"I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do." --Thoreau
February 8, 2012 1:20 PM Subscribe
I want to buy a widget in Fayette, AL in the next few days. I am not there, don't know anyone there, and can't get there. Am I out of luck?
So, weird situation right? Basically, I need a proxy buyer who is A) trustworthy, B) available, C) affordable, D) able to act/reason, at least somewhat, autonomously, and E) trusts that I'm not a Nigerian scammer [I'm not].
Finding that sort of person seems like a long-shot but askme has came through in the past, and never fails to educate/entertain, so I figured why not ask.
There is nothing illegal about said transaction. There will be receipts, bills of sale, and all that. They will be expected to pack and ship it, at my expense of course, as well. The widget is smaller than a breadbox and 100% innocuous.
Anyone have family/friends out there? /longshot
So, weird situation right? Basically, I need a proxy buyer who is A) trustworthy, B) available, C) affordable, D) able to act/reason, at least somewhat, autonomously, and E) trusts that I'm not a Nigerian scammer [I'm not].
Finding that sort of person seems like a long-shot but askme has came through in the past, and never fails to educate/entertain, so I figured why not ask.
There is nothing illegal about said transaction. There will be receipts, bills of sale, and all that. They will be expected to pack and ship it, at my expense of course, as well. The widget is smaller than a breadbox and 100% innocuous.
Anyone have family/friends out there? /longshot
Response by poster: I already went that route Vaike. No dice.
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:49 PM on February 8, 2012
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:49 PM on February 8, 2012
I wonder if you could get some kind of public servant to help? Maybe the town librarian? Small town officials seem to be pretty helpful people in general.
posted by something something at 1:50 PM on February 8, 2012
posted by something something at 1:50 PM on February 8, 2012
Or, maybe there is a courier company that would do it? A larger city would certainly have one. If all else fails, you could probably get someone from a Birmingham courier company to drive out, purchase the widget, pack, and ship it to you. It would be expensive most likely, but possible.
posted by insectosaurus at 1:54 PM on February 8, 2012
posted by insectosaurus at 1:54 PM on February 8, 2012
Response by poster: Ha, good call insectosaurus. I guess I was approaching it as something that might add to the general knowledge base (somewhat anyway) but you've got a point. I didn't really consider that since I've never done a Jobs post. If mods want to kill this and have me move it I'm open to that idea but have no real preference...
Regarding a courier, yea, I'm thinking that might be prohibitively expensive...
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:56 PM on February 8, 2012
Regarding a courier, yea, I'm thinking that might be prohibitively expensive...
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:56 PM on February 8, 2012
What about some sort of errand-running service? My Google-fu isn't coming up with anything, but maybe you'll have luck find something like that.
posted by alpha_betty at 3:32 PM on February 8, 2012
posted by alpha_betty at 3:32 PM on February 8, 2012
a person in my town who does this soft of job calls hermself a "personal concierge". Or perhaps a general repair person - they'd have an automobile, and a reputation you could rely on.
posted by at at 7:32 PM on February 8, 2012
posted by at at 7:32 PM on February 8, 2012
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posted by Vaike at 1:47 PM on February 8, 2012