring friend, as it is heavy.”
Reply from “Uh-huh:” ”I’d like the tv. Can you hold it?”
Since I don’t have much experience with selling on Craigslist, I agreed. The next day, he called twice, got lost, then never showed up to get it. Uh-huh was MIA. So, in all fairness, I went with the next person to respond, being careful to read what they wrote as not to reply to ads that could have been written by killers. I read about the Craigslist killer, and as a result, have heightened paranoia about strangers coming to my home, especially when I am flying solo. This could also be deemed ‘common sense.’
Next reply from “ShoppingSavy:” “Do you ship internationally and are there any extra charges?”
Oh boy.
It went downhill a little from there at times, but I finally caught on to those to reply back to, and those simply to ignore.
Anyway – the “give-aways” ended up being given away with no run-ins with killers, and I am finished with the Craiglist’s “world of nuts and fruits.” Next time, I’ll just donate everything and use the tax deduction. Although dealing with some of the loonies who responded to my ads did make me feel slightly better about my own sanity, even in my chaotic current conditions.
