Good idea? (Craigslist Purchase?)

[PheonixKingZ]

AHHHH NOOOOOOO. That is so awful! I think my mom’s biggest fear is it will catch the house on fire...

That shouldn’t be an issue, even with a malfunctioning heater.

Probably the worst thing that could happen, is the heater could explode, cracking the glass, and sending lots of water on the floor. (Also most likely killing all of your stock)

Don’t use, used heaters!

 

[OliveFish05]

That shouldn’t be an issue, even with a malfunctioning heater.

Me anyway:

Probably the worst thing that could happen, is the heater could explode, cracking the glass, and sending lots of water on the floor. (Also most likely killing all of your stock)

Oh boy that would be bad too!!!

 

[OliveFish05]

Alright, we called this morning and it is still available!!! We are pretty sure we will be getting it, my parents just have to discuss if they feel like it is safe (the man said he lives in a gaited community and they will only let us in once they confirm we are there to meet one of the people living there) and we can drive out to get it (it is like 2 hours away) The man said he hand made the background, I am veryyyyy excited. The 26 gallon bowfront is 24 inches and will fit on my dresser, hooray! If it holds water, I will definitely be switching to that and move my light, heater, and filter over and maybe passing my 10 gallon (just the tank and lid) on to my sisters for their bettas! I think it would be a ton of fun to make half the tank underwater and plants with some driftwood, and the top half "land" and have some non aquatic plants in there!

 

[OliveFish05]

My mom and I talked about the tank lot for a bit today, she says she is concerned we are are going to spend $200 and an entire day driving out there, loading the tanks, hauling them home, unloading them, and finding a place to store them, only to find the tanks are so dirty they can't be scrubbed clean, been sitting on the man's porch so long they will all need resealed, and that all the decor and supplies it comes with will carry disease... and that after investing lots of time, money, and effort into these tanks, they will sit in our garage for months with no buyers until we eventually drop the price so low we don't even make back the money we spent on the initial cost. What do you guys think? Now I am really nervous, and really disappointed

 

[Fishmanic]

When you go there, don't act too excited so you can negotiate the price. I think you should show up with cash and offer him $150 after seeing the tanks. Then settle at $165 or $175 cash. I bet he takes it.

 

[OliveFish05]

When you go there, don't act too excited so you can negotiate the price. I think you should show up with cash and offer him $150 after seeing the tanks. Then settle at $165 or $175 cash. I bet he takes it.

Oooooooo hehehe a bit haggling eh? My mom is just concerned He May be a liar trying to dump a ton of damaged tanks on someone

 

[UnknownFishies]

Oooooooo hehehe a bit haggling eh? My mom is just concerned He May be a liar trying to dump a ton of damaged tanks on someone

I would inspect them on the spot. See if they need to be resealed, see how dirty they are, that sort of stuff. I doubt he’s a liar but just check that sort of stuff just to make sure...

 

[OliveFish05]

Here are all the photos from the listing.

We talked to the man in the phone this morning, he said he used to buy tanks, clean them up, and resell them, which makes my mom think he would KNOW what these tanks were worth And Not Let Them go so cheap. She also said that he could be trying to get rid of some junk, trash tanks by adding nice fake plants and decor and such.


He said 3 of the driftwood pictured are Cedar, is that even aquarium safe!

 

[OliveFish05]

I would inspect them on the spot. See if they need to be resealed, see how dirty they are, that sort of stuff. I doubt he’s a liar but just check that sort of stuff just to make sure...

Well, it is 2 hours away. My mom would call in the morning and let him know it didn’t work out, we aren’t able to go look at them before purchase. If we drove all that way, we are coming home with the lot, so my mom asked me to decide tonight wether or not I feel like it is a good use of my money. I am hesitant as I already owe my parents $300, and it would bring it up to $500... my parents have lots of jobs they are paying me to do, and we have 9 baby bunnies we will be selling in 7 weeks, but it is a really big risk and my mom let me know she didn’t feel like it was a good investment of my time and money. I respect my mom’s opinion, but want to make an educated decision

 

[OliveFish05]

What does everyone think? If ALL I came out of this purchase with was the decor and 2 of the tanks, would you say it would be worth it?

 

[itiwhetu]

What does everyone think? If ALL I came out of this purchase with was the decor and 2 of the tanks, would you say it would be worth it?

Yep

 

[OliveFish05]

Yep

Were you able to look at the photos? Does it look like the tanks can be cleaned up? I am assuming the tanks have been out on the porch a while, and in the one photo there is snow in the background....

 

[NannaLou]

@OliveFish05 - I think that the fact you are spending so long questioning this means that you are uncertain yourself if this is worth the time and risk of financial outlay. Perhaps you might be better to to set your finances straight with your mum, and save a bit and then launch into a tank refurbishment project? (I think that sounds like a good income generator with your passion and knowledge).
It’s very old fashioned thinking these days as credit is everywhere, but sometimes the wiser choice is to save and spend what you have rather than what you don’t have. That way if it goes wrong you go back to a zero balance and can start the savings loop again, rather than have an even bigger negative balance where you will be tempted to borrow more to try and make a profit to recoup losses.

