Everyone seems to be looking to get something for nothing these days. If you don't believe me, try selling something - something big - which may be taking up space in the garage.
I had this silly notion to be rid of the camping trailer which has been occupying my garage for the five years I have been living on Wandering Way. Lately, it has become little more than another piece of horizontal space on which I could store any number of objects from motor oil to Christmas ornaments. Three weeks ago, a former co-worker dropped by unexpectedly - our conversation boiling down to my desire to find a good home to my trailer.
"Well I have this buddy who might be interested..." I was told, and about two weeks later, this former co-worker and three other people descended on my home wanting to see the camper. They had a truck and towed it out to the side yard where I cranked it up and told them about the various shortcomings of the contraption and seeing as how someone had offered me $1000 for the rig a couple of years ago without going to the trouble of pulling the thing out of my garage, I modestly asked for $800. Well, after pulling the thing out and after giving the device a going over, I was offered $500 under the provision that the air conditioner was in working condition. My former co-worker was to come by the next day to confirm that the AC was working so that the deal could be complete by the following weekend.
To this writing, the co-worker has not been back.
I now have a trailer sitting in my side yard with no real means of pulling it from place to place. Our fleet of vehicles now consists of economical four door sedans which don't have enough oomph to pull a trailer around the block, much less out to a campground or into my garage. My best alternative seemed to be to put a sign on the thing and hope that someone would be willing to take the thing and give it a good home. At first, I thought of putting it on sale on "Craig's List" using the following ad:
NOW OFFERING: 1995 Coleman/Fleetwood Rio Grande pop-up camper. Could sleep up to 6 (very friendly) people. Features ice chest, storage trunk and screened-in room. Frame is solid, AC works. There are a few quirks as should be expected with any 18 year old; but as something for a novice, or as something to take to the lake for "Fishin' and Drinkin'", this could be your ticket! $525 and you can have it today!
After thinking it over, I decided to delay a foray into Craig's list, unless I could find a way to advertise the camper as some sort of "Portable Rendezvous", offering it for sale in the "Personal's" section of the List.
So I purchased and put up a sign in front of the trailer, and so far I have had three "nibbles" - again from people wanting something for nothing.
The first came from a man who lived a couple of blocks away who initially wanted to trade a Tablet for the rig. I came to the conclusion that I already have enough computing power in my house to make several simultaneous moon landing and declined. He then mentioned that he had a hot tub, and since the other half and I have been bantering back and forth about getting a hot tub in our back yard, the idea seemed halfway plausible... that is until I did some reading and discovered that a "free" hot tub would eventually cost considerably more than the $500 I wanted out of the trailer. We passed.
I had a couple come with their son, driving a vehicle which would easily tow the camper almost anywhere. If the son had his way and the cash, the deal would have been done on the spot. His parents wanted to make a deal where they would pay $150 now and the remainder within 45 days. I am still working on that deal, as well as a similar deal with another party who wants to do the same thing.
I'm not a bank and I have this feeling that any such deal would "go south" before a final payment was made on the rig. I had previous problems with folks who just had to have something I owned (or had marginal ownership interest in) and have found myself in the position where the initial deal had been diluted by non-payment of the full amount agreed to when the deal was struck. Right now, I am offering a reasonably priced item for less than I really wanted for it and I really don't want to play "Banker". I'm not really inclined to prostitute myself any further.
The trailer will sit where it is until someone wants to pay cash.
There was a minor repair I had to make on the trailer on Friday evening after showing it for what seemed like the umteenth time. After finishing, I sat down inside for a good ten minutes before wrapping up the show and heading into the house. I contemplated the time I had spent with the trailer - some of the camping trips and the good times we had - and actually had half a notion to just take down the sign and see if my friend, Dave, still had the little GMC pickup truck he wasn't using sitting in his garage.
Maybe I could talk him into selling it to me for next to nothing - in installments.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
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