2 Adults 2 Kids » craigslist

Chance Encounter (CM)

KJ — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:29:03 +0000

Today a young guy (early 30’s or so) came by to pick up a Burley bicycle trailer we had for sale. He saw the RV and asked if it was ours. We told him we owned it and we planned to hit the road and show our kids something different. He was very excited and opened up to us about his childhood experiences.

He told us that during the summers when he was a child, his father would pack him and his siblings into a VW van and go on extended camping trips. He said that those were the best days of his life and that the trips really brought his family closer together. He added that he hopes to do the same thing with his children one day.

I found his words to be very inspiring. Every now and then I get panicky thinking that I am making the wrong decision and that my kids will not enjoy our adventure. However, speaking to someone who had a similar experience when they were a child has really renewed my commitment. I understand that things may be a little rocky at first, but my hope is that some day when they are grown my children will think of this time as the best days of their lives.

The Original (CM)

CM — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:19:29 +0000

Just a note on something I saw on Craigslist that I thought was funny. To sell all of our stuff we posted it on Craigslist. I looked on there today, like have in the past few days, to look up the prices of some our remaining items. To my surprise on the NYC Craigslist there are multiple pages of things listed “Fire Sale” on Craigslist. I thought it was quite funny that we started a trend on NYC Craigslist. Maybe we can start another with making a change in lifestyle.

Craigslist vs. Amazon (KJ)

KJ — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:10:53 +0000

I had the bright idea last night to list one of my old school books on Amazon. Well actually I had read somewhere that you get more money from Amazon than you would from a garage sale, so since I have a ton of books and still short a couple thousand from my RV goal, I decided to give it a shot. I woke up this morning to find a message in my inbox saying my book had sold — awesome! Then at the bottom I saw what my actual profit was — not awesome.

The lowest used price for this particular book was $6.25, which I thought was ridiculous, so I listed mine for $3. Amazon decides that books cost $3.99 to ship, and they add that to the price. Well when my book sold I thought I’d get $6.99, but Amazon took $2.79 off the top. Leaving me with $4.20 for shipping and profit. So once I drive to the post office, buy a big envelope, and pay for gas, I’m probably going to be negative.

Then my mind turns to Craigslist. I have a new appreciation for Craigslist. You can sell what you want for whatever price and the buyers come to you. I would advise anyone who is purging to try Craigslist before they use Amazon or even eBay. It saves a lot of headache.