I was getting back into paintball with my son and had already bought more equipment than we needed. Then I found another lot on Craigslist, about four hours away.
The seller and his father had played together every weekend for about ten years. He needed the money for nursing school, but he also wanted the gear to go to another father and son.
I made an offer. He had a local buyer willing to pay more, so I told him to let the local guy have it. The price was good; the drive was long, and I had already been on a buying spree.
He came back with a lower price. He wanted someone to make the kinds of memories he and his dad had made. Then he offered to drive up to Wisconsin Dells to cut an hour off my trip.
I wrote back:
Damn man I don’t even know what to say, that’s incredibly generous of you.
I offered another $50 for his gas and time. The next day, I sent the first half of the payment.
When we met, it took him a while to let it go. He wanted to walk me through every single gun and tell me how it worked.