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Craig's List Adventures
Oct. 16th, 2009 05:24 pmOne of my projects that I haven't worked vey hard on was to rearrange my computer room a bit to give me more space. To that end, I need several (3 or 4) tall bookshelves to replace 6 short ones so I'm using less floor space. I also needed a new computer chair, and I'd like to pick up a small treadmill for my apartment for bad weather days when the exercise room is locked or already in use.
I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, so I've been checking Craig's List off and on.
Last Spring I picked up one bookshelf for $10.00. Not an Ikea bookshelf, but similar to their 79" Billy bookshelves, only it was about 72". I placed it in the computer room and moved one of the short bookshelves into the hallway to eventually get rid of somehow.
I haven't worked too hard at things since. Usually I plan to check for stuff on a weekend, then I get busy or forget, or I do check but find nothing quite what I'm looking for.
Sunday morning I checked and found exactly what I was looking for in an office chair. Padded, with arms, non-rolling, built on a tubular metal frame. Very similar to the one I have in the bedroom. Better yet, it was in Auburn, and was for only $10.00! I quickly sent off an e-mail hoping to pick it up that afternoon. The ad said that she had two and wanted to "see them leave together", so I asked if it was $10.00 for both. I didn't need two but for $10.00 I'd take both and figure out what to do with the other one. I was just afraid that someone else would get it first.
The day went by with no response. Finally Monday morning, I get an e-mail reply saying that it's $10.00 per chair.
Well, in that case, you're listing them seperately, and I only need to buy one. I told her I'd like to buy just one.
A day goes by. I get a reply Tuesday morning saying she'll sell me one for $10.00 if I still want it.
Anyway I sent her my phone number and managed to pick up one of the chairs that evening, and luckily they had someone else coming to get the other one. Still, two and a half days from when I e-mailed them. I guess that's why it's $10.00, it's at their convenience, not mine.
Thursday I checked craig's list again from work. I found a couple of bookshelves that fit what I wanted and were close enough to be picked up. One was in North Seattle, one in Burien, so I tried the Burien one first.
I got an e-mail reply back pretty quickly, but it was beyond cryptic. It was from Eric, and it said that "Frank was still in the area" and that the store was closed. I was advised to call Frank.
I called Frank on my afternoon break. He was on the road by then heading to Bellevue. He'd shown stuff to three people that morning, but was heading home now. Tomorrow wasn't good for him either, but he thought he had a new guy who could meet me Friday.
He said, "I've got your number on my cell phone, I'll call you when I'm home."
I said, "No, I'm at work and I'm just about to leave."
He said, "Well I can't work out the details now. I'll call you in a few minutes."
I was trying to explain that I wasn't on a cell phone but on my work phone, but the message just didn't get through. So I hung up and waited. And waited. And waited.
After 45 minutes, I figured a $20 bookshelf wasn't worth that much trouble. He had my home phone and my e-mail address too, if he really wanted to sell to me.
At home I got a phone call, but my phone has been really out of whack lately. There was tons of line noise and I could barely hear the guy. I think I agreed to pick up the bookshelf on Friday, and/or exchange e-mails to confirm information. Right after that, my phone went completely dead.
As it turns out, you can schedule for maintenance for your phone on the web, but only if you have the security code. I don't know what that is. It's not on my bills. Presumably it's something they gave me when I first set up my current phone line.
I left them an e-mail then called them the next day from work. They came out and fixed my phone while I was at work, so it's fine now.
In the meantime, I had an e-mail from Eric telling me to confirm with Tom that I was going to meet him in Burien at the closed store to pick up the bookcase at 3:30 PM. I called Tom and left a message. He called me back. I finally got directions to this mysterious closed store with the bookshelf.
The whole thing felt like I was arranging a drug deal... meet a friend of a friend of the guy selling the bookcase at an undisclosed warehouse... yeah. Anyway, I got the bookcase. $20.00. Like the one I got in the Spring, it's similar quality to Ikea but a bit battered. Ah well. The sad thing is that I'm replacing cheap but well maintained bookshelves with cheap and not as well maintained bookshelves. But they're taller, that's the main thing.
