Getting Trim

The weather is turning into spring so we were out and about on Saturday with sewing adventures.  It started with a possible Kenmore in a cabinet that John "found" in his parent's house. I kept asking and he kept saying Friday or Saturday would be better. Saturday afternoon was going to work out as I also planned to pick up some sewing trims in the same area. At this point my husband joined in the fun and we were going to make an afternoon of pick-ups and dropping off.

But no time or location was forthcoming from John and the Kenmore. A terse email stated he would call me at 11:15 that morning. That's pretty specific! No call. I call John at 12:30 and he sounded a bit confused and finally said it was sold. Okkkkkkaaayyy. Easy come, easy go, but I'm always wondering if there is some kind of etiquette for Craigslist that I'm not aware of. Is it first call first served, first show up first served, or something else? I run my business (and I understand most people on CL aren't running a business but just looking to make money from things they no longer use) with the policy of first call who gives enough information to show serious interest gets first chance. For instance:

Text: Still have the Singer sewing machine?
Me: I have 2 Singer sewing machines listed, one for $80, one for $125.
Text: $80
Me: Yes, the Singer 99 is still available. When would you like to see it?
no more texts

Email: Still have the Singer sewing machine for sale?
Me: Yes, I have 2 currently listed. One is in near perfect condition so it's $125 in a bentwood case and the other one has some nicks along the front edge so it is reduced to $80. Both have manuals and a full set of accessories including a buttonhole attachment.
Email: I think I want the $80 one.
Me: That's fine. When would you like to see it to try it out?
Email: Are you home during the day?
Me:This week I have Tuesday and Thursday evenings open at 6:30 and Saturday morning. Would any of those times work?
no more emails

Neither one of these requests shows a huge amount of interest but when I get a third request should I consider either one of them as contenders? Probably not but my usual practice is to contact the last request (semi-serious) via email so ask if they would still like to see the Singer 99. Most of the time they have simply forgotten to get back with a better time and this gets them back on track. I let that first request go because of the brevity and actual lack of any follow-through on their part. But what about when the day and time is agreed upon as with John and his parent's Kenmore? Okay, not an exact time but Saturday afternoon is specific enough. Before I sold it out from under someone I would at least give them a call.  So now my rant is over. Thank you for listening and I do feel better now.

That made our appointment with Dee all the sweeter when we show up to buy a box of piping in various colors that averaged only 27 cents each.  I noticed she had other ads and said I might be interested in looking at those items, too. We arrive to find this small box of piping that started it all:

90 packages of piping!

then a large flat storage container with trims:

and I thought this was a whole lot of trim

plus this three drawer unit on rollers full of lace trims and it's narrower companion:

The whole kit and caboddle of trims

Dee was seriously downsizing. She also had several sewing machines that I wasn't interested in (but I still liked looking at them) and gave me a good deal on the trims with the rolling storage containers included! My husband and I looked at each other and said "Sold!" She even helped us take them out to the car but I'm thinking she didn't want us to change our minds.

A few more errands and many hours later we bring everything inside and I start to sort. Wow, that's way too much trim but I do manage to sort it into a drawer of white, one of ivory or non-white, colored or printed trims, ribbon, yarn, and weird stuff, Most are in their own zippered plastic bags with the width and/or yardage. My next job is going to be pulling out my bins of trims and deciding what to keep, what to sell. Already I have a bag of trim that's going to go home with a grandmother who is buying a handcrank for her granddaughter to learn to sew on. Why not have some lace to try and sew with?

How much did all of this cost? As it turns out, the money I did not spend on the Kenmore from John and the money I set aside for the piping equaled the asking price for all four containers of trim. Looks like it all worked out in the end after all, huh?