Facebook and Craigslist Make Dreams Come True

What would I do without the Internet?

No, I didn't buy this couch. But I got a kick out of it!

I planned for this story to be about how much I love Craigslist. Then I realized that Facebook had a hand in this event as well. Because of these web sites, I now have the perfect couch, and it was downright cheap.

About a month ago I moved into a new place. I didn’t own a couch because my previous roommates had couches. So, without the roommates I was left without a couch. It was OK because I had chairs. Chairs are great for sitting in, but there are times when you just need a couch. I couldn’t afford a new couch, even with an online payday loan, so I was in the marked for a “gently used” couch

The Facebook incident

Sometimes I feel like I only talk to people on Facebook. I went several years without talking to my cousin, Jill. However, now that we’re friends on Facebook we talk all the time. In fact, Jill and I have gotten so close thanks to Facebook that she asked if she could come for a visit.

Of course I said yes, but it remained a vague concept — until yesterday. Yesterday I was on Facebook, playing Scrabble, of course, and my cousin sent me an instant message. Not only did I find out that she had gotten a job –hooray! — she said she wanted to come visit before she started her job in a  month. So we had a time frame.

Time to go to Craigslist

I was very excited for my cousin to come visit, but I had a concern. If she came to visit me in my one-bedroom apartment, where would she sleep? I had earlier thought that maybe I could go without a couch, but now I realized that I definitely needed a couch.

Even though there was really no hurry, I went right to Craigslist after I finished my Scrabble move. I had been thinking about getting a couch for a while, so I had definite standards in mind. I wanted to spend $100 or less. I wanted a couch that was made of Ultrasuede and long enough for me to lay down on without putting my head or feet on the armrests. I thought I wanted tan or beige or some such color, but that was before I saw …

The black couch

I started browsing the Craiglist ads, skipping over the ads asking more than $100 and giggling and a tie-dyed couch. Then, after only a minute or so, I clicked on an ad for a couch and chair set. It had a photo of a very comfy-looking black couch with a matching cushy chair. Why hadn’t I thought of black? It’s my favorite color!

Best of all, the guy was only asking $75 for the set! I called him up, but he said someone was already on the way to look at it. He said he’d call back if that person didn’t buy it. I was disappointed, but knew I had plenty of time to find something. To my surprise, he did call back. It made me nervous that the other people didn’t want it, but I called my truck guy anyway and we headed over.

Load it up!

The second I laid eyes on the couch, I loved it. It looked even better than the picture. I made sure I fit on it horizontally and checked for weird smells, and I was sold! Contrary to Craigslist tradition, I didn’t even haggle with the guy. I happily handed over the $75, and we loaded the couch and chair into the truck.

Imagine that, I got more than I was looking for, it cost less than I was willing to spend and on the very day I started looking. Only on Craiglist!