Am I an idiot for doing this?

[blackgnat]

My house is being foreclosed on and I have to be out of here in 4-6 weeks. I'm okay with it and have rented a cute little apartment.

 

I have put my 12 year old, pretty expensive NordicTrak treadmill on craigslist. I rarely used it and it's still in good condition. I set the price at $100. A lady called me and wants it. She's got a 50 minute drive from the inner city to the suburbs where I live. She asked if I'ld be willing to lower the price to $50 as she has to use gas to get up here and it's pretty expensive. I said fine. I want to get rid of the bloody thing and am not willing to take lots of calls or visits to see it and then have people decide they don't want it.

 

I would probably leave it behind when I get evicted if i didn't sell it.

 

Here's my thing. My son is going crazy with me giving it away so cheaply. He says I should put it on ebay and get more money for it. He's probably right but I can't be bothered with the hassle and I think it might be a nice way to pay it forward. I've rarely used it.

 

Now I feel stupid and like I am a patsy.

 

The almost ambivalent feeling I had about the treadmill has now stuck itself in my head as a problem.

 

I don't want to let the lady down. Why can't I just be Zen about it and say enjoy it and maybe it'll be good karma for me....

 

Am I an idiot for doing this? I feel crappy now as if I should have jacked up the price and not been a doormat.

 

ANy soothing words for me?

[lilypadgirl]

I want to get rid of the bloody thing and am not willing to take lots of calls or visits to see it and then have people decide they don't want it.

 

Sounds like a justified decision to me. Could you have gotten more money for it? Possibly and probably, but if it's not worth the hassle and trouble to you, then it's a reasonable decision. Plus, if you can't sell it before you have to move, you were going to just leave it behind, meaning $0 for it. If it's really bothering you, then just be more careful with future deals. But for this one, what you did was not idiotic.

 

P.S.: I think what you did was a very nice thing btw and I hope good karma for you too!

[laninaperdida]

I don't think your son's issue has little to do with a dusty treadmill and a lot to do with the fact that this treadmill (a mere possession) is being left behind.

Like his old life, you know?

Foreclosing is not easy to deal with emotionally so I think he's just holding on to whatever he can.

 

Get rid of it.

Seems like a decent thing to do.

Hopefully this lady will appreciate it, you know?

 

I think if you present the parting of this treadmill the way you have here in that you want to help someone out by giving them something you don't need he'll come around,

You 2 can probably even feel better about it!

[Alpine]

I don't think you're an idiot for selling it. When I moved overseas, I had to sell a lot of my old stuff as I couldn't bring it with me and didn't want to put it in storage. You would be surprised how difficult it is to sell decent items for good prices. Most of the stuff I sold for either under $100 or just gave it away for free. Sometimes the situation arises where you just want to get rid of it and not go through the hassle of trying to get a 'good price' (because that probably won't happen anyway!)

[redrose85]

Sometimes it just comes down to unloading items. I have given away or sold some things for really low prices simply because I knew someone else would benefit from it, and there is no point in continuing to store it or continuing to field calls from interested buyers. That’s how you find really good deals sometimes, so don’t fret.

[Tia Emma]

Since you won't be able to ship this thing, craiglist was the way to go. On ebay, you can end up with a buyer who files a paypal claim and you end up refunding the money but can't get the buyer to drive the treadmill back to you. With this lady from craiglist, she pays cash and the treadmill is gone. That's that, no more worries.

[SarahRose]

i think it was a great thing to do. i give stuff away and don't worry a bit about it because i know someone else is getting use from it and enjoying it. i would have used the situation as a teaching experience to your son that every thing isn't always about money.

 

i don't know why you let your kid make you feel foolish either. you are the parent. you are the teacher and one instilling values.

[blackgnat]

Thanks for the reassuring replies.

 

I let my kid make me feel foolish because I am not very practical when it comes to money, so that's my Achilles heel. I'm not going to change my mind about it, but I am sometimes impulsive and regret my decisions...