I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I love my iPhone. Actually, I’ve loved all my iPhones, and upgrading to the new iPhone 4 was a no-brainer for me. 7 hours in line on the day of release didn’t deter me in the slightest! Hey, I’m a trooper. Patience is a virtue. And all the cool kids were getting iPhones, jumping off bridges, and wearing acid washed jeans. Or something like that…
But I realized that I never got around to doing anything with the old iPhone 3GS. So on a whim, I tossed it up on Craigslist with the following ad:
iPhone 3GS for cool people… – $150 (Brookline)
Date: 2010-09-02, 7:01PM EDT
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You told yourself it was cool to get a Droid, but it really wasn’t. Deep down inside, you want an iPhone.
Maybe your folks wouldn’t let you get one? But you just got to school and realize that you need one.
Hey, who am I to judge?
I’ve got my iPhone 3GS here. It’s got a phone, adapter cord, USB/outlet, (optional) protective cover, and the original box/instructions. Â As if you needed instructions to run an Apple product … anyway …
None of those pesky reception issues of it’s little brother. And pretty fast too.
$150 or best offer and it’s yours. Cash only.
The ad went up at 7:01 PM, I left the office, and headed home. I arrived home at 8 PM to find 37 emails from people interested in my phone. One person really wanted it, but he was recently recovering from an appendectomy and wanted to know if I could deliver. Another wanted to know how cool he had to be. Yet another person wanted to know if I’d ship the phone (COD!) to Hungary!
By 8:15 PM, I had replied to the very first response offering me $180! At 8:30 the purchaser was at my front door, cash in hand. Deal done.
The whole process was amazing to me. I don’t think I wrote a particularly enticing ad. And honestly, you can buy a brand factory refurb’ed (and warrantied!) iPhone 3GS just like mine for around $100-$150.
I’m not complaining, not by a long shot. But I have no idea what made my offer so amazingly compelling. Are there really that many people that want to jailbreak the phone? Or that many who’re stuck in contracts with crappy AT&T phones? It doesn’t seem so, but I guess it’s possible.
Did I grossly undersell the phone? Is there something I don’t know?
P.S. Does anybody else remember Crazy Eddie?
