Somebody console me. Tell me you've been there, too.

[Jon1270]

I missed out on a Craigslist saw advertised yesterday evening. I opened up my usual search to browse whatever new stuff might have appeared, and three hours earlier someone nearby had advertised a Husqvarna 262XP in good running condition.

For $75.

I did some quick research and learned it was one of the most desirable Husky models ever. I called, but of course it was already gone.

I'm finding it difficult to cope.

 

[smokinj]

I missed 2-372's by less than a min. 275.00

 

[mikefrommaine]

Call first, then decide if you want it.

That's what I did with my 254xp. Didn't really know what it was -- similar to the 262xp but with a different top end and a shorter connecting rod so that it rev's faster and lighter weight. It is quickly becoming my favorite. Now I'm looking for a 262 and 242 to go with it.


Feel your pain.

 

[Jon1270]

Call first, then decide if you want it.

That's probably good advice, though it wouldn't have helped me in this case. The seller sounded like he was kicking himself a bit for not researching the saw's value before advertising it. He had no idea it was such a coveted saw, but the number of early responses clarified things. He surely made someone very happy.

 

[NH_Wood]

That's probably good advice, though it wouldn't have helped me in this case. The seller sounded like he was kicking himself a bit for not researching the saw's value before advertising it. He had no idea it was such a coveted saw, but the number of early responses clarified things. He surely made someone very happy.

Very true - I've seen lots of posts for good saws at cheap prices - the number of early calls lets to owner know the value. I've seen posts disappear and reappear in a few days at a much higher price. This is one reason why responding very quickly and being ready to drive to the saw immediately is so important to score the best deals. Why, oh why, do we do this????? Cheers!

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Since I have a saw that won't need replacing for another 20 years or so I don't look at CL for saws. Did that help?

 

[Jon1270]

...I don't look at CL for saws. Did that help?

It should help, but it doesn't. Rationally, I don't need another saw; the one I have is pretty good, and it will be a year or so before I have space to store any more scrounged wood. But as an activity, searching for a good, cheap used saw feels almost exactly like fishing; even with nothing in the boat, there's no telling what lunkers might be hiding just below the surface.

 

[num1hitter]

I missed at Stihl ms362 in very good condition for $250. It looked very clean and was 5 minutes from my house but I was no more than 30 minutes late contacting the seller. So I am sure we all have been there.

 

[Sprinter]

I've been there too. I've hated it every time. Bet that it's happened to about everyone that follows the Gear forum.

It only hurts for a little while...

 

[fossil]

Never happened to me. Hard to relate. Sorry.

 

[coaly]

Worse when the wife says "You REALLY need another one"??

Then a week later as the depression peaks, you get the "You could have gotten it if you REALLY wanted it" !!

 

[osagebow]

Sorry to hear.
I just missed out on the exact pop up camper I wanted for 1/2 the NADA price only 40 minutes away.
Might get a similar one up there in the 'burgh later in the month for 500 bucks more if it's still there.

OK, your turn - console ME about the Penguins

 

[StihlHead]

There are always deals that are missed on CL. Unless you are online constantly to read all the new posts, you miss a lot of great deals. Its a random thing. I have missed out on so many things I have called on. But... I have also gotten a lot of good deals there. I got a stainless steel Whirlpool D/W last week for $50. The thing is like new, they only replaced it because their 3 year old daughter liked to turn the knob and start it up, so they replaced it with a newer one with buttons instead of a dial. In the last 2 years I have gotten free laminate flooring, free Stanley steel doors, free sheetrock and wall mud, about 8 cords of free firewood of all types, and lots of cheap tools. A few years ago I was buying an average of a chainsaw a week when the economy was tanking. I also got a Brush Bandit 90 chipper for less than 2 grand in good working condition.

So... some days are good, some days are not so good. You will live to find a great deal and be the first one there with the cash (or not if its free). Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next month. Yah never know. I missed out on two things here last week: A Traeger 'lil Texas grill for $50 and a Stihl 034 Super chainsaw for $85. But I got a great deal for the D/W that I have been looking for. I am not beating myself up for missing the best deals. A lot of CL ads are scams or fakes. Some are looking for email addresses of people with specific interests. Some are pranks. Last year I went to an address for free firewood, and there were 10 other people there also looking for fire wood that did not exist. Some kids were probably laughing at us from a bedroom window.

