"David" wrote in message
...
Over the course of the past year, I've taken a few curious peeks at
Craigslist.com. A few days ago a neighbor mentioned it took just a few
days to get a response to an ad he placed, so I thought what the hell,
I've never done the Ebay thing (guess I'm old fashioned...well maybe
NOT...I DO have an iPod), but I wanted to sell a tool I just relegated
to the corner by purchasing a new and improved model. Besides which,
that'll soften the blow when the credit card bill comes in.

On Thursday I went to Craigslist, read their help section, composed the
ad, got stuck for a bit on adding a picture until I saw a link at the
bottom of the page, and "published" my ad. Damn if I didn't get the
first response in 20 minutes!! All together I got 8 emails and several
phone numbers. The first guy that I contacted said he'd take it and
Friday mid morning he came by to exchange some green for a tool. Nice
guy. My trusty saw had found a good new home. I hope his wife wasn't
expecting him home sooner; we chatted quite some time! I emailed
everyone else that the item had been sold.

Ok, so that was pretty painless. Let's go for ad number two (Friday
night). An hour or two after the ad appears, my inbox shows "new mail".
Cool! The fellow included a phone number, but he didn't answer when
I called. This morning I call again, and he answers on the first ring
and says he'll be by this afternoon. He calls for directions mid
afternoon and arrives shortly thereafter in his big contractor pickup.
Hell of a nice guy too. Why can't my all my neighbors be this nice?
Some are, but then we've got some screwballs that should be
hospitalized. Anyway, turns out I may be able to use him for a home
improvement project next year and he gave me the name of a reliable
sharpening service, so the few dollars I made on the sale is
overshadowed by the value of meeting him.

I need to go through the attic soon to see what else I can advertise on
Craigslist. oh, yeah, I've been hoarding about 15 cans of R12 since
1988. I know that stuff is quite pricey nowadays and should fetch well
over $150.

Dave

I recently upgraded to a larger lathe, the cost of which I had to justify to
SWMBO by telling her I would sell the Jet Mini Lathe. Since the mini lathe
is still quite heavy (~80 lbs), I wanted to take a shot at selling it on
CraigsList to a local buyer rather than get it ready for shipment. I sold
it for the same price I would have netted from eBay (and by the way, the
same price I bought it for on sale from Amazon). I always wonder what type
is going to pull up in this kind of transaction. Turns out the guy is your
normal dentist who wants to make shavings in his condo.

todd