Selling on Craigslist

December 19, 2007

The only thing that makes me a little anxious (ok there are billions and they’re all listed at Thingstoworryabout.com) during the holidays is selling stuff on eBay or Craigslist. I believe both places are perfectly suited to take my junk and return me cash…but during the holidays I sense a little more desperation on each service.

Bear in mind the only two reasons I’m trolling or using Craigs and eBay this time of year is to clear out my existing crap to make room for new delights, and to look for a scooter. Although on that front I have practically decided that I’m getting a Genuine Buddy in April. The only remaining thing to decide is color and dealer. Sadly, the scooter dealer in Somerville doesn’t carry Genuine Scooters – YET.

So, when I purchased two SD cards for my new voice recorder, I realized that I only needed one and decided to unload the other. Here’s where it’s a little anxiety provoking.

The price I’m asking for a 2GB SD card – brand new – is only $20. From all the responses I’ve gotten, not one person is willing to have me mail them the card. They all want face-to-face meetings. This would be find if I were selling a camera or the aforementioned scooter or even a pet llama. But for a memory card the size of a stamp I think it’s overkill.

All I can imagine is the person I’m selling to deciding that one he has it in his hands he’s going to run down the street. OK, he could do that with a camera too, but my inclination to chase someone over $20 is far smaller than my rage would be if someone dashed off with a $300 camera.

Do I meet the current best deal in Boston? Do I say, sorry, I decided to keep it? Do I just suck it up and go get my $20 without incident?

Ironically, the card is perfect for storing digital photographs and I’m slightly ashamed at the distrustful picture I have in my head of people—especially this time of year.

I’m going to meet the guy tonight in Boston. If you don’t see any more posts from me ever, you’ll know that things didn’t go well.

Comments are welcome.

BY THE WAY, in that photo recognition post from a few days back, we have a winner. I’ll be sending a gift card out to a kind woman who was able to accurately name Amy Cooper as the face in the picture.

More to come…