Kijiji-a-go-go

The holidays are fast approaching, and this year I really mean it when I say I refuse to set foot in a department store in December. I took advantage of a couple of sales this week to start my Christmas shopping. Mallory is pretty easy, since (a) she’s still too young to know much about the Christmas hullabaloo and (b) we still have a boy toys-dominated house, so it’s easy to pick out girlie stuff to fill in the blanks. Just the other day I ordered her a Fisher Price nursery set, and it's a good thing I did - it's backordered for a month. Sheesh.

Liam presents a little more of a challenge, because there is only one thing he points out when he flips through the Christmas Wish Book: one of those electric 4-wheelers. The kids who live next door to Cindy (she also cares for them) have multiple cars, and I see Liam turn green with envy when they go home and get the cars out of the garage and drive up and down the sidewalk in front of him.

I have never liked those cars, for a bunch of reasons. Number one, they're pricey. Some of the cars in the Wish Book are $800. And hello... we've just had the most expensive year of our lives. Number two, they strike me as a spoiled kid's toy. Well, never say never...

If Liam really wants one, then I would like to make it happen for him. So the other night I put an ad up on Kijiji requesting a gently used 4-wheeler, price to be negotiated. I didn't know how my request would be received but thought it was worth a shot.

Last night I logged on to see what happened, and I had three responses to my ad. The first one, from someone named Madman, said, and I quote, "Call Jerry I think he has some" and included a phone number. No mention of who Jerry is or how this guy knows him or any of that.

Number two was spam from a toy company trying to get me to buy new. And wanting me to buy the $800 model, no less! Thanks but no thanks.

The third message was from someone named Marci who said that Walmart has them on for $199 this week. Yet to be confirmed. (Does anyone have a Walmart flyer handy?)

I sent a message back to Madman to ask for more details and he wrote back saying that Jerry had 3 in his garage last time he was there, and was fixing one of them up for his grandson. It sounds pretty far fetched to think that this might actually work out, but I think I will give Jerry a call, just to see what happens. I will also run out to Walmart to see if there is something there. Even $200 is a lot of money, but... we'll see.

The kicker of it is that there was a new ad posted right above mine when I logged onto Kijiji last night, and it was someone selling a 4-wheeler for $20. The only problem is that it's a little-kid model (i.e. 12-36 months), and the only reason she was selling was because her son had outgrown it. Crap... if only Liam were a little smaller!!