Friday, June 24, 2016

Money from Garbage


So I am pretty addicted to monitoring my 24 hour Facebook bidding site and due to a posting by another member yesterday I was inspired to list a 9 year old HP laptop with a dead battery that quit working properly about 6 years ago. It turns on, but something is broken in it so that certain things are not functioning correctly. At the time it broke it was not worth the money to pay someone else to fix it. It had a DVD player so we kept it. It has sat wholly unused for 3 years. I spotted a non-working laptop on the site that had a starting bid of Free (you can do that and people bid it up in .50 cent increments or if they are really serious they take the bidding up in several dollar increments). It ended up at $35. For a non-working laptop!


So, inspired, I listed it last night with a photo showing that it starts up, gave full disclosure due to the broken issue and battery being dead (it has a cord so you can still plug it in) with the idea that some techie could likely buy it and fix it. I even indicated it was 9 years old. The bidding ended at $30 - it just goes to show what you think is garbage may be worth money to someone else if you take the time and effort to try and sell it. Frankly, I was thinking of taking it to my local recycle centre where all old tvs and electronics go to die. Items like these have lots of chemicals inside them and must be properly recycled rather than end up in landfills. The $30 will go straight into the Adventure Fund which I used to call my Weekends Away Fund. It was completely drained with our trip to Ucluelet and Tofino and needs some plumping up as all that is in it now is $29 from some rolled change.

In other news as I have signed the release forms and they have been accepted I am now going to share with you what I have won - a ride for two in the Goodyear blimp!!! And 5000 airmiles!! That is the equivalent of 5 low season flights between BC and Alberta which we make that run regularly to see our family and to fly kids in to see us. What a great prize! So on July 3 we are going to be flying out of the Abbotsford airport for about an hour over the City of Vancouver and lower mainland. They had 12 sets of winners so there are several flights scheduled that day as the blimp only holds about 10 people at a time. What a neat prize. When I entered the contest I told hubby that I really wanted to win this - something that you can't even buy! A lifetime experience, that is for sure. The prize did not include transportation to get to the blimp so we are absorbing that from our travel fund, taking the ferry over a day prior, going to the Vancouver Aquarium because I've wanted to do that ever since we moved to the Island (We have both been there 15-20 years ago) and then spending the night in a hotel the night before our flight is scheduled. This is one of the reasons that I constantly put money in the travel fund - you never know what might come your way. The prize is valued at approximately $2500 total(between the blimp and airmiles) so although it will take some money to take advantage of it is totally worth it to us.  Apparently the blimps are not in Canada very often, only a couple of times a year and only in Toronto and Vancouver.   Pretty neat - I am so freaking excited!

16 comments:

  1. Gotta love winning a prize like that! I guess I should look into this fb auction thing. I have two old Macs to get rid of...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If they don't have a 24 hr bidding site there (would be 24 hr bidding Langley or similar) then likely there is a Facebook swap and shop, better than Craigslist as usually you have to be a member to participate and can be thrown out if you don't follow the rules by showing up

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. I feel so fortunate to get to go, really a great prize

      Delete
  3. What a fabulous prize! Wow! I can't wait to hear all about your ride in the blimp. Congrats on selling the old laptop. I had no idea electronics that old were worth anything. Maybe because it has an older (user friendly) version of Windows? My hubby's computer updated to Windows 10 without his known consent. I think he was tricked into clicking something. He's not happy about it at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Windows 10 did that to everyone - I realized what was happening on my old computer and googled how to stop the upgrade. Microsoft should be sued over that one.

      Delete
  4. Fantastic, truly a special adventure. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is an AWESOME win!!!!!!!! Wait both the sale of the computer and the blimp ride and miles. You are on fire! Buy a lotto ticket. Oh and don't forget your friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it doesn't quite work that way (I tried). No luck at the lottery

      Delete
  6. A ride in the blimp. That would be an incredible. Now THAT is a prize!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that is why I entered, best prize ever!

      Delete
  7. We've always been staggered by how excited people get by broken electronics, Jon must have made £100 at the car boot sale we did last year selling a pile of junk he'd rescued from a defunct local authority computer project.
    I don't know what a Goodyear Blimp is or really understand Airmiles but you're excited so I'm really happy for you. Have fun. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Recycling and making money - two of my favorite things. Our airmiles is a north american thing I think. Basically you shop at certain places or hold a certain credit card and build points for free flights. Long haul flights take a tonne but short haul flights between Provinces are pretty reasonable. This win will allow us to visit family more often.

      Delete