how do I love craigslist?

I love this vintage metal and wood desk we bought for the girl.  I had been looking for years for just this very thing.  I've seen similar desks, but either they were too bunged up and rickety or mostly plastic or had some other obvious, glaring flaw.  This one is just perfect.  The top isn't all chipped away and carved up.  The metal isn't dented.  It's a size that's comfortable for her now, but still offers plenty of room for growth.  It takes up such a tiny corner of our dining room.  Plus, it's red.  And that's just cool.

I love my rocking chair.  I couldn't have found a more suitable rocking chair had I gone to every furniture store in my area searching for one.  Oh wait, I did.  I wanted an upholstered armchair with simple design on wooden rockers.  I wanted it to be a neutral, tannish color.  I wanted it to be comfortable (I'm short and so many chairs are decidedly UNcomfortable).  The new options were disappointing.  The chairs I found weren't even quite right, design-wise, and were terribly expensive, as well.  I was at the point of having to decide between settling for less than my ideal or going without completely when I checked craigslist, on a lark.  I didn't really expect to find anything quite like I wanted, but hoped maybe I'd find something passable for cheap.  Turns out, the exact chair I had imagined was being sold in brand-new condition for a fraction of what anything new would have cost.  The timing was eerily perfect and I still sing the praises of this chair every day.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to limit my acquisitions to the retail world.