Tag: movie seats line

Trade #15: iPad Mini 2 for 2009 iMac 20″ desktop

iPad Mini 2 for 2009 iMac

Jeez, sometimes these trades happen fast.

It’d been weeks since I traded the power drill for the iPad Mini, and I wasn’t seeing a lot of interest. Not only was I not receiving many emails about the iPad, but Facebook began showing the number of views again for Marketplace items, and…

Yikes.

Recently I haven’t been quite as active in making offers as I had been earlier on in the project. I was letting offers come to me, and that slowed things quite a bit. It started to make me question whether this had been a good trade at all.

But, I started reaching out again, offering the iPad in exchange for music gear, or iPhones, or mini bikes (seriously, I’d love to have a mini bike to trade!). Yesterday around 3:30pm, as my work day was winding down, I messaged a guy on Facebook who was selling an iMac that looked to be in great shape. We went back and forth a little, and it took a little convincing (nothing improper — he wasn’t sure the iPad was worth the trade, and I reminded him of the cases that were included, which I suppose he found convincing), but around 4pm he agreed.

“I’m home now, but at 5pm I leave.” He was in Point Richmond, and I made it there with 15 minutes to spare. We were masked up and made the trade, and I plugged it in and booted it up as soon as I got home. (It’s always a risk when you can’t check an item’s working condition on-site, but there’s no way I’m going inside anyone else’s house for a damn trade right now, or maybe ever.)

So, lesson learned. This project moves a lot more quickly when I’m out there actively making offers, including on listings in which the seller makes no mention of being open to trades. I’ve had offers turned down dozens of times by now, but sometimes they say yes.

Here’s hoping this one moves quickly.

Historic movie theater seats trading line:
Original item value: $110
Number of trades to date: 4
Latest trade: iPad Mini 2 ($225) for 2009 iMac ($300)
Total line value dollar increase: $190
Total line value percent increase: 173%

by Tags: , ,

Trade #10: Ecovacs DEEBOT N79W robot vacuum for DeWalt 20v brushless power drill

DeWalt 20v Brushless power drill

Not a ton to this story, but it’s kind of a sweet one. I reached out to Mike (not his real name) when I saw his drill advertised on Facebook Marketplace. I asked him if he’d be open to a trade for a new-in-box robo-vacuum. Initially he was like, “Awwwww man I really could’ve used one of those like 7 months ago, but I’m set now.” I figured that was the end of it a moved on.

The robot in question (the Ecovacs Deebot N79@ vacuum robot)

But he wrote me again, asking me to confirm that it was brand new and never used. He’d been telling his boss about it, whose wife had been wanting one. We talked a bit more, answered some more questions, made a plan and met up on a Saturday in Pinole. Both he and his boss were there in their work truck, and his boss seemed really happy! This was gonna be a Mother’s Day gift for his wife the next day, and he was pleased. Masked up, wiped our items down, stayed away from each other and made the trade in a Starbucks parking lot.

I’ve been thinking about this trade and I think what Mike did was pretty dope. He had listed his drill for like $150 or something and was looking for cash, but instead of that he traded for a thing for his boss/friend so he’d have a solid gift for his wife. Good guy Mike.

And I was happy with the drill. Nothing fancy, nothing special, just a drill, battery, charger, and bag, all practically new. I guess Mike had picked it up and then soon after got a better drill set.

So, as is ideal in this project, this was a classic win-win, and the line value climbed a little.

Historic movie theater seats trading line:
Original item value: $110
Number of trades to date: 2
Latest trade: Ecovacs Deebot N79@ vacuum robot ($125) for DeWalt 20v Brushless power drill ($150)
Total line value dollar increase: $40
Total line value percent increase: 36.4%

by Tags: , , , ,