siknerd.com - Home of the World Famous iRANT

I just read that the "Tonight Show" will resume taping starting January 2nd. Because of the writer's strike, the show will be performed without the aid of comedy writers--which prompts the obvious assessment: did the "Tonight Show" ever use comedy writers? During the course of my thorough investigations (i.e., flipping through the channels), I never saw anything funny on the "Tonight Show." Without the aid of 'comedy writers,' the show might actually get funny. Maybe Jay Leno oughta pull a Carson Daly and take jokes from fans.

The buy/sale of a used car is a unique experience because all parties involved know the asking price isn't going to be the final sale price. The buyer has to knock the seller down a few bucks so he feels like he's getting a bargain. The seller has to accept the offer because he wants the cash. With every used car I've bought, there's always been a little haggle.

Now that I'm selling my CRX, I'm seeing it from the other side. And because I know I'll hafta come down in price when someone makes me an offer, I'm asking for more than what I really want. When I knock off a couple hundred bucks, the buyer feels like he got a win--and I get what I wanted in the first place.

Of course, I can't simply sell my car for what I want--it would totally disrupt the space time continuum and the universe will be all out of whack. If I asked for what I really wanted, then I'm gonna get buyers who give me real lowball offers and we won't be able to haggle. I gotta overcharge so any perspective buyer feels like he's getting A Deal.

On Sunday, I got a call from someone who wanted to purchase my CRX. They asked a few question about the car and decided they wanted to see it. "You're asking $3000, but what's your bottom line?"

Playing the game, I told him that I really wanted $3000 but would consider $2800. The buyer seemed very pleased with that. While we never officially agreeing to a price, he knew that if he offered me $2800, I would take it. A few more questions were asked and we eventually agreed to meet Tuesday night to see the car.

The buyer was coming from Redneck Valley--a 90-minute drive. While it might seem foolish to drive almost 100 miles to buy a 19-year old car, the CRX is a hard find and has many loyalists. Last week I got a call from a kid who lived 60 minutes away. Of course, he never showed up.

Maybe it's because I'm an eternal pessimist, but I knew better. Redneck Valley is hella far. The potential buyer told me he wouldn't be able to leave work until after five--meaning he'd also hafta fight traffic coming down here. Don't count you chickens before your eggs hatch...or something like that. All I know is I gave him my name, address, and phone number and the dude never showed up.

And that really bothers me. Luckily I wasn't too affected by his no-show. I ate dinner and did laundry like I would have if I didn't have an appointment to show the car. I didn't stress over cleaning the car out because...

a) I'm lazy.
b) I figured he wouldn't show.
c) I knew it'd be pitch black by the time he made it down here.

But I know a lot of folks would jump through hoops when trying to sell a car. I'm in a unique position because I don't hafta sell my car. It'd be nice, but I am in no way inconvenienced by having it. I don't need the cash and it only cost me like 60 bucks a year to insure a second car. But the buyer I spoke to had no way of knowing that. For all they knew, I could have been detailing the car and hiring supermodels to make a better sales pitch.

I don't understand why they didn't take 30 seconds to call me and let me know they weren't gonna come. To me, it just seems like good'ole fashion decency. Instead of leaving someone waiting around, why not let them know you're not interested? It just seems like the right thing to do.

But I guess taking the easy way out is just human nature. Maybe folks are trying to avoid an argument. Maybe they're just trying to avoid disappointing me by saying they're not interested (yeah, because sitting around waiting isn't disappointing). I don't know--I'm not an anthropologist. It's just rather annoying.

I got the person's phone number. I thought about calling them back tonight...say around half past midnight...and asking them if they got lost or were on their way. I'm not desperately seeking a sale so I don't hafta kiss their asses or anything.

But I got a better idea. I think I'm gonna call them tomorrow and see what happened. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll still be interested. We can arrange a meet for the weekend. They can drive down from Redneck Valley. Upon liking the car, they can offer me $2800...and I can hold firm to my asking price of $3000. I told them I'd consider $2800--but never agreed to it. Out of principle, they'll refuse...and storm off wondering why I wasted their time. Because a simple phone call could have saved them a 90-minute drive.

But that could be the anger talking.