Why won't you....

[Mike in AZ]

For me its more about comfort zone than distance. I don't like to drive to areas I've never been to before with a 5-year old in the car asking how much longer =) I live in Surprise and while AT is at least a 30 min drive for me I don't mind it. I do skip the Tempe / Mesa areas just because I don't know the streets or landmarks in the area, and I don't want to wreck my car while watching street signs instead of traffic. No real other reason. If I want something bad enough and the price is right I'm not overly concerned with the distance of the drive.

 

[sltyncopa]

Np but most not all on here usually price things fairly so no problem there. No reason to get "screwed" tho: ):strooper:

If I don't like the price I will haggle over it BEFORE I show up to buy...but once I say I will pay a certain price, I do, if I end up getting screwed...my fault!

 

[K' Family Reef]

In economics its called opportunity cost. What that cost is is different for everyone though. For the hypothetical panhandler standing on the corner it may be $0.00 versus the time lost driving across the the valley for a 'great deal.' For the hypothetical doctor or lawyer the 'great deal' needs to be much larger or the time needs to be much smaller to offset the lost opportunity of other options. ie. standing on a corner or doctoring so to speak.

good point


"how much is ones 'time' worth ???!?!!!!!!!!"
(monetary and otherwise)



we have a person who helps us out around the house
she rides the bus 2 hours each way to get here = ((((4 hrs/day on bus)))))... SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE but its something she reports she 'enjoys' doing or atleast doesnt mind anyway (and we do pay her 'well')- likes to read books and stop at different places a long the way, seeing friends etc (of course she would rather have a car!) says she has been doing it for a long time so she is used to it...

so perhaps 'how-much-her-time-is-worth' (working this job)
has more 'worth' or 'value' for the freedom it brings... VS working a regular job 8-5 where she would just go to/fro - home/work and never get out or do anything else... ???





and referring to the example above

the HOMELESS PANHANDLER might 'value' his 'free-time' so much
that HE DOESNT WANT TO WASTE HIS TIME GETTING A REGULAR JOB thus sitting on a corner begging (which is working for oneself - being an entrepreneur - on whatever level its operating from)...

i could understand this - maybe i need to become a panhandler!!!???!!!!!




regarding pick up/delivery of frags equipment etc etc

thought it was supposed to be.......... free AND delivered !!!!!!

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc130/WarrenAmyMadelinne/happybdayvideo.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


isnt that the deal around here ?!?!?!!!!!!



regards

 

[0rbital]

For me its more about comfort zone than distance. I don't like to drive to areas I've never been to before with a 5-year old in the car asking how much longer =) I live in Surprise and while AT is at least a 30 min drive for me I don't mind it. I do skip the Tempe / Mesa areas just because I don't know the streets or landmarks in the area, and I don't want to wreck my car while watching street signs instead of traffic. No real other reason. If I want something bad enough and the price is right I'm not overly concerned with the distance of the drive.

Time for a GPS :thumbsup:

 

[tcamos]

"how much is ones 'time' worth ???!?!!!!!!!!"
(monetary and otherwise)

For me, it can depend on the day. I have days were I don't want to give up a minute and others I could drive anywhere for a single polyp and not care.

So, it all is this magic ratio I keep in my head and figure out on a case-by-case basis.

coral+price+distance +or- mood=value :fun5:

 

[KarlBob]

I think comfort level also plays a bigger role than many people would like to admit. Someone who lives in Queen Creek and works in Anthem probably knows those areas, and might know a little about any particular area between them. Tell that same person that a frag is in Sun City, however, and now it's not just far away, it's out of their comfort zone.

I agree, though, that common courtesy is critical to informal trades and sales. Without iron-clad contracts, handshake deals are all we have to go on. When buyers and sellers erode each other's trust in email/verbal/handshake agreements, informal markets tend to dry up until a new wave of innocents arrives.

 

[tcamos]

I think comfort level also plays a bigger role than many people would like to admit.

Sometimes it's difficult to go to a stranger's house too...as far as comfort zone goes. I'm pretty shy and so meeting new people is difficult.

 

[mndfreeze]

Sometimes it's difficult to go to a stranger's house too...as far as comfort zone goes. I'm pretty shy and so meeting new people is difficult.

I have a bigger problem at the meetings then the houses for a purchase. It's IMPOSSIBLE to just start talking with random people dont know with 298572942 people around me with namestags I cant see of read, or no tag at all, etc. When I'm hitting one guys house its always mellow, can sort of ease into conversation and comfort zone shizzle.

 

[Ravenis]

I hope you don't mean me , today was just hectic for me... My days are very unpredictable lately.

 

[Reef-o-Roni]

What bugs me is people who try to get you down on the price after they and others who are after them have already agreed on the said Price.

You should have just sent them home empty handed,that's pretty chintzy.

 

[PHXReefGuy]

If someone is offering a coral/equipment and I think its too much I make sure to offer less in a PM, not when I arrive. Unless the item is in less condition than described such as chipped/damaged where I couldn't see, then I may haggle a little in person.

