Burned on Craigslist...Lesson Learned

I expected to have a rock star blog for you today. I wanted to share a story about how my new hobby of "Craigslisting" was taking off and tell you about how I found my first killer find and post all kinds of pictures, but instead I come before you humbled and slightly irritated.

I did, in fact, answer an ad yesterday. A guy out in John's Creek, Georgia was looking to unload a beautiful china cabinet. He said that he was moving and just didn't have time to sell it. He wanted someone to pick it up. He couldn't help load it, but he'd hold it. I instantly responded and asked him to pllleeeeaaassseee hold it for me. I told him that I too was moving, but that I needed furniture. He replied with a quick email saying that he appreciated my politeness that that the china cabinet and dresser were mine as long as I picked them up today.

Pick them up today....there was my first problem. My new favorite toy, the ES 330 that I bought myself for my birthday, is roomy, but not THAT roomy. I don't know anyone with a truck...shoot! Ok. I decide to rent a truck. After some research I come to the conclusion that the $50 I would spend on the U-Haul was much cheaper than the hundreds of dollars that pretty piece of furniture was worth.

Second problem...Although I think I'm She-Ra and believe that I can do anything; I know that I have my limitations. How the heck was I going to get this on the massive piece of heavy wooden furniture on the truck? I put out a desperate plea on Facebook (because that's where all my close intimate friendships are right?) but no one answered. Then I called two of my closest friends. When my girl, Karlyn Benn of Inspyre You Health and Wellness, said yes I almost did a back flip. Third problem...I've never driven a U-Haul before. No problem. I would add this to my list of something new for the month of March...even sweeter.

Being a keen observer you've probably noticed that there are no pictures of my tale. There is no evidence because after plopping down the money for the truck and driving all of the way to John's Creek and pulling up in the driveway of a million dollar home in the 14ft U-Haul, I was informed that it was all a cruel joke. There was no china cabinet. There was no really cute dresser. There was no Mark Heydari at yahoo.com. It was all someone's cute joke and a LOT of people had fallen for it. The woman who answered the door said that people had been ringing her doorbell all day. Whoa is me.

My pride took a hit and so did my wallet. The cost of gas, tape, the truck, the dolly and the chocolate that I purchased so nurse my wounds...added up really quickly, but the lesson learned was priceless. I should have requested a phone number. I should I have at least spoken to the seller. I entered into a business arrangement completely blind. I never assessed what was in it for him. I did what I warn people about all of the time. I saw something that looked good and worked really hard to obtain it without doing my research. Shame on you Coach Drea!

I guess at the end of the day $100 was not a lot to lose for such a valuable reminder. I could have hid my little adventure and swore Karlyn to secrecy, but I decided to save you $100 or more by sharing this little reminder with you so that the next time you enter into a business arrangement no matter how big or small you have me to think about. Now you pay it forward and share my experience with a friend.

Live Well Ladies,

Coach Drea