Shopping online and true life story (not mine)

Buying used items is popular, especially in this economy. Families find great bargains on furniture, clothes, toys, household furnishings, tools, car parts, camping equipment, and lots more. These items can be found at garage or household sales, trunk and treasure sales, second hand shops, Goodwill stores, and also many sites online such as Craig’s List.

When buying at a garage sale or thrift store you have a good idea of what you are getting because you can see the item, check to make sure all parts are there, and whether the items stills functions as it should.

Buying an item online, say from Craig’s List, can be a different ballgame.  Reading a glowing description of a seller’s personal item can be quite different than what you had in mind. The seller’s interpretation of what is “beautiful, hardly used, in great condition” may not always be the same as what you picture that item to look like.

Let’s take a case of a happy, carefree couple, trying to save a few dollars so they can put it in their sons’ college education savings. Lucy (short for Lucille) scans Craig’s List for a couch. She doesn’t want to pay a lot of money, knows the size she needs, and has an idea of what she is looking for.

She comes across an ad that says, “For sale. Plush, cushy couch; great condition. Tan fabric. Sink down into soft comfortable cushions. Grab a beer, watch the football game with your buddies and relax.”

“Oh look, Ricky,” she exclaims as she points to the computer screen.

“What is it Lucy?” he asks. “I’m trying to watch football.”

“I know. I know. You’re gonna’ love this Ricky. Just take a minute and look at this ad on Craig’s List. It says this couch is made just for you. You will be so comfortable on this couch and it will fit right into our décor. We don’t have to move any furniture around or anything. We will just switch out your old recliner, move this table over there, put my rocker over here, and it will fit right there in front of the t.v.”

“Lucy,” Ricky says, “you just said we don’t have to move any furniture for this to fit.”

“Well….maybe just a little but it is perfect for you Ricky. I want to get this for you. I love you Ricky.”

“Lucy, let me watch the football game. I’ll think about it.”

“Oh  Ricky, thank you! I knew you would like it too!”

“I didn’t say I like it Lucy. I said I want to watch the football game.”

“Okay, Ricky. You just go ahead and watch the game and I won’t bother you anymore.”

Lucy continues scanning through the list of couches and comes across another one. She likes the description but is not sold on it like she was the first one. She writes down the information and the address as a backup.

While Ricky enjoys the game, Lucy gets on the phone and makes arrangements to meet with the owner of the first couch. Although it is in Pittsburgh, PA and Lucy and Ricky live in Struthers, Ohio, she is determined that this is the couch for them.

She then lines up a U-Haul truck, sure she will be bringing home this baby for Ricky. All the arrangements are made for an hour or more trip to Pittsburgh the following weekend. On Saturday, Ricky and Lucy go to the U-Haul rental place, put down a deposit, sign all the paperwork, and drive off. Lucy can’t contain herself. She is going to get a great couch for Ricky. They have a nice drive toward Pittsburgh. Once getting into Pittsburgh, they realize that the address of the couch owner happens to be on one of the busiest streets in Pittsburgh. If you have ever driven in Pittsburgh, you know it is not easy to get around that city without getting lost. Finally, they come upon the correct address.

“Lucy, I don’t know about this place,” Ricky says. “This doesn’t look so great to me.”

“Oh come on Ricky, don’t be a spoilsport. Let’s go see the couch. I’ll bet it is a great one. You know we couldn’t get the same thing in a store for this price.”

They climb up the steps to the porch, having parked the U-Haul in the street and hoping not to get a ticket. The owner opens the door as soon as they get on the porch before they even knock.

“Hi there!” Lucy says with a big grin on her face. “We’re here to buy the couch you had on Craig’s list.”

“It’s right there ma’am,” he says as he points to a couch that had been sitting on the porch for quite a while.

“Oh. That’s it? Ummm….what is this between the cushions? Pretzels? Cookies? Oh here’s some smashed chocolate,” Lucy sighs. “How long has this been on the porch?”

“I don’t know, maybe a year or two. Sit down, try it out. You’re gonna’ love this couch. It is so comfortable. We bring the t.v. out here on the porch, and all the guys in the neighborhood come over and plop down with their beers and snacks and watch the game. Go Steelers!” He lets out a loud burp as Lucy looks at Ricky who is shaking his head no.

“Well thank you very much sir for letting us see your couch. We have one more to look at before we make our decision,” Lucy explains.

Ricky takes hold of Lucy’s arm and guides her quickly to the car. “Well, nice and comfy, will fit right into our décor will it?”

“Oh Ricky. I was just trying to do something really nice for you. You work so hard and deserve only the best. I can’t afford to buy you a new couch so I thought this would be the perfect one for you,” she says almost crying.

“Well this is not the one for me that is for sure.”

“Ricky, if you don’t mind driving a little farther in this U-haul that is getting less than 10 mpg, I have a backup couch to look at.”

The day is long over and Ricky drives the U-Haul back to Struthers, Ohio while Lucy sits sleepily beside him. “You know Lucy, we wasted a whole day, paid for the rental of this U-Haul and the gas, and we still don’t have a new couch.”

“I know Ricky and I am so sorry about that. But don’t forget about the time I did get us a commercial size bounce around for the boys from Craig’s List.”

“Yes, Lucy, I do remember that. We picked it up and it didn’t have the inflator.”

“That’s right Ricky, it didn’t. But I found us one didn’t I? And it was on Craig’s List too.”

“Yes, Lucy, it was. We drove from Struthers, Ohio to Cleveland to pick it up and then you wanted to make sure the bounce around didn’t have any holes in it before you paid for the inflator. So the nice guy let us use the inflator to blow up the bounce around in his warehouse.”

“That’s right Ricky! Wasn’t that nice of him? Imagine if we would have bought the inflator and it didn’t work? We would have spent money on something bad.”

“Oh that was very nice of him for sure Lucy. But he didn’t like it when all those bugs crawled out of the folded up bounce around as it was inflating. Do you remember how we had to clean his warehouse afterward?”

“Oh Ricky. I know. It was my fault. But look, the boys have a nice bounce around in the back yard now.”

“Yes they do Lucy, and they love it. You are a good mother and wife. I know you meant well today. We had a day out together without the boys and got to see beautiful Pittsburgh.”

“Go Steelers!” Lucy exclaims.