A while back I asked my sister-in-law what I should get for my niece's upcoming 3rd birthday. I was told a sandbox or other outdoor toys.
I checked the price of a plastic sandbox at a local department/discount store and quickly decided that $60 was way too much for a piece of formed plastic. I'd go buy a couple 2x4's and build a sandbox in the yard before I'd spend $60 on a plastic one.
I commenced surfing on Craig's List and found a number of ads that said "Wanted: Child's sandbox" or some similar statement and figured that if there were any actual plastic sandboxes listed, they'd already been snatched up by the people who "Wanted" them. Fortunately, there turned out to be a nice, red, ladybug sandbox still available. So, I arranged a time to meet with the seller and drove up to her house.
We had a nice chat about life, how her daughter has graduated to a larger sandbox, and all sorts of things. We probably chatted for more than 10 minutes. Then, down to business. The sandbox had been listed for $30 online. It's in good shape and has an attached lid to keep the water out. I offered $25. She said, "Oh, I'll take $20." I stood there for a moment slightly confused and thinking, "Does she know how the barter system works?" It turns out that someone else had offered her $20 via email and she thought it was me! Ha!
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