 

[mikefrommaine]

At least you didn't drive 40 miles to see the slimebag selling the saw to another guy for $50 more then you had agreed on. BTDT

 

[Jon1270]

At least you didn't drive 40 miles to see the slimebag selling the saw to another guy for $50 more then you had agreed on. BTDT

Hey, this is therapy; you're not supposed to bring back more painful memories! . Somewhere around 1991 I was 21 years old, cash was extremely tight, and at a weekend garage sale I found a '69 Honda Dream motorcycle in boxes and crates, The guy wanted $50 for it, but he wasn't even sure whether it was all there, so nobody was buying. To most people, it was just boxes of junk. I could swing the $50, just barely, but not if anything significant were missing since parts for a '69 Dream were pretty much impossible to come by at the time. There was no eBay. There was barely even an internet.

I was a folder operator in a bindery, loading big stacks of paper onto a feeder mechanism and stacking the folded pamphlets (or catalogs or coupon booklets or whatever they were) in boxes as they came off the other end of the machine. There were moments of idle time in the process, and that Monday I used all those spare moments to brainstorm a list of every component of a typical motorcycle, going back and forth over an imaginary bike, writing down every component, with the folder clack clack clacking for hours. At the end of the day I drove back to the house where the sale had been, and spent another hour or two emptying the boxes and crates, spreading their contents across the driveway, going over my list. The seller patiently waited nearby, chatting with a friend. Amazingly, it was all there -- every footpeg, carburetor boot, muffler clamp, headlight bezel and turn signal switch.

The moment I declared it complete, the seller's friend reacted with surprise. There followed a moment of urgent, furtive talk over in a shadowy corner near the garage while I was putting everything back into the boxes and crates. I don't remember whether I approached the seller then or he came over to me, but literally as I was getting out my wallet to pay him, he said his friend hadn't realized that the bike was complete, and now his friend wanted to buy it, at a slightly higher price which I could not afford, And there was nothing I could do.

When I think of an archetypical slimebag, that is the guy I think of.

 

[Freeheat]

missed a newer 346xp for 100.00 , I was the first to call , the guy said its mine told me later his wife gave it to the neighbor.

 

[maple1]

Hey, this is therapy; you're not supposed to bring back more painful memories! . Somewhere around 1991 I was 21 years old, cash was extremely tight, and at a weekend garage sale I found a '69 Honda Dream motorcycle in boxes and crates, The guy wanted $50 for it, but he wasn't even sure whether it was all there, so nobody was buying. To most people, it was just boxes of junk. I could swing the $50, just barely, but not if anything significant were missing since parts for a '69 Dream were pretty much impossible to come by at the time. There was no eBay. There was barely even an internet.

I was a folder operator in a bindery, loading big stacks of paper onto a feeder mechanism and stacking the folded pamphlets (or catalogs or coupon booklets or whatever they were) in boxes as they came off the other end of the machine. There were moments of idle time in the process, and that Monday I used all those spare moments to brainstorm a list of every component of a typical motorcycle, going back and forth over an imaginary bike, writing down every component, with the folder clack clack clacking for hours. At the end of the day I drove back to the house where the sale had been, and spent another hour or two emptying the boxes and crates, spreading their contents across the driveway, going over my list. The seller patiently waited nearby, chatting with a friend. Amazingly, it was all there -- every footpeg, carburetor boot, muffler clamp, headlight bezel and turn signal switch.

The moment I declared it complete, the seller's friend reacted with surprise. There followed a moment of urgent, furtive talk over in a shadowy corner near the garage while I was putting everything back into the boxes and crates. I don't remember whether I approached the seller then or he came over to me, but literally as I was getting out my wallet to pay him, he said his friend hadn't realized that the bike was complete, and now his friend wanted to buy it, at a slightly higher price which I could not afford, And there was nothing I could do.

When I think of an archetypical slimebag, that is the guy I think of.

That would suck immensely.

Brings another aspect of this stuff to light - play your cards close to your chest, and contain your excitement.

Quite a lot like poker.