[quote name='allyourblood']i'd also like to add a Craigslist score that i just picked up a couple hours ago:
GBA SP w/Final Fantasy Tactics for....
$10!
usually, i like to check CL everyday at some point, "just in case", but i haven't scored anything decent for a month or so now. i've been diligently looking for an SP everywhere -- yard sales, swap meets, Craigslist, even here, with no luck. everyone either wanted too much, or the conditions weren't just right.
by the way, if anyone here can recall (or cares to page back a few to one of my recent yard sale reports), i happened to pick up a GBA SP adapter (Nintendo brand, 'natch!) for 50 cents,
in hopes that i'd eventually find the system, since i often see them
sans adapter.
about 2 days ago, someone was selling a red SP similar to the one pictured, but described as "VERY scratched" with no games, and no adapter. they wanted $15. i figured i could swat that down to 8 or 10, and just buy a replacement shell and lens on Ebay for a few bucks. i replied with my offer, and that was the last i heard from them. either they sold it, and didn't want to take the ad down (or didn't care), or they thought i was lowballing them and were much too snobbish to reply. dead end.
today, after my friend Jorge and i got home from our yard sale trip, a couple buddies of mine called up and came over to hang out, play some games, and maybe watch a movie or two. i checked CL around 7 o'clock, and tripped across a listing titled something like this: "Gameboy Advance w/game - $10". worth a shot, right? (or a click, anyway). the full text described a Gameboy Advance
SP with one game (not described) and no adapter. perfect, since i already have one. i'm kind of a wuss, so i e-mail instead of calling the listed number...
-- FREE ADVICE: don't do what i did. instead, CALL!!! i almost missed it, and you'll see why... --
i asked if the system was still available, and if it was broken in any way. amazingly, the woman selling it e-mails me back within 30-40
seconds and tells me that no, it's fine, it works 100%, and yes, it's still available. telephone time!! i ring her up, and about this time, i'm re-reading the listing, which was posted at 11:30am. i can't believe it just sat there all day! the lady tells me further that some woman called right after my e-mail and was interested (just my luck), but that she was gonna hold off until she could figure out how much an adapter was, and then she'd call back. i ask her, well, since i'm first, can you hold it for me? i'm on my way. she says she'd rather keep it first-come-first-serve. i told her i'm not one of those flakes that says they're coming and never does, and that i've got cash in hand, and i'm on my way now. she says okay, gives me her address with brief directions and i'm
out the door.
i grab my buddies, jump in the car, crank up the stereo and tear down the freeway at 90mph, which is probably stupid since 1) i don't like to drive fast, and i'm not good at it, and 2) it's Labor Day weekend, and there's exactly four-hundred and sixty million highway patrol out right now... but i digress.
we make it there unscathed, in about 15 minutes -- i leave the car running, jump out and fly up the walkway to her apartment. sure enough, it's still there, we plug it in, it works 100%, and comes with Final Fantasy Tactics!
on a related and funny (or annoying) note, she tells me that the woman who called earlier called back to say she wanted it and was on her way. she told the lady that i was already en route and to not bother coming down. the lady on the phone tries to BS and guilt-trip the seller, by telling her that she "just bought an adapter on eBay" in antcipation of the sale. the seller basically told her "tough luck", and that she never promised it to anyone. i told her i thought that the woman on the phone was probably a big sweaty liar, to which she agreed. we laughed.
yay! after handing her two fives, i ask if she has any other video game stuff that she wants to sell. she does, and there's a lot, but unfortunately, it's all pretty much bare disc (PS2 and XB), and nothing's looking very minty or exciting. i pass on that stuff, thank her and fly back out to my car, to take a victory lap around town on our way back home.
since bringing it home, i've tested the battery -- it holds a charge just fine, and i've been playing with it for a while now. i'm stoked. i understand that some people aren't that hyped for a GBA SP, but i've really wanted one since my DS Lite's screen is pretty small (at least, when you run GBA games), and i wanted a bit of a "beater" system to play with -- since it's not in absolute mint and perfect condition, i don't have to be so psychotically protective of it and i can just slip it in my pocket without any worries.
lastly, thanks for putting up with the long-winded stories. i like reading all the details behind the deals here on the yard sale thread, so i feel it's only fair to add my own when i can. here's to tomorrow![/QUOTE]
I saw that same GBA SP but I passed.