The Clumsy Consumer, part 1
It was only a month ago that I sang an ode to my Discman. At that point, I was still in full-on technophobe mode. "IPods are for jerks!" I would splutter over a cold gin and tonic to anyone who cared to listen. If someone made the mistake of asking me to explain my hatred, I would coolly raise an eyebrow in a way that said, "Valid reasons are for jerks."
Then my buddy Jon got a new MP3 player for his birthday and came in to work pleased as pumpkin pie. I kept hearing him rave about it at the desk next to mine, showing co-workers, grinning from ear to ear, doing a weird MP3 dance. I tried to block him out, I considered smashing his new toy or punching him in the nose. As it is, I decided to buy one myself.
Then came a couple weeks of unsuccessful bidding on EBay, where as soon as I would get the taste of victory in my mouth, some crafty consumer would outbid me with one minute to spare. But finally I had the prize- for $94, I had won a Creative Nomad Jukebox, the 40GB player that gives the IPod a run for its money.
The company I had won the player from was called ChanceDeals and their slogan was "Chances are you're getting a steal!" I was so excited that I neglected to read the fine print-
Please be advised that the items for sale are consumer returns and there is a chance that the merchandise is defective, may have missing componants or minor scratches or defects. We do not and will not plug in or power up the merchandise to verify functionality. This site poses a degree of RISK for buyers and is not for every bidder. There are no refunds for inventory that is defective or DOA.
The print wasn't actually that small. I was just so dazzled by the picture and the list of cool features that I didn't want to read a bunch of other boring stuff.
Can you see where this is going?
posted by jesse @ 2:01 PM
14 Comments:
punch me in the nose, eh? how about i turn around one of these days when you're looking and strangle you with the cord of my digital audio player?
you can bet your bottom dollar i'd be doing a mighty spirited "weird mp3 dance" in the aftermath.
dude, the "RISK" was in bold print.
why does that thing look to be about the size of a trapper keeper? You need a quarter in there for scale.
OR
"Hey Jesse! Is that a Creative Nomad Jukebox in your pocket or are you just REALLY happy to see me?"
and so forth...
it doesn't work? that stinks, jesse. at least you're thinking about getting one... or at least you did think of getting one... i can't blame you if you are discouraged from it now.
That table it's sitting on is just lovely.
Hey, I like your blog, and I don't care what anyone says; I think you're funny.
So, I'm here to help.
First of all, I snipe anything on eBay I don't want to miss: www.esnipe.com.
Second: go ahead and buy an iPod. On eBay, if you like. I'm on my second--my first was the original 5 GB model; the second was the mini--just to bring to the gym and stuff.
I bought the mini last summer and it's already been discontinued. That must mean that there are tons of early adaptors getting rid of their old models. So you should be able to pick one up for not too much.
Then sell that broken thing to another sucker.
--P.
p.s. Whoops, did I say "another?" Heh heh heh.
I had the earlier version of the nomad mp3 player, back when it looked like a cd player and weighed 2 pounds. It was kind of crappy, but it worked (mostly) for about a year before it was stolen from my house. I hope you have better luck with yours.
I have the 20GB version of the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen whatever it's called and I love it. Sometimes it's a little buggy, but overall it works okay. And I agree- resell it and buy a new one. :)
I guess I am still in the "uncool" mix as I still have my CD player...but that's just because I have no $$ to buy an MP3!! :)
Bummer about yours!
jojo- Take a breather, bubba ray.
ved- I'm happy to see you.
it's actually about the same size as an IPod.
j- stay tuned...
race- Indeed. There's nothing like a table.
poppy- thanks for stopping by, always good to hear a fresh voice.
as far as e-sniping, I'd like to keep the online auctioning thing as organic as it can be. If I start sniping, I end up screwing over all the regular bidders, like I was getting screwed. I think we should all play fair, even if that means I never win anything that works and I spend most of my time in tears.
g- The Zach Morris of MP3 players, eh? Sounds like an unwieldy item to steal. Two-man job, most likely.
Have you ever considered stealing one of those standalone ATMs at the mall? It would be great to have all that money.
marissa- stay tuned...
jg- welcome back from your time away from the blog. it was a tough two days.
If I can't listen to my little buddy while drinking, I might as well leave it at home. Yes, that's right, I drink all the time because I'm a crazy party animal.
Praha don't beat yourself up. It's more important what you listen to than how you do it. and if you're listening to "Who let the dogs out?" on repeat, then yes, maybe you are horribly uncool.
I want an iPod more than anything in the whole world, they have a Harry Potter edition. This is not at all constructive for you, but I thought you might want to know.
Don't respond to me in here because I will never check.
zach morris? i had to google that to find out who it was. i had thankfully forgotten about him. are you trying to say that like zach morris, my mp3 player was stinky? if so, you would be right in a gratuitous reference to saved by the bell sort of way, which is sort of right in principle, but since saved by the bell was mentioned i think everyone loses.
i have not considered stealing an atm from a mall. that would be wrong.
Jesse,
LOL very true! I'm lucky if I get to hear things other than "ABC Rock" and "Wheels on the bus"....
Ah, the days of yore...back in high school, one MAY have found a song on repeat over and over, but isn't that what most 16 year old girls do with their favorites? :)
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