So I bought a thing for $15 the other day. So what? you may say, and you would probably be right. It’s just that, like many people, on account of the lockdown and the cold weather and a Better Half’s Too-Due List I’ve been purging.
Not that kind of purging involving medicinal assistance, the kind where you go through a bunch of stuff you’ve had around for eons and that you know you don’t need anymore and the stuff the Better Half always gives the evil eye so you gather it all up and take photos of each thing and put them online with a virtual “For Sale” sign on each of them.
Thing is, when you open up that kettle of worms by jumping on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace or eBay, you might just end up un-purging, as it were. I know I do. Because you notice neat stuff you just have to have and then you end up purchasing instead of selling and the whole purge idea goes upside down.
So I was selling a nice little guitar effects pedal thingy the other day on account of I have way too many of those and I’m not really a guitar player anyway but I like to think I will be some day. And a fellow clicked on my online post and made an offer and I clicked Okey Dokey and he dropped by to pick up the pedal.
It was instantly obvious he was a true-blue Canuk on account of it was minus many C outside and he came to the door in a parka and summer shorts. He happily stood on the stoop (which on our house is just a step) and we chatted about guitars etc. and the deal was done and off he went. So I immediately tromp down to my office and go online to remove my listing and I happen to see a new For Sale post for a $15 guitar cable. It was surprisingly easy to convince myself that I really, really needed that little cable. So I messaged the Post person, got his address, found fifteen beans stashed in my sock drawer and headed on over.
In the car I activated “Gina” the voice in my GPS, entered the dude’s address and drove about ten blocks to his house. It’s freezing out so I’m knocking on the door with my hood up, my facemask on, holding out a ten and five in my shivering, mittened hands. A guy opens the door about a centimeter and peaks out. He doesn’t look pleased. “What do you want?” he grunts grumpily. “I’m here to pick up the patch cable” I say brightly. “What??” he grunts grumpily times two.
Yes, Gina had led me astray. To the wrong house. Turns out I was supposed to go to a ‘street’ not a ‘crescent’. OK, I may have inputted the address incorrectly in my excitement to snag a nice little cable for fifteen bucks, but I’m still blaming it on the GPS. When in doubt blame it on your phone.
Maybe you can see where this is going. I finally arrive at the correct house and guess who answers the door! The Grumpy Guy! No, just kidding. Yep, it was the Canuk with the parka and shorts – and he has the much anticipated guitar cable in his hand.
“It’s you!” he says. “It’s you, too!” I say back, and we have right old chuckle about how we could have done this much easier as a swap and isn’t life weird sometimes.
That’s the thing about online buy-and-sell – it can be great or it can be grumpy. Just like real life.
Harley Hay is a Red Deer author and filmmaker. Send him a column idea to harleyhay1@hotmail.com.