Search This Blog

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

MacBook Sold in Three Hours



You may recall that I bought a new MacBook Air at the beginning of November. It is the little two pound computer that I am typing on right now. It is Apple's latest little Mac that sells for $1000 and is sweeping the country. Supposedly - it is so small - that you can go through airport security without taking it out of your carry-on bag. We will see tomorrow when we travel north.

I kept my "old" MacBook for a month just in case I decided that the new little MacBook Air was not my style. But with the old MacBook sitting here collecting dust - yesterday I decided to sell it on Craigslist.

At 3 PM - I took several pictures of the computer and wrote the little sales ad. No sooner had I pressed the upload button than calls started coming in. The first lady wanted it for her high school daughter and they came over right away. I generally do not turn cash down - but the mother and daughter disagreed on a few things - so I sent them to Best Buy to look at all the Macs. Best Buy is less than a mile from our door.

While they were away examining the computers at Best Buy - calls started pouring in - 8 in all. I did something I usually do not do - I held the computer for the mother and daughter team. They did return and bought the computer. I advertised it for $800 - they offered $725 cash - and I took it - even though other callers offered the $800 over the phone. I am getting soft in my old age. A bird in the hand.

I do not like to sell to friends because if something goes wrong - I feel like a crook. But this MacBook has the AppleCare warranty - good until October 31st 2011. That means if anything goes wrong - Apple will fix it or replace the entire computer. I have had that actual experience of Apple sending me a brand new computer when they could not fix the DVD player on a three year old black iBook.

So now I am down to a MacBook Air - an iPad - and an iPhone. I am a perfect example of "all dressed up and nowhere to go." I would have killed for a lineup like this when I had a real job. I guess Ben Franklin would have loved having a Mac too.

You have to love Macs and Craigslist. In 3 hours - I took a picture - wrote an ad - sold a product - collected the cash - and removed the ad from Craigslist. No shipping - no tax - no waiting for payment. Pure capitalism.