I Made My1st Craigslist Purchase Today

@trinale (1479)
United States
July 15, 2012 5:01pm CST
Yep! I just picked up a Dell Inspiron 530 with a 2.5G pentium dual core processor, 4G RAM and 500G hard drive with a 17in monitor for $200! PERFECT for its intended purpose. I don't know if you have ever heard of SIMS 3, but it's a game my 11 year old daughter has become hooked on for a couple months now and basically confiscated my laptop I use to travel with. I won't let her install any games on my desktop computer because I believe that's what XBoxes, PC3s, WIIs and what not are for. Now my question is, do I give it to her now or wait until her birthday next month? I'm already on the hook for $400 for her birthday party at "Darling Divas" Salon and if I give her the computer now, I have to come up with another gift! Hmmm. What do you think? What would you do in this situation? Cheers, Stan
6 responses
• United States
16 Jul 12
Do you want her to play on your laptop for another month? Hehe, :P You could ask her what she would prefer.. Her birthday present computer NOW or on her birthday. You could tell her this is her early birthday present and she won't get another when her real birthday comes because this is an expensive present already.
@trinale (1479)
• United States
16 Jul 12
LOL! I actually don't need it until the end of next month for my next business trip. So for the time being I can get by until her birthday (Aug 16th). I'm going to keep it a secret until her birthday. Cheers, Stan
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
16 Jul 12
Wait for her birthday. And congrat on your purchase. I am so leary about buying things like that ... I don't know much about them and trusting someone else to tell me about it ...and then hand over the money... I just can't do it! I'd like to have a laptop, but basically, have no use/need for it. The desktop suits me fine. I don't wii or PC3 or any of that stuff. I often think to get a notebook just for writing...and might do that so I can write in the nights when I can't sleep but don't want to get out of bed or take out to the patio and write when I dont' need the internet. Just in the thoughts of it tho. Money is tight. However...since you did what you did..any suggestions on a good notebook or other device that would do the same but is a better unit?
@trinale (1479)
• United States
16 Jul 12
I couldn't tell you much about laptops Coffeebreak accept that it must be pentium classed and have at least 500g of hard drive space. The size of the monitor will add to the price but should be able to find a new one for less that $400 Cheers, Stan
@Ramaditya (1227)
• Indonesia
15 Jul 12
If you do not intend to let your daughter play games on the computer, you should not buy a PC with the specification that high. I believe you can choose a type with less HDD space. But $200 is not a good catch. But you know, you can save some money if you use that computer to play simple games. You don't need to purchase any game console.
@trinale (1479)
• United States
16 Jul 12
I have done some searching before making the purchase and I never did find a "high-end" used computer for that low of a price. In fact, most of the new ones I came across had smaller hard drives and memory. And it looks practically new! The only thing missing is the original box it came in. As I mentioned earlier, I don't want her to get consumed with gaming but this SIMS 3 has alot of accessories you can add on. She will still have to make time for all her other activities. It looks like this computer will be one that can grow with her. Cheers, Stan
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
16 Jul 12
Give it to her now. It will mean more since it is not given on a day that gifts are expected. Also it will stand out since if you wait for her birthday it will have to compete with all the other gifts she will receive then. Also the sooner she has her computer the sooner you can get the exclusive use of yours back.
@petersum (4522)
• United States
15 Jul 12
It is probably OK for the Sims but just pray that she doesn't get into much more gaming! The video card in that is pretty useless for playing any higher level games. I would make her wait for it.
@trinale (1479)
• United States
16 Jul 12
No she's not going to get too much more into the games. She has an xbox and mostly has dancing and exercise games (works for me too!). I did decide to wait to give her the gift because now I have to find a desk for it. Cheers, Stan
• United States
15 Jul 12
Yeah I like the Sims, it's a cute game. I like it because it's close to reality. I'm not much into fantasy. Good job on Craigslist, I love it. I left the stress of Ebay years ago and never looked back ha ha. I do do Ebid though. Yeah I would give it to her, but I would make sure she hears you that "this is your birthday present and I am giving it to you early so you can enjoy it." Maybe give her something small and personal the day of the party and remind her of her larger gift.
@trinale (1479)
• United States
16 Jul 12
Yes the one thing I like about it also is that it gives you some life experiences offer good teaching opportunities. I know I was very lucky with Craigslist. Find what I wanted in the price range I wanted and so close to where I live. I have purchased quite a few things on Ebay but it seems to me that the sellers are asking too much lately and in most cases, it's just as cheap to buy items new from sellers there. Cheers, Stan