craigslist - To buy or not?

My First craigslist Purchase

I'm a craigslist stalker. I will look at pets and houses for rent for hours, but when it comes to actually purchasing anything or contacting anyone, I have always stopped. Until this holiday season.

I decided, after browsing bikes all during June for Tyler's birthday, to actually go through with buying him a road bike for Christmas this year. I enlisted the help of our cyclist pastor at church, and he willingly helped me wade through the waves of road bikes available on craigslist.

After checking on Tyler's inseam size and such, we emailed back and forth about one bike. And then I took the plunge. I texted the girl who had it listed. And she responded. Ahhh!

I decided to meet her at a park near her house to check out the bike.

Tyler has more room in his trunk, so obviously I decided to use his car to go get the bike. But this particular day progressed like so:

Tyler: I think I'm going to drive today instead of walking.

FOILED!

Then I decided to get his spare keys, take them to his work, trade our cars out, get the bike, take his car back, trade them back, and go home.

But the spare keys weren't any place to be found.

I call him.

Me: Hey. It's no big deal, but I just noticed your spare car keys aren't hanging up where they're supposed to be. I'm on my way to work.

Tyler: Oh yeah. I think they're in the console of my car.

FOILED AGAIN!

Obviously, I'm not going to ask him for his keys to get his spare keys out of the car, so I can trade cars and go get him his surprise bike. So, I made do with my car.

Surprisingly, the interaction with the girl was painless. She was nice, I paid her, got the bike, it fit in my trunk, and I took it to an undisclosed location for storage until late December. Thanks to those friends.

I then get home, content that I've gotten my first Christmas present (and it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet). Later that night, Tyler and Ethan talk with our next door neighbor, who proceeds to give Tyler his old road bike because he got into an accident and won't be using it anymore.

FOILED 3X!

Is this real life?

Flash-forward to yesterday, December 20, when I gave Tyler a wrapped kickstand and reflector from his bike, which was sitting in the kitchen.

His first response: "You didn't get me a bike, did you (we already have 6 bikes)? This must be for my mountain bike (which is also kickstand-less)."

I smile a little too big.

Tyler: Where is it?

Melissa: In the kitchen...

Then we discover the girl put the front fork on backwards and the tire is also on backwards.

Thus ends the bike saga and my first experience with craigslist. Maybe I'll use it again in the future if I want all of my plans to be thwarted.