However, if its CL, prepare to get taken to the cleaners. haha jk
CL I'll haggle in person or e-mail. RC I pretty much never haggle in person.

I havnt had a problem with RC hagglers CL is a different story.
maybe we can get an acronym going for our sale threads.
NHIP = No haggling in person

 

[AZBeach]

I have a bigger problem at the meetings then the houses for a purchase. It's IMPOSSIBLE to just start talking with random people dont know with 298572942 people around me with namestags I cant see of read, or no tag at all, etc. When I'm hitting one guys house its always mellow, can sort of ease into conversation and comfort zone shizzle.

Excellent point. +1

 

[tcamos]

Agreed! That's really the main reason I didn't go to the last FRAG meeting.

 

[sltyncopa]

Honestly dont be intimidated I will more than likely be ther SAT. and I will gladly point out or let you know whoever I know is. Or if you just want to sit in the same area let me know. I will be wearing something SUNS! Dont let lack of a Myspace page RC style keep you from coming you will usually miss out!

 

[zachd]

If someone is offering a coral/equipment and I think its too much I make sure to offer less in a PM, not when I arrive. Unless the item is in less condition than described such as chipped/damaged where I couldn't see, then I may haggle a little in person.

However, if its CL, prepare to get taken to the cleaners. haha jk
CL I'll haggle in person or e-mail. RC I pretty much never haggle in person.

I havnt had a problem with RC hagglers CL is a different story.
maybe we can get an acronym going for our sale threads.
NHIP = No haggling in person

I agree with the above, CL I'll lowball the heck out of you because people list their stuff for much more than its actual value. Here, its actual enthusiasts, so prices are set pretty much on key from the start, no need to really haggle the price.

 

[tcamos]

Honestly dont be intimidated I will more than likely be ther SAT. and I will gladly point out or let you know whoever I know is. Or if you just want to sit in the same area let me know. I will be wearing something SUNS! Dont let lack of a Myspace page RC style keep you from coming you will usually miss out!

Thank you.

 

[aztbs]

Last month the frag meeting was huge and I noticed a few people sitting alone with that "I don't know who to talk to" look and I felt bad. I didn't have time to get around to them all.

Somehow, I have become the "directory services" because I had 15 people ask me "Do you know who (insert name here) is"? And I am terrible with names/faces!! Don't be afraid to pull up a chair and say hi. Chances are the person that intimidates you is feeling the same insecurity about talking to strangers. I go to the frag meetings alone, so company at my table is always welcome.

And to stay on track - Craigslist is brutal! It is a big circle, people lowball, sellers raise initial price to allow for a mark down, buyers pick up on this and lowball more, sellers raise more.. etc. I have bought things for less than half the asking price, especially if the ad has been floating around forever. It seems like everything I like on CL is usually on the far opposite corner of the metro area, but I still go.
A good deal is a good deal!

 

[frontosa_man80]

Dont let lack of a Myspace page RC style keep you from coming you will usually miss out!

if you visit the names and faces theard at the top you will see most of the members.

Honestly dont be intimidated I will more than likely be ther SAT. and I will gladly point out or let you know whoever I know is.

at the auctions im the auctioneer, if you cant find someone and want to know where they are feel free to ask me and ill make the introduction. if i dont know the person ill make an announcement for you.

-jesse

 

[SonsOfLeda]

After having read through this thread, I feel like part of what's being missed here is "relative distance". The Valley shrinks considerably the more of it you become familiar with. I think it's hilarious at my job when people ask me where the closest store to us is and a store less than 10 minutes away in the same city (straight shot on a freeway) is too far. Seriously? That's far?

In my nearly 8 years living here, I've spent a year commuting ~60 miles one way to work and another several years commuting ~35 miles one way to work (a drive I still do at least five days each week). I've lived all over the East Valley, spent a year or so near downtown Phoenix, and have been in Maricopa for about a year and a half now. About the only part of the Valley I don't know well is the West side, and even then I'm comfortable driving over there having been to my share of games, concerts, the WWZ, and other fun stuff to do that direction. The Valley just doesn't seem as big as it used to when I first moved here.

To me, I've come to learn that no matter where I'm going, it's going to be a drive to get there. And, I know that gas costs the same whether I use it to drive to work, to dinner, to a game, or to someone's house to get a smokin' deal on a piece of equipment. Why wouldn't I want to drive to pay 1/2 price or better for a good as new piece of equipment?

Even @ $3 per gallon (@ 28 mpg in my car), I'd have to drive a LONG way to even consider calculating how much it's costing me in gas to get there.

Come on, people - we live in the Valley! We're kind of known for this largely expansive city that we've chosen to live in.

On a side note - for those people that think Maricopa is too far to drive to: I've offered to meet everyone I've sold something to at least halfway simply due to where many people feel we are compared to their daily travels. A few have even complained about halfway. :::sigh::: It's not like we're asking you to drive to Tucson!

 

[Turbovr3six]

For anyone on the eastside, Maricopa isnt too bad at all... you guys have more freeways than us over here, so its all freeway... Maricopa road is a 75MPH drive till you get into the start of town(like 10 minutes off the I10), so it seems alot shorter than it really is IMO