But one of my favorite things is when a random person on Craigslist agrees to meet with me and hand over their Kindle.
I started asking for Kindles on Craigslist last year, and at the beginning, I wasn’t so successful. But lately, things have changed. I don’t have any hard data on this, but it seems like I’m getting somewhere around a 5% yield rate right now.
The process is pretty easy, actually. I’ve set up an RSS feed that automatically sends local Craigslist posts for Kindles to my Feedly / Digg Reader. The going rate for Kindles on Craigslist is about $40.
Here’s the email that I send them:
And then I wait. Usually, nothing happens, but sometimes, I get a response. (I think the links help; it makes me look legit!) We arrange a good time and place to make the transaction, and that’s that.
The best thing is that everyone has come through so far. I get there, the person is usually already there, prompt and prepared, we say hello, sometimes there’s a handshake, and then the Kindle is exchanged.
Except it’s not really exchanged — because I don’t have anything to give them except my thanks. Maybe that’s the next step. Perhaps I need to give them something physical. A thank-you card, maybe? They don’t really seem to care either way, I don’t think.
And then it’s done. The 10- to 15-second interaction results in joy both ways. The Craigslister is happy to donate, and I’m happy that another student gets his or her hands on a Kindle.