Kellen's bike helmet is packed in one of the hundred boxes stacked floor to ceiling in my garage right now. I played with fire for a couple of days but then my common sense kicked in.
"Bike helmets aren't that expensive," I told myself. "Especially if you get them off Craigslist."
This was my good idea. Fortunately, a woman in the area was selling just what I needed for $5. The woman, who signed all of her emails "Bigg Mama," wanted to meet me at a gas station 40 minutes from my house at 12:30pm sharp to do the exchange.
I left in plenty of time, but ran into a considerable amount of unexpected traffic. That, and 3 wrong turns, cost me 15 minutes. By the time I got to the gas station, it was 12:45pm and Bigg Mama was already gone.
Goal: $5 bike helmet
Result: Spent $12 in gas. No bike helmet.
July 9, 2010
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Ummm, I'm all for a great deal, but a bike helmet is one of those items that should be purchased NEW. You really have no idea what a used one has gone through or how old or brittle it is. Just a thought. Love your blog.
I actualy will agree on not buying a used one. My inlaws got my daughter a used one at a yardsale. It appeared fine, then it was accidently left out in the rain. She was using it one day and I couldn't figure out where on earth this water kept coming from. Then I noticed the tiny crack that let in the rainwater. I tapped the helmet to get the water out and suddenly the crack started to expand all the way through the top of the helmet! Granted she only rides a tricycle but if had fallen, it certainly wouldn't offer protection!
12:30 sharp? Lovely. I guess she didn't want to really sell that helmet, eh?
I would have said to the child, help me go through those boxes and get everything put away, we find your helmet, you can go bike riding. Or if desperate I would pay the 17.99 at Target as I am very scared of Craigslist people, never have had a "normal" experience.
Hahah! 12:30 sharp! It's like a super secret spy deal. Maybe she should have left it in a trash bin nearby, and when you retrieved it from the trash bin, you put a briefcase containing the $5 in its place. Then she could have come out from nearby --where she was using her binoculars to watch you-- to get her money.
lol, in your area there will always be "unexpected traffic"! snowbirds in the fall/winter + vacationers in the summer + spring break = ridiculous traffic all the time!!...i saw fall, but florida has 2 seasons hot and hotter :) not actually, the winters have been getting colder :)
Too bad she asked you to meet her and you didn't get to see Bigg Mama's house.
Probably had cooties anyway.
I did craigslist business with a person who's handle was "upinyanightly" and was coming in from Las Vegas. It turns out he was the most reliable and timely individual I've ever done web business with.
That"s too bad. I guess you better start digging.
I've had craiglist people ask me if 10 PM on a Friday night was okay, so noon sounds great ha! Good luck, and yes, helmets are best new. No icky smells or worse!
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