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I had a friend of mine mention in a discussion that since most people are pretty much staying at home it would be the perfect time to unload shit on ebay because folks will be bored, at home with nothing to do. I considered it but then thought about buying something that came from an infected home, people not earning a living, and maybe this may be taking advantage of someone in a weakened mental state looking for that quick fix of happiness.

How do you all feel about this? I see discounts & deals and want to support businesses but I also need to keep the family functional from a financial perspective.

I had just accumulated a huge stash of "non-essentials" that I was ready to list. Somewhere in the range of $3,000 worth of gear/media. A lot of it I had been shamefully agonizing over for a couple months and ultimately died it was time to flush out a LOT of physical possessions.
Well, I waited too long lol, I don't feel comfortable requiring shipping services and also don't want to take people's money at a time if future uncertainty, even though I could certainly use financial safety net they would bring in.

I've learned a pretty big lesson about myself and possessions over this past month though.

Confuzzled wrote:I had a friend of mine mention in a discussion that since most people are pretty much staying at home it would be the perfect time to unload shit on ebay because folks will be bored, at home with nothing to do. I considered it but then thought about buying something that came from an infected home, people not earning a living, and maybe this may be taking advantage of someone in a weakened mental state looking for that quick fix of happiness.

How do you all feel about this? I see discounts & deals and want to support businesses but I also need to keep the family functional from a financial perspective.

As a rule, I always swab down any incoming gear with rubbing alcohol head to toe before it heads anywhere inside of the house, which seemed like overkill in the past, but now seems about right.

Like Psyre, I also had a small bundle of items to unload, though all the uncertainty involved with the process has me at a standstill, too. Those are the breaks

Take care of yourself & your family, and if you feel like dropping some coin on something, donate to a local food bank or like-minded charity instead

As a desktop user, I'm touching the controls frequently, so it's important to sanitize stuff before using it. I wipe down pedals (new & used), because I know guitarists are filthy, disgusting, immature plebeians who routinely eat without washing their hands and step on their pedals with fecal bacteria on the bottom of their shoes.

Regarding selling/buying, I feel things have a way of evening out. Sometimes you get a deal and sometimes you have to sell for less than what you want. If someone's got urgent bills to clear, how am I helping them out by abstaining? If anything I could be making it worse by forcing someone to overextend their credit or to take out a payday loan. There have also been times when I've seen people asking too little, and I've offered to give them a few extra bucks to help them out.

I have things to sell, but I don't want to go to the Post Office and wait in line. I also suspect Ebay bidding will suffer because of financial uncertainty.

As far as buying, I think it's a good time to buy (if you can afford it, and don't feel guilty). The virus can survive on stainless steel for like 5 days (I forget exactly). Just don't open your package for like a week.

~72hrs on stainless and plastic, about 24hrs on cardboard (per the latest data). Basically, if you're ordering I'd just wipe the box down when it arrives, wash your hands, and then proceed as you normally would. If you're nervous about the surface of a pedal inside the box, maybe just put it in a corner for a couple days after it shows up (and you've wiped it down). I think it's only a matter of time before an Amazon dropoff subcontractor tests positive; their jobs are so tenuous and exploitative that I can't imagine anyone staying home or missing work preventatively.

If you’re concerned abt going to the post office you can get a priority mail online account (click n ship). Slightly cheaper than at the post office and you can order packaging for free too. You can put it out for the post to pickup or drop off at USPS w/o waiting in line. If you want to sell and someone wants to buy so be it. People need distractions and new to you gear is a welcome escape from this craziness.

Feel no guilt. Their personal responsibility to sell cheap or buy your stuff is never your concern. People do dumb things like go into debt for gear all the time prior to this pandemic. It really will be a great time to buy. Already seeing some decent prices on things that aren't selling. Conversely, this is a terrible time to try to sell your gear. Too much uncertainty and many people out of work and probably being a little responsible with paying bills instead of used gear.

Just keep your hooks away from your face.

I encountered a problem picking up a parcel earlier with being isolated (now resolved). In the future I would be able to yell down at the post person to leave it outside and then scurry down like a goblin when they're gone. So consider this in your plans depending where you live.

I sold some non-music stuff on eBay yesterday that I only listed because I had the time and energy to list it while work is closed for two weeks. It's a good time to start listing things you've been putting off for a long time, especially before a full-blown recession is upon us. What I'm listing isn't out of desperation, it's out of having time to make the listing.

When I dropped it off at the post office today, the worker wiped it down immediately with a Clorox wipe. This was a pretty small post office so I feel comforted that they are doing their part to minimize the virus spreading. Hopefully that's the case nationwide.
Meanwhile the delivery person is dropping stuff off at the door instead of at the leasing office like usual. Wouldn't hurt to wipe down packages again in case the delivery person has been in contact but that's the case with everything right now.

What we’ve been doing is wiping down the outside of the box with a clorox wipe as soon as we get it. If it’s something we need right away then we up it and disinfect the inside. Otherwise we just let the box sit for a few days before opening.

I do feel a little guilty thinking about delivery people handling my non-essential gear rather than delivery important stuff like medicine, food, etc.

01010111 wrote:What we’ve been doing is wiping down the outside of the box with a clorox wipe as soon as we get it. If it’s something we need right away then we up it and disinfect the inside. Otherwise we just let the box sit for a few days before opening.

This is what we’ve been doing as well.

codetocontra wrote:I do feel a little guilty thinking about delivery people handling my non-essential gear rather than delivery important stuff like medicine, food, etc.

Don't feel guilty. Remember some of those people want to work or they are going to be toast financially. It fucking sucks, but a lot of people would rather have the work with no guarantees happening.