Craig's Listless

There was a time when I swore by Craig's List. I'd put up a photo of something I was selling, crank out some snappy copy, hit the submit button and within seconds, literally seconds, my phone would start ringing.

I could never attribute that kind of success to my photography skills.

Nor could I attribute it to stellar copy I might have written, my sagging career as a copywriter would attest to that.

So clearly, the power of Craig's List is Craig's List.

But not anymore. Last week I advertised this brand new, box-sealed, 8G Apple iPod Touch at the ridiculously low price of $150. They retail for $200. And my phone did not ring once. There was an unidentified caller from the 818 area code but that turned out to be a salesman for vinyl replacement windows.

You may be wondering why I'm selling a new iPod or why I don't just return it to the apple store for a refund? Actually you're probably not wondering either of those two things because you've got more important things on your mind.

Well, the iPod was free with the purchase of a new desktop computer. And coming from a family that would hoard little packets of sweet sauce from every visit to a Chinese restaurant, I wasn't about to turn down a free iPod. But, like the packets of Chinese sweet sauce, I've got more iPods than I know what to do with.

So, in recognition of your loyal readership, I'm offering this snazzy piece of electronic wizardry to the first person that offers me $100. I know, I know, why don't I just give the iPod away for free?

Because even though we fight in the same weight class, I'm not Oprah.

That's why.