A quiet Sunday looms as Storm Dennis wreaks havoc across the UK. First thing today me and Mrs Jones made the most of a brief respite in the storm conditions to go for a quick 5k run. We’ve gone and booked ourselves in for a 10k on March 8th and thought we really ought to prepare for doubling our usual distance.
I struggled just doing 5k this morning which I put down to being hungover from the surprise birthday party I went to last night. The only surprising thing about it was that no one was surprised which is what nearly always happens with surprise parties.
At least the birthday boy didn’t have to act surprised which is very awkward as everyone else has to pretend they really do believe he was surprised knowing full well that he probably wasn’t. Despite this lack of surprise a convivial evening was had by all and as I wasn’t driving I had a few pints too many which I blame on my sluggishness this morning.
Selling my MacBook on eBay
My one task of the day is preparing some eBay ads – taking photos etc, researching spec and values – for the sale of an old MacBook Pro, iPhone, some old DVDs and a few other items.
This follows yet another dispiriting trip to my least favourite shop in the world, the cheekily named Cex which apparently stands for Complete Entertainment Exchange. I visited my local Cex a couple of days ago eager to my make a small fortune out my Macbook which is in pristine, hardly-used, still in the box condition.
When I was eventually served by the somewhat anti-social juvenile salesman he spent the first few minutes inspecting its exterior wiping off imaginary scratches before eventually switching it on. When it flickered into life he seemed a little dismissive of the fact that it worked perfectly as if this was far less important than a scratch-free shell.
He reluctantly declared it to be “reasonably well looked after and in good condition” and then offered me £469 so he could put it on sale instore for about £800. While a substantial difference is fair enough bearing in mind the risk they take, overheads and the guarantee they offer, a mark-up close on 100% seemed more than a little excessive.
After this disappointment we then moved on to my collection of Star Trek Next Generation DVDs. There’s a box set for each series comprising of about eight CDs. After many minutes of careful inspection of each box and all the DVDs within, he broke the news that they’d be prepared to pay, wait for it, 12 pence. That was per box not per DVD. The seven series that cost a week’s wages to buy back in the early nineties were now worth less than £1!
That’s why today is going to be eBay day and why I’m more than a little disappointed with my Cex-life!