I should just stop. Really. It's getting embarrassing.

I don't know why I still do this, I get burned every time.  I really need to stop buying things off of Facebook's buy and sell.  I am trying to be environmentally and fiscally responsible by not buying something new that someone has offered for sale in "good condition." I think I'm a smart person, but I'm pretty stupid when it comes to bargains.

1. The Sunbeam Mixmaster: bought because I wanted a stand mixer to save time and energy baking.  Also, I was getting too lazy to knead my own bread.
How it backfired: The bowl was not big enough to handle my bread dough recipe, and often the bread dough would get sucked up along the hooks until it covered the whole bottom side of the mixer... and I would end up stopping the mixer to scrape off the gooey dough.  Also, right after I bought it, a screw broke on the bottom rubber ring on the big bowl, and another screw melted; after a couple of months, the rubber ring on the bottom fell right off, rendering the bowl useless.

2.  The high-speed blender: bought because my old blender worked okay, not great, and was missing a lid; I could not find a replacement lid anywhere.
How it backfired: Aha, you see, I did get smarter this time.  I had the seller plug it in and make sure everything worked before I bought it.  First time I went to use it, I realized it had no rubber O-ring seal on the bottom.  Had to make my own using a sink plug that I cut to fit, which was too thick and ended up cracking the bottom plastic piece that holds everything together.

3.  The bunkbeds: moving into a smaller place, boys had to share a room.  Bunk beds were the answer!
How it backfired: I specifically asked if all the nuts, bolts, and screws were there. Oh yes, absolutely, everything is there! Put it all together, was missing one very important bolt. I ended up trying a slew of different bolts, and none of them fit.  So I left it alone and prayed the whole thing would not collapse. (Problem Solving 101: If you can't fix it, just pretend it's not a problem.)

4. The desk: bought because I wanted a corner desk.
How it backfired: It was a piece of shit.

And my latest aquisition...

5. The bike: I don't have a bike.  I need a bike. 
How it backfired: It was advertised on Facebook as, "good condition, has been in the shed for a bit.  No longer riding it."  I noticed in the picture that there seemed to be a bit of rust on the handlebars, and was told that yes, it was just a bit rusty on the handlebars.  The seller seemed nice, and offered to drive it half an hour to my neighborhood, because we're new here and I didn't know how to get to her town.  So we agreed to meet Sunday afternoon.  Sunday morning the seller texts me and says, "I'm here!" and I'm all, "Oh shit!" because we are flying out the door on our way to a birthday party - which we would have been on time to if I hadn't been sidetracked.  So I drive to the arranged meeting place and, in a hurry, load the bike into the back of my truck. I want to haul ass and get to the birthday party while we can still be fashionably late, and not rudely late.  Twas not to be.  I spent 10 minutes trying to get a word in edgewise until I finally blurted, "I'm really sorry, we have to be at a birthday party right now.  We've got to run."

After the birthday party, I get home and unpack my little gem.  And by gem, I mean turd.  Every piece of bike that is not covered with paint is rusted. It took me forever to get the tires back on (seller had taken them off to fit the bike into her hatchback) and get the brakes hooked back up.  By this time, it's late and I've got to get supper on, so I leave the bike for today.

This morning, I am pumped to finally ride Rusty, as I've affectionately named my mount, but first I need to adjust the seat.  Except the easy-release clamp for the seat is rusted in place. No worries, mate, I can fix it. Aaaannnndd the back tire is also flat. Super. Duper.

In totally unrelated news, I'm buying a new used bike tomorrow, that Hot Stuff found for me, and picking up a pre-loved bedframe on Wednesday! These are going to be good deals, I can feel it.