By Jim Hagarty
I wanted to buy an iPhone on the Internet.
My phone company offered me a “refurbished” iPhone 5s, 16 gigabytes, for $550 on a two-year contract. I thought I could do better.
So, I spent a few days at my favourite on-line marketplace, kijiji, haggling with the anonymous sellers of iPhones. Prices ranged from various old phones – $50, “just for parts” – to brand new iPhone 6’s at $1,000. A bit discouraging.
But I found some iPhone 5s I liked the look of. Sizes ranged from 16 gb, to 32 gb to 64 gb. I had been told by an iPhone user that bigger would be better as the operating system and the apps eat up a lot of hard drive.
I found one phone that looked perfect: 5s, 64 gb. It was selling for $400. Too much. Would the seller take less? No answer. No answer.
Finally, “I’ll let you have it for $250,” came an email. I accepted.
I met the seller in a movie theatre lobby and bought it. It’s in perfect condition. She rarely used it.
I checked her kijiji entry again to see when she had listed it. Jan. 20. That was my birthday. My family had asked me what I wanted for my birthday. Now I can call them up and tell them. Or text them. Or get Siri to do it.
As the woman handed me her old phone, I told her of the birthday connection and said, “This was meant to be.”
She smiled. “Happy Birthday.”
Funny how that works.
