Adventures with GumTree

Monday, 14 December 2020

It should be a simple process. Put an ad with photos on gumtree.com.au , respond politely to people who ask if they can come and inspect the item. Sell the item.  Simple.

We put our two old couches onto gumtree. Originally the older sofa bed was free and the slightly nicer one was going to be for sale, but when I inspected it in the harsh light of day I decided it should be free too as although it looks good, the cushion zips are broken and there are a few marks & stains on it.  I figured that just giving it away would be so much easier and quicker.

And it looked like that was going to be the case.  30 minutes after putting the ads online, we got a call from a Huonville family who happened to be nearby who wanted to pick up the one with the sofa bed.  I gave them our address then rushed to uncover and vacuum it. I'd just finished as they reversed their ute down the drive and 3 primary aged children jumped out and dispersed themselves through the house and garden.   A few minutes later the sofa was loaded and the adults were ready to go. I'm glad they didn't leave though as two out of the three kids were missing and the other one was on the toilet.  As we made awkward small talk I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the youngest child was loading up her hands with the sunscreen that we keep by the door, and heading towards our new couches! I dashed inside to defend them but luckily she had become distracted with something else along the way and the sofas were safe.

Back outside we waited and waited for the third child to finish on the toilet. After ten more minutes of awkward small talk interspersed with increasing agitated instructions from the parents to the remaining children to get back in the ute the third child appeared and after a bit more cajoling they were all loaded up and on their way. The whole process was successful but quite stressful. 

The 2nd sofa (what I thought was the nicer one) has been a different story. I immediately got messages from people wanting to come and get it so I tried to be fair and give the first person a chance to show up before letting the 2nd person know our address etc etc.  Jon advised me that this was crazy and I should just give everyone our address but I argued that it was simply how I'd like to be treated - I wouldn't want to get hold of a trailer and drive across town to pick up a couch that was gone before I got there. 

It turns out Jon was right simply because people are unreliable. The first respondents, to their credit, came when they said they would but they rejected the couch (they clearly have high standards for a free couch). Since them it's been a procession of no-shows. In fact I've had enquiries from  11 different people and to our knowledge, NONE of them have turned up to look at it.  Person A couldn't get a van, Person B's dad had a big concreting job and couldn't come by to pick it up with his truck. Person C got a couch from a friend instead, Person D had a long night with the 9 month old baby, Person E (and I'm not kidding) had her car stolen so didn't have transport, Persons F, G, H, I & J simply didn't respond again after asking if it was still available, and Person J wanted to know if we could deliver it (sure we'll deliver your free couch and would you like us to pick you up some stuff from the supermarket on the way??).  So it's been a bit frustrating. Each morning Jett and Jon have carried the couch to the top of the drive, each evening they have brought back down.  We're all holding out hope that tomorrow is the day it won't have to come down again.

Update: It took another week or so, but a nice family from Kingston finally came to get the couch. Yep. Clare and her dad picked it up for Clare's brother Luke.