I wasn't going to mention this until later, but this guy had a Rangemaster Schlockwood Proccessor and other accessories package deal on Craigslist in Wisconsin. It had been up there for 20 days before I happened to see it. It stayed local pickup and cash only, but I emailed anyway about a week ago asking if he would consider shipping it. I waited 3 days without a reply - which is understandable since he clearly stayed local pickup and cash only..
Here's a copy of the Craiglist Ad, as of this morning it's been removed:
FCC Part 15 accepted AM transmitter that can be used without a license. FCC ID# NWXAM1000.
Included: Transmitter, Instruction/set up CD, Whip and Telescopic antenna, Schlockwood Audio Processor with manual, Audio link transmitter and receiver, Control Box, Control and hook up cables, Power Supplies, Hard case, Portable Mounting stand
The transmitter is enclosed in a weatherproof box. It has a radial range of approximately 1 mile. $400 or best offer. Sold as is where is. Cash and local pickup only.
So yesterday I emailed him again saying I could arrange someone to come to his house with cash (using some kind of courrier service), this time he replied and said that would be acceptable and to keep him informed, and then he removed the posting from Craigslist this morning after after 23 days, So it's just a matter of me figuring out how to complete the transaction. Last night and today I've been exploring how to go about this.
Getting someone to pick it up is the easy part.. for that matter I could simply schedule a UPS pickup, but the problem is the cash transaction - I can't seem to figure out how to go about that.. Does anyone have any suggestions?
OMG! .. I thought our deal was all but done! His correspondence was so accommodating and assuring. But this email just came in:
@richpowers Too bad as the transmitter and the Schlockwood would have been nice.
Good question about how to get someone cash with a courier.
Too bad he wouldn't accept paypal.
Oh, man!!! I looked at this same deal but saw the local pickup and knew I couldn't do it. Would have been a sweet deal for you; I'm so sorry!
I'm kind of sick about it now, it all happened so fast. I'm not sure how it was I even happened across it, but as soon as I saw it last week even though it clearly said local pickup and cash only, I still emailed asking if he would consider shipping it, but got no reply. So after three days I tried again saying I could hire a courrier to pay cash and pick it up to drop at a UPS for shipping to me -- even though I had no idea how to go about it, and quite frankly it would have left me completely broke for the next two weeks (I mean completely broke, as in not even money for food! But I knew I could figure something out, but the fact was I have less than $500 left in the bank until the 1st of the month, so there was no way I could give him his $400 despite it being an incredible bargain, so I offered him $300 so I'd have enough to pay the courrier and UPS shipping too (which was going to be at least another $150) and his reply was very accommodating and he told me I could have one or both antennas, and how the non retractable one would be packaged in a pvc tube and some other specifications...
So all I had left to do was figure out how to place $300 cash in his hands, and that's where things got tricky.
First went to Goshare, but that wasn't so simple. The problem was I couldn't just hire someone for the task because I needed to converse with them first and figure out how to set the cash transaction with them, but the only way to communicate was to first enter my cc info to pay to hire their minimum 2 hours at $45 an hour first. - I almost did it, but backed off because it appeared I wasn't going to have enough money left for the UPS shipment itself. Frustrated I tried TaskRabbit and using it didn't seem as clear and then tried another and was really getting nowhere - because frankly I didn't really have enough money to play with - so I emailed him and said I was considering sending him cash money inside a small insured package and then simply schedule a UPS pick-up.
It could of worked but I think he just changed his mind about the whole thing because the whole thing was begining to sound sketchy and he was already getting $100 less than his asking price. (Although it did say OBO and had been up there about a month with no takers -- But I would have paid the full $400 in a heartbeat, but then I couldn't hire anyone to pick up.
Within a few hours he pulled the deal of the table and Craigslist and told me he sold it to the campground for $400 -- maybe he did, but I think what really happened is that I handled the whole thing so sloppy that he decided to just not deal with me.
So yeah, Now I'm feeling depressed about the whole thing now.. at first it felt like fate or something a Rangemaster and a Schlockwood for $400!! Like Wow! I was so excited when he accepted my offer and it all seemed a sure thing..
It could of been but I screwed up the deal all by myself. - So now I feel completely bummed out about the whole episode.
I'm embarrassed and depressed over my poor moves, but at least now I won't have to figure out how to keep myself fed for the rest of the month, and fact is I didn't really need another transmitter and proccessor anyway -- But man, I sure did want it. It was an incredible deal. I was in heaven for a few hours!
@richpowers Too bad as the transmitter and the Schlockwood would have been nice.
Good question about how to get someone cash with a courier.
Too bad he wouldn't accept paypal.
Yeah, that would have made it simple, I would have paid him any method he wanted, I could have deposited it directly in his bank any number of ways, but he was set on cash money on pickup. He just didn't want to have anything to do with anything other than a direct transaction, If I had been him I would have put it on eBay, he probably could have gotten around $800 for the package there - but I guess he just didn't want anything to do with the hassles involved with that.
I wish I never saw the ad at all! I'm really sick about how I mishandled the whole thing. It's my own fault for screwing it up.
Don't kick yourself about this; you were trying to make something happen that the seller didn't really want to do in the first place. You got really close! I'm impressed you were able to come up with the options you did.
...AND, you get to eat for the next couple of weeks, so that's a bonus. 😀