Holiday Review Extravaganza Part II: The Craigslist Chronicles

During the holidays, my sister-in-law came to stay with us for a couple of weeks. While she was here, our disposal stopped working.

Please note that I have not, in fact, stated that she broke the disposal. Despite the fact that she has a long history of breaking or destroying my wife's things, apparently it is completely beyond the pale for me to imply or insinuate in any fashion that my sister-in-law was responsible.

She also didn't break a dish. That was the dog's fault. Or so I am obliged to believe.

Regardless, the disposal needed to be replaced. The thing was old and somewhat rusty, so I wasn't overly heartbroken about it. The big problem, of course, is that we're still pretty broke while Mrs. The Jim completes her edu-ma-cation.

I found a couple of models online at the standard locations (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.). Unfortunately, none of these stores were giving away free disposals. I then decided to broaden my search in an attempt to find a local store that sold those kind of appliances at a discount. I searched for "garbage disposals in Dallas", and I ended up finding a Craigslist entry.

Now I've never used Craigslist, but I was familiar with the concept. Essentially, it's just a giant, online classified ad site. Ads are grouped by areas, so that you can find out if anyone in Dallas has a Schwinn for sale, or if someone in Los Angeles is offering guitar lessons. We have some friends who have had some success with it in Philadelphia, but I've never tried to mess with it.

So, I find this listing titled GARBAGE DISPOSAL BAGER (5). Now, In-Sink-Erator's garbage disposal model is called a badger, not a bager (that should have tipped me off right there), but I followed along. The listing has since expired, so I'll just have to summarize:

BAGER (5), One @60 each, BUILDERS SPECIAL four or more @$40 each. Call John @ ###-###-####.

The listing included two pictures of the units in untouched, unopened boxes. Now, I didn't know if this guy was a contractor who was stuck with too much inventory, or if he was a guy who stole something from a store or job site. All I knew was that a disposal that normally retailed for about $110 to $120 (after taxes) was available for $60. Worst case scenario would be I'd get ripped off and have learned a valuable lesson.

The next day (my first day back at work), I decided to call the guy and get the thing. Below, Gentle Readers, is my play-by-play summary of that process:

Jan 6 (Tues) @ 3:45 PM: I contact John. He is in the middle of something and can not speak. He will call me first thing Wednesday morning.
Jan. 7 (first thing Wednesday morning): John doesn't call.
Jan. 7 @ 10:45 AM: I call John. He asks me where my office is located. He notes that he's driving around all day for work (lends credence to the contractor theory). He supposedly passes by my office multiple times daily. He will call me next time he comes by this area.
Jan. 7 @ 3:45 PM: John calls and asks when I leave work. I inform him that I leave at 5:30. He says he will stop at my office before then, and we can make the deal then; however, he may be a little later than 5:30. I inform him that I can stay at work late.
Jan. 7 @ 6:30 PM: No word from John. I call and get his voice mail. I inform him that I'm leaving, and that we'll just handle it on another day.
Jan. 7 @ 7:15 PM: John calls me back. He asks if I am Stephen (I have no idea where he got that name), and asks if I'm still by the office. I tell him I'm almost home, in the beautiful burg of McKinney. This is fortuitous, according to John, as he is currently in Frisco (roughly 30 minutes away). John has to wrap some things up, and then he will head down Highway 121 and meet me. He will call me when he starts that direction, and we'll find a place to meet.
Jan. 7 @ 7:35 PM: I am now a little leery of John, and have no desire to have him come to my house. Instead of going straight home, I head towards Frisco on Highway 121, and wait in a parking lot at the western edge of McKinney.
Jan. 7 @ 7:50 PM: John has not called. I call his number to no avail. I decide to head back home and wait for his phone call.
Jan. 8 (Thursday) @ 9:00 AM: John, after failing to call the previous night, gives me a call. He apologizes for the mix-up, and offers to take $10 off the price, now making the total cost $50! He will give me a call whenever he is in my area.
Jan. 8 @ 12 noon: My boss is in the office from the Corporate HQ, and has decided that all of us (three total) will go out to lunch. We all ride together.
Jan. 8 @ 12:15 PM: John calls and asks if I'm at the office right now. I inform him that I'm at lunch, and unable to get back to the office. John will call me back around 2:00 and we'll set something up.
Jan. 8 @ 2:00 PM: Nothing happens.
Jan. 8 @ 5:30 PM: Still nothing has happened. I go home.
Jan. 9 (Friday) @ 9:30 AM: I call John, and get his voicemail.
Jan. 9 @ 12 noon: John calls me back. I inform him that I will be out of the office for the rest of the day. (On Fridays, I only work until 11:30, as it's my half-day.) Since I am mobile, I can drive wherever and meet him. He asks me my current location, and I let him know I'm heading home to eat lunch with my wife. He tells me he is currently well south of me. He asks that I call him back whenever I get back in his area.
Jan. 9 @ 1:55 PM: I am roughly 5 minutes away from my office location, so I call John. He tells me he will call me back in 20 minutes, and we'll set something up.
Jan. 9 @ 2:40 PM: John has not called, so I call him back. He is at someone's house, and is trying to head out. He will call me in the next few minutes. (Bear in mind, he still does not comprehend that I can DRIVE TO WHEREVER HE IS.)
Jan. 9 @ 3:05 PM: I have gone to Wal-Mart to pick up some shaving cream and razors, which I was lacking. I have driven back to the parking lot of my office. At this point, I realize the Friday drive-home traffic will pick up shortly, and I will be stuck in a mess. I head back home, determined to never contact John again.
Jan. 9 (Sat.) @ 10:30 AM: I decide to bite the bullet and just go buy a disposal. Mrs. The Jim looks online, and Lowes is having a one-day sale. The exact disposal I was going to purchase from John is on sale for $80.

This, to me, is where the story has taken a Twilight Zone twist. I ended up getting a pretty good deal on the disposal, and with a much better model than I originally owned. If I had not gone through that week-long, crappy debacle, I would have just bought a disposal and never known about the sale. Without meaning to do so, John's incessant delays actually saved me money. Weird how things work, huh?

So, in summary ... Craigslist can really save you money ... even if the seller won't actually let you make the purchase. (Plus, I hear people hook up for Sexy Time on the site, too!) What a deal!

Until next time,
The Jim