Craigslist oddity

[Ben West]

So, a few days ago I listed on Craigslist a 10" GMC (Australian company) sliding compound miter saw. I bought it on clearance at Lowe's several years ago for about $150, I think. I used it for a couple small projects, then upgraded to the Milwaukee 12" SCMS. The GMC has sat unused ever since, so I decided to sell it and listed it for $60.

Shortly after listing it, I received and email from a gentleman (who I'll call Fred) interested in the saw, and who offered $50. He asked for my address, and we arranged a time this morning for him to pick it up. At the appointed time, he pulled into my driveway.

Fred: I wasn't expecting this to be such a big town (my town is about 15,000)
Me: Oh, you've never been here? Where are you from?
Fred: Missouri.
Me: Ah, well what brings you into Tennessee?
Fred: Well, we saw this saw listed on Craigslist.
Me: How far did you drive?
Fred: Oh, I don't know. 6 or 7 hours.

He was a very clean-cut, well-spoken older gentleman. Is it just me, or is it strange that someone would drive 12 or 14 hours to buy a mid to low end miter saw? With the money he spent on gas, plus what he paid for the saw, he could have had a choice of several other saws at at big box store.

What gives?

[Carl Beckett]

Have heard very similar stories, of people going to great distances for irrational bargains.

Some people get caught up in the thrill of the hunt that all logic goes out the window. Others understand what they are doing and really dont care. And sometimes there is a reason they want something that is not obvious to you (grandpa had one exactly like it when I was a little boy and we made so many great memories on it I want to do the same for my son).

I had a colleague once that was a Sales VP. He made big (BIG) money. On weekends he spent ALL of his free time going to yard sales and buying $1 and $2 items and then reselling them during his own yard sales. It was in his blood (and there was no real logic to it, he couldnt have made enough to make even a blip on his income level).

People are interesting. Next time offer him a drink and pull up a chair and chat a bit.

[Richard Wolf]

That is weird, but I find that people are getting very strange and unpredictable. I used to think it was me getting older and grumpier, if that's possible, but people sure seem to be difficult to figure out lately.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Sometimes it is just a reason to take a trip that you might otherwise take. My wife & I have done that several times, but never for something so small. We did it just last weekend.

[Bill Huber]

That is really no difference then people that drive 10 mile out of their way to save 50¢ on a bag of potato chips.
Its like some people just don't think it cost anything to drive a car.

[Paul McGaha]

That is odd. Just a guess but I think maybe the guy just likes road trips. Riding around seeing the country.

PHM

[Michael W. Clark]

He may just be "pulling your leg" and was in the area for some other reason he didn't want to share with someone he just met.

Also, I know people that will drive across town to save $.02/gallon on gas. "That don't make no sense."

[Harold Burrell]

He is from Missouri. 'Nuff said.






(OK...that was a joke. PLEASE do not get offended.) ;)

[Harold Burrell]

He may just be "pulling your leg" and was in the area for some other reason he didn't want to share with someone he just met.

Also, I know people that will drive across town to save $.02/gallon on gas. "That don't make no sense."

Yeah? So???? :o

[Roger Feeley]

Now, now, Harold. Let's be nice. You wouldn't be from Kansas, would you? I live on the Kansas side of the Kansas City area and see that sort of cross-border trash talk. I would remind you that Missouri gave us Harry Truman and Walter Cronkite and Charlie Parker.

I'm going with the road trip idea. My brother-in-law uses any lame excuse he can to go on one. He's a farmer and has worked hard all his life. I think he just doesn't know how to take a real vacation so he 'justifies' his vacations as necessary trips to fetch parts for his implements. When he tells us that he and the wife just spent three days going a thousand miles to get some dinky part, we just smile. Good for him.

Truth be told, it's my dream to go cross country to get some machine. But I want a Bridgeport Universal mill with all the trimmings. Now THAT would be a road trip.

[John McClanahan]

While he may be from Missouri, something tells me he was already in your area.

John

[Ronald Blue]

Roger you forgot the most important of all....Walt Disney.:)

[Matt Meiser]

I had someone drive from Cleveland (3 hours) to pick up a topper for a Ford Ranger I was giving away so I didn't have to try to dispose of it. Yet people from Toledo don't want to drive 8 miles into Michigan to pick something up unless I'll knock something off the price to make up for the long drive.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

It may be like e-bay. The thrill/agony of winning/losing a bid. I've seen people bid MORE than retail for a used Penn reel. PLUS you have to pay shipping on top of that. Could have been gotten for cheaper from the big name catalog company..... I also know a guy, his wife has a swap meet "business" which takes up all of his time on the weekend. He makes more than that income in 1 hour of working at his normal work place. IF he could work.....

