Fun in Craigslist-land

Last Thursday, a bunch of us were supposed to go check out RJD2. The smart folks bought tickets ahead of time. The ones who can't plan that far ahead did not. The show sold out. Guess which group I fell into?

At 5pm, I found myself trolling Craigslist in hopes of finding someone with two tickets to spare, at a reasonable price. I was in luck! There were three posts from people with extra tickets. I quickly responded to all three posts and waited for a replies. I got one. The following e-mails recount what transpired:

Me:
I'm interested. How much are you asking?

Him:
$50 each
(author's note: face value of each ticket was $23)

Me:
Ouch! Just to make sure I've got it right, that's $50 per ticket, yes?

Him:
Yes....an UNBELIEVABLE $20 over face....I'm such a dick huh...Like when people charge $35 for a T-shirt that costed [sic] them $5 nobody bats a fucking eye..
(author's note: actually, it was more than $20 over, but who's counting. Math is hard, anyways)

Me:
Wow...Ummm, thanks for your puzzling response, I guess. I never called you a dick, dude.
Have a good night.

Him:
Sorry...not YOU personally but our SOCIETY deems that Tickets are the ONE thing that for some reason one cant mark-up but EVERYTHING else is fine and understood....not you, our society and specifically our town...

Me:
It's all about supply and demand. I'm sure you'll find someone willing to pay what you are asking, it just won't be me. Good luck.

There were more e-mails from him, but nothing as interesting as that awesome, unprovoked rant.

Worst part of this story is that I had to eat crow twenty minutes later and actually tell him I would take the tickets at the price he was asking. BL was in need of one, too, and was already on his way up to the city. So I agreed to meet this guy at the ultra-hipster cafe across the street to pick them up. He sent me one final e-mail describing what he and the two people he would be with looked like.

I waited and waited and waited...and waited. I watched a random guy walk back and forth across the street, looking agitated. Though he seemed to be waiting for something, he was on the other side of the street, and he was alone. Couldn't have been my guy.

Turns out, it was. After BL and CGI arrived, I asked the guy if he was the one from the e-mails. He said yes, then asked where I had been all night. Ummm, hello?! Sitting at the cafe where YOU told me to meet you! He informed me that he had just sold my tickets to someone else. Rats! Never fear, though...CGI quickly came to the rescue and drew exact replicas of the stamp the club used on the inside of my and BL's wrists and we skated in, scott-free! The show was amazing.

The next day, I received this e-mail from ticket-man:

Dude....SO sorry....But I walked in there 3 TIMES! Were you the guy with tall blond shoulder length hair? If so, I did everything but get right in you face...I had the ticket envelope in one hand and 2 tickets in the other, even holding them in the air!

Last time I checked, my name is a girl's name. And he didn't come in to the cafe.

Aaaah, Craigslist...always good for an adventure.