Now I just need a couple more, and maybe a treadmill.
By the way -- anyone need a couple of 3-shelf bookshelves?
I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, so I've been checking Craig's List off and on.
Last Spring I picked up one bookshelf for $10.00. Not an Ikea bookshelf, but similar to their 79" Billy bookshelves, only it was about 72". I placed it in the computer room and moved one of the short bookshelves into the hallway to eventually get rid of somehow.
I haven't worked too hard at things since. Usually I plan to check for stuff on a weekend, then I get busy or forget, or I do check but find nothing quite what I'm looking for.
Sunday morning I checked and found exactly what I was looking for in an office chair. Padded, with arms, non-rolling, built on a tubular metal frame. Very similar to the one I have in the bedroom. Better yet, it was in Auburn, and was for only $10.00! I quickly sent off an e-mail hoping to pick it up that afternoon. The ad said that she had two and wanted to "see them leave together", so I asked if it was $10.00 for both. I didn't need two but for $10.00 I'd take both and figure out what to do with the other one. I was just afraid that someone else would get it first.
The day went by with no response. Finally Monday morning, I get an e-mail reply saying that it's $10.00 per chair.
Well, in that case, you're listing them seperately, and I only need to buy one. I told her I'd like to buy just one.
A day goes by. I get a reply Tuesday morning saying she'll sell me one for $10.00 if I still want it.
Anyway I sent her my phone number and managed to pick up one of the chairs that evening, and luckily they had someone else coming to get the other one. Still, two and a half days from when I e-mailed them. I guess that's why it's $10.00, it's at their convenience, not mine.
Thursday I checked craig's list again from work. I found a couple of bookshelves that fit what I wanted and were close enough to be picked up. One was in North Seattle, one in Burien, so I tried the Burien one first.
I got an e-mail reply back pretty quickly, but it was beyond cryptic. It was from Eric, and it said that "Frank was still in the area" and that the store was closed. I was advised to call Frank.
I called Frank on my afternoon break. He was on the road by then heading to Bellevue. He'd shown stuff to three people that morning, but was heading home now. Tomorrow wasn't good for him either, but he thought he had a new guy who could meet me Friday.
He said, "I've got your number on my cell phone, I'll call you when I'm home."
I said, "No, I'm at work and I'm just about to leave."
He said, "Well I can't work out the details now. I'll call you in a few minutes."
I was trying to explain that I wasn't on a cell phone but on my work phone, but the message just didn't get through. So I hung up and waited. And waited. And waited.
After 45 minutes, I figured a $20 bookshelf wasn't worth that much trouble. He had my home phone and my e-mail address too, if he really wanted to sell to me.
At home I got a phone call, but my phone has been really out of whack lately. There was tons of line noise and I could barely hear the guy. I think I agreed to pick up the bookshelf on Friday, and/or exchange e-mails to confirm information. Right after that, my phone went completely dead.
As it turns out, you can schedule for maintenance for your phone on the web, but only if you have the security code. I don't know what that is. It's not on my bills. Presumably it's something they gave me when I first set up my current phone line.
I left them an e-mail then called them the next day from work. They came out and fixed my phone while I was at work, so it's fine now.
In the meantime, I had an e-mail from Eric telling me to confirm with Tom that I was going to meet him in Burien at the closed store to pick up the bookcase at 3:30 PM. I called Tom and left a message. He called me back. I finally got directions to this mysterious closed store with the bookshelf.
The whole thing felt like I was arranging a drug deal... meet a friend of a friend of the guy selling the bookcase at an undisclosed warehouse... yeah. Anyway, I got the bookcase. $20.00. Like the one I got in the Spring, it's similar quality to Ikea but a bit battered. Ah well. The sad thing is that I'm replacing cheap but well maintained bookshelves with cheap and not as well maintained bookshelves. But they're taller, that's the main thing.
Now I just need a couple more, and maybe a treadmill.
By the way -- anyone need a couple of 3-shelf bookshelves?