[Craig D Peltier]

Must be the bath salts.



That is weird, but I find that people are getting very strange and unpredictable. I used to think it was me getting older and grumpier, if that's possible, but people sure seem to be difficult to figure out lately.

[Buck Williams]

Did he mentioned if he was married? Might have been one of those - "I gotta go pick up a saw, won't be back til after dinner". Lotta guys up here in Wisconsin ice fish, that never thrilled me, I figured they didn't want to sit home all day with the old lady. :rolleyes:

[Myk Rian]

I drove 250 miles north to Traverse City to get a 1938 8" Wallace jointer.
My CL searches go to 300 miles out.
I will admit that a 6-7 hour drive is over doing it.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I drove 250 miles north to Traverse City to get a 1938 8" Wallace jointer.
My CL searches go to 300 miles out.
I will admit that a 6-7 hour drive is over doing it.

A piece of old arn that doesn't come available everyday is a different story though.

I always factor in the distance and price of gas on an item for sale. Most of the time it's just too far to make good sense. The farthest I've gone is about 100 miles one way. A 60 gal air compressor that was $100. It needed a connecting rod replaced in it. Easy fix, and I sold it with in a week.

[Ben West]

Buck...his wife was with him!



Did he mentioned if he was married? Might have been one of those - "I gotta go pick up a saw, won't be back til after dinner". Lotta guys up here in Wisconsin ice fish, that never thrilled me, I figured they didn't want to sit home all day with the old lady. :rolleyes:

[Kevin Bourque]

I wouldn't even walk a mile for a Camel, let alone drive several hours for a cheap saw.

[Carl Beckett]

Did he mentioned if he was married? Might have been one of those - "I gotta go pick up a saw, won't be back til after dinner". Lotta guys up here in Wisconsin ice fish, that never thrilled me, I figured they didn't want to sit home all day with the old lady. :rolleyes:


Reminds me of my alarm system install. On a Saturday, and two guys show up to do the wiring. They were friends. One guy was on the clock, but the second guy (he worked at the same company but was his day off) wasnt on the clock, he just wanted out of the house so volunteered to come help the first guy out.

Its hard to understand that until you have been there, so I will just leave it at that.

The other possibility is that it wasnt his 'wife' - but she was still at home....... (stranger things have happened!)

Also knew a girl once, that would take a road trip at the drop of a hat. She went to Las Vegas once for the weekend - drove it! No biggie right, but she lived in Portland OR! I asked her how many hours she actually had in Vegas, and it was just a few hours before she had to turn around and drive back home. (now those days were before gas prices shot up so much)

[Gary Max]

This was almost a two year adventure but I sold the same riding mower 3 times on ebay. They would buy and pay for it but never show up--- 6 months later I would resale it------- third time the buyer drove 500 miles from Michigan to pick it up. It was like having a golden goose.

[Jerome Hanby]

I wouldn't even walk a mile for a Camel, let alone drive several hours for a cheap saw.

You know, 9 out of 10 men who try camels prefer women...makes you wonder about that tenth one...

[David Hostetler]

When I bought my BT3100, I drove from the coast in Texas to a small town up in the Texas panhandle. The saw was an okay deal, but the trip was an opportunity for my wife and I to get out of town for a weekend, and to meet a fellow member of BT3Central that I had talked with online on and off for a couple of years. Great guy, interesting family. His wife is a published author, and her book is actually pretty good...

[Larry Fox]

Its like some people just don't think it cost anything to drive a car.

Kinda like the study I heard / read about where people were willing to walk 5 blocks to save $10 on a $20 item without hesitation but not willing to walk the same distance to save the same $10 on a $500 item. People make weird decisions and have strange ways of calculating costs sometimes.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Several years ago I bought a machine for my wife on eBay. 3 or 4 days later the seller showed up with the machine in the back of his truck. He was from 500 to 600 miles away, but he'd sold another machine to some one 180 miles from me, and decided to deliver them both, and take a road trip to a part of the country that he hadn't seen before.

[Bill Geibe]

I have frequently taken hour-plus drives for an interesting piece of woodworking equipment or a good deal. I live north of Philadelphia so I am around four or five different Craigslists. Though I know I am defeating the purpose of a 'good deal' by driving to North Jersey or South Jersey, I enjoy the drive and like to look around neighborhoods I haven't been to before. The trip is a bit of an adventure in itself.

Bill

[Ryan Wood]

Thats crazy someone would drive 7 hours to get a not very good saw. I use to have the same saw and it broke on me after a year. The whole saw locked up and the blade guard broke off when i was cutting some oak. Before that happend it was a ok saw that i got when i just started out.