It takes all kinds

So after the last swing fiasco, I decided to give Craigslist one more try. Hubby just wanted to go and buy a new swing. But, I found an even better one and I offered the girl only $10 more than the other swing cost. It was $15 less than she was asking, but she put in OBO, so if it didn't work out, then we'd go and get a new swing.

The seller accepted my bid and called me early this morning to arrange pick=up/drop-off. She said she had a meeting in town and she could drop it by. I suggested we meet at the local restaurant her meeting was at, since the girls and I were going to playgroup. (something I need to go to for me and Cookie). The girl said the swing did not have batteries in it since it also plugs in. I asked how many and what size, I would bring them, but I wanted to make sure the thing worked. Agreed. She did try to get me to go up in price, I refused. She then said that two of the Mobile toys were missing, but they had ordered more of them for $8 and she thought I should pay for them at least. I told her I really didn't care about the Mobile toys that all I wanted was something that went back and forth, so if she wanted to sell to someone else who was willing to pay more, then no problem. She replied, that she still wanted to sell to me.

So, I showed up on time to said restaurant, and two minutes later got a call from seller. She said she was on her way, but meeting had been changed to another restaurant down the street. I said I'd be glad to go there. Five minutes later we meet. Swing looks good, but seller says," do you happen to have a screwdriver? I forgot that I needed one for the batteries." Ummm, no I do not have a screwdriver, but if I was in Hubby's car I most likely would have had one. We tried to get them off w/ keys, but they were on too tight. Ten minutes later, I am still struggling to remove the battery cover. I tell her, "look if I can't tell if it works, then this is not a sale. You can sell to someone else if you prefer." She starts to panic, "maybe you can just buy it and if it doesn't work, e-mail me and I will give you your money back." I respond, "that's not good for me. Maybe said restaurant has an outlet out front we can use to plug this thing in." I look, they do. We drive the cars to the front of the building, plug it in and it works. Deal is made, money exchanged. She tells me that she will let me know when she gets the toys and we can arrange a pick-up or mail. I told her "no worries, no big deal. Thanks" It is now 30 minutes later than meet time. We go our separate ways.

Fast forward two hours I get the following e-mail:

i talked to my fionce and he said that because we sold the swing so cheap that you would have to order the mobile toys and he's gonna cancel the order, or you can buy those for the price of them and shipping. he said that the swing was in great condition and was sold for less than half of what we paid 5months ago. so i'm sorry i didn't let you know when i saw you, he just called me and let me know this. so i have your money so if this changes your mind let me know and i can give you your money back.
if you have any questions you can call me
thanks
becky

My reply:

I really do not need the extra mobile toys. These are one of the things that happens when one purchases off of Craigslist, which is why I was so adamant about checking to see if the swing actually worked. Your Fiance can rest easy, you will not be out the shipping and price of them. Besides, I can put any toy on the mobile.

She then responded:

he said that if you paid near what it was worth he wouldn't have cancelled his order. but i understand why he did. and i knew the swing worked and was worth more than what you paid, plus i was late to a real important meeting, and that didn't even bother you, that shows what kinda person you are. enjoy the swing.

It took a lot to not respond again. I mean really, I gave her two opportunities to back out...I even told her I did not care about those frickin toys. And I did show care about her "important meeting" I drove to the new site, which was I was told when I got there changed back to the other restaurant, I tried to end the sale when we couldn't get the battery thing opened. And who shows up for an "important meeting" with their 9 month old wearing jeans and a t-shirt? And I will enjoy the swing, which we did in fact get for a really good price. But she accepted it! And I am glad she knew the swing worked, but I didn't! It takes all kinds.

I am not completely turned off by this experience because I have a bunch of wonderful success stories. But I will be careful to meet in public places and not my home, as I don't want these crazy people to come and find me.