 

[OliveFish05]

@OliveFish05 - I think that the fact you are spending so long questioning this means that you are uncertain yourself if this is worth the time and risk of financial outlay. Perhaps you might be better to to set your finances straight with your mum, and save a bit and then launch into a tank refurbishment project? (I think that sounds like a good income generator with your passion and knowledge).
It’s very old fashioned thinking these days as credit is everywhere, but sometimes the wiser choice is to save and spend what you have rather than what you don’t have. That way if it goes wrong you go back to a zero balance and can start the savings loop again, rather than have an even bigger negative balance where you will be tempted to borrow more to try and make a profit to recoup losses.

This is just what my mom is saying!
She thinks it looks like a really good deal but not a good purchase for me.
I really would love fixing up the tanks and reselling them, I enjoy the time I spend working on the tanks. My mom brought home a tank from Goodwill once and let me work on, I spent a long time Leak testing it, soaking the glass in vinegar and scraping away the silicone to reseal it, in the end my mom said it would be better to buy a brand new 10 gallon for $10 at Petco’s sale rsther than spend $8 and more Time trying to reseal an old tank with damaged seals, but I really enjoyed the time i spent working on the tank, even though I didn’t get anything from it.

It was enjoyable, and something I could do myself.
I really love coming up with projects, figuring it out, and watching whatever it is really come together, like when my sister and I built our rabbit hutches. The problem is, most projects are big heavy lifting projects, or projects where I need a saw of some sort to shape pieces of wood or get an angle right, which I am not allowed to do without my dad’s direct supervision and help. Or it something small and silly and completely useless.


With fixing up the tanks, i would really be able to do it independently and I would REALLY enjoy it.

Another thing is, it is really like that perfect time here in VA where the it is not too hot but not chilly, really warm during the day and nice and cool in the morning and evening, and it is the very beginning of the warm weather. If I am going to work on tanks, esp bigger ones, I would likely do it out in the yard so I have a hose. I‘m not gonna go sit in the yard snd work on a tank if it is cold! If I really wanted to do this, now would be the time. This is the first time I have ever seen a cheap aquarium or aquarium lot come up within driving distance from us, it may be 6 months before I find another offer like this!

I am just having a hard time making a decision because my mom doesn’t feel like it would be a good idea, but she said if I still wanted to do it she will drive me and help me get it and support my decision. So I am torn, because I want to make a wise decision and I also think this is a really enjoyable opportunity.

My parents have tons of jobs they will hire me to do this summer, and my sister and I have 9 baby bunnies to sell and more does (female rabbits) to breed next week. I have ways to make the money back in the next few weeks, I would just have to step up my game you know?

 

[NannaLou]

This is just what my mom is saying!
She thinks it looks like a really good deal but not a good purchase for me.
I really would love fixing up the tanks and reselling them, I enjoy the time I spend working on the tanks. My mom brought home a tank from Goodwill once and let me work on, I spent a long time Leak testing it, soaking the glass in vinegar and scraping away the silicone to reseal it, in the end my mom said it would be better to buy a brand new 10 gallon for $10 at Petco’s sale rsther than spend $8 and more Time trying to reseal an old tank with damaged seals, but I really enjoyed the time i spent working on the tank, even though I didn’t get anything from it.

It was enjoyable, and something I could do myself.
I really love coming up with projects, figuring it out, and watching whatever it is really come together, like when my sister and I built our rabbit hutches. The problem is, most projects are big heavy lifting projects, or projects where I need a saw of some sort to shape pieces of wood or get an angle right, which I am not allowed to do without my dad’s direct supervision and help. Or it something small and silly and completely useless.


With fixing up the tanks, i would really be able to do it independently and I would REALLY enjoy it.

Another thing is, it is really like that perfect time here in VA where the it is not too hot but not chilly, really warm during the day and nice and cool in the morning and evening, and it is the very beginning of the warm weather. If I am going to work on tanks, esp bigger ones, I would likely do it out in the yard so I have a hose. I‘m not gonna go sit in the yard snd work on a tank if it is cold! If I really wanted to do this, now would be the time. This is the first time I have ever seen a cheap aquarium or aquarium lot come up within driving distance from us, it may be 6 months before I find another offer like this!

I am just having a hard time making a decision because my mom doesn’t feel like it would be a good idea, but she said if I still wanted to do it she will drive me and help me get it and support my decision. So I am torn, because I want to make a wise decision and I also think this is a really enjoyable opportunity.

My parents have tons of jobs they will hire me to do this summer, and my sister and I have 9 baby bunnies to sell and more does (female rabbits) to breed next week. I have ways to make the money back in the next few weeks, I would just have to step up my game you know?

I’m not sure how old you are, but you clearly have given this plenty of very careful consideration. Your mum will know you better than anyone and if she is willing to lend the money, and make what I thought I’d read was a long drive (certainly by UK measures) then perhaps you should take the risk. You seem to have covered all the risk options - enjoy your project, I wish you luck to go with your knowledge based thought processes and hope you have a good summer filled with projects you will enjoy ?