Boys with Toys

Okay, so it's finally time to relay the story of Sam's new bike. Typically, "new" in my language means "new-to-you," however, this time, I really mean new!
First things first: back in August last year, Sam purchased a 2003 Harley Davidson Night Train (100th yr anniversary edition). Since I don't know much about bikes (only, don't drive them into a tree...those who know the story can laugh), all I can really say is that it had two wheels and an awfully thin seat--somewhat akin to sitting on a bicylce tire. But most importantly, the price was right! It was the first motorcycle we'd purchased since we've been married.

It wasn't too long before he was ready for a new scrambler.

Now, I've purchased things off e-bay before, but to sell I hear it's not necessarily free. And since "free" is me, I opted for creating an ad on good 'ole Craigslist. We had the ad posted for four weeks with no bites. In the meantime, we have a local Harley Davidson store only 7 miles down the road from us. How convenient for Sam as he likes to stop in and make an occasional appearance to get the scoop on what's new and to keep his eyes open for a bike that might have his name on it. On one of his recent visits, he mentioned to the owner that he was trying to sell his 2003 Night Train. Glen asked him what he wanted for it and Sam told him (no, I'm not telling you all the details!), after which Glen said, "I can sell it for you."

After four weeks of no success on Craigslist, I wasn't too optimistic that Glen could sell the bike for the price Sam wanted. When dealing with things like money, contracts and signatures, Sam likes to have another brain in the mix--just in case he misses something (and for
extra wisdom ha ha!). So of course, we talked about a final price that we wanted to sell it for--at least get out of it what we paid for it. So, we entered "the room" and as we were discussing the final details for selling the bike--the listing price, Glen's commission on the bike, and Sam's final cut--somehow, they'd managed to talk the price down. Glen kept asking, "But what's the least you would take? Remember, we have to sell it at a 10% increase for my commission..." So Sam kept reevaluating, just what is the least I would take? And he came up with a number lower than what we started out with.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 "A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak."
I decided this was a time to speak...

"Wait a minute," I said. "Glen said he could sell it when you gave him your original selling price. Why should we lower that? This is the price we wanted out of it. If it doesn't sell," I tried to jest lightly, "then Glen here isn't the salesman he thought he was." Of course, I didn't mean to be dogmatic about it with Sam or question his intelligence--because he IS the decision maker in this house--but I did mean to let Glen know that we weren't going to be suckered! Naturally, Glen backed up his original statement with, "yes, I'm sure we can get what you want out of it." To which Sam then felt confident in sticking with his original price.

If you've been skimming through the story so far, well here's the punchline: the bike went up for sale Friday afternoon and sold on Saturday! And we got the money on Monday. Either the right guy showed up at the right time, or the price was just too good to pass up. And perhaps God had His hand in all of it. But it put Sam back in the market for a bike--pronto.

As it happens, there was a bike at the local store that Sam was eyeballing. For a few weeks actually, he'd somehow manage to maneuver his way through the store just to stand next to it.

It's like when you're dating someone you really like: it's never good enough to be at an event together--you have to be close to them, where sometimes close doesn't ever feel close enough. And what made him like this particular bike over all the others, I'm still not quite sure. But why does anyone like one thing over another? Every time we visited the store, Sam would ask me to find the bike he liked--teasing me about my untrained eye. I used to be good at the card game "memory," and so I would go to the spot where I'd seen it before--left side of store, second row, first one--until they rotated all the bikes.

Upon selling the Night Train, Glen told us that if we wanted to get this other bike (a 2012 Deluxe), and if we were to do it that day (or relatively soon) we wouldn't have pay a certain fee (because of the turnaround). That fee happened to be a nice chunk of change. Since Sam had been interested in the bike for a while now, it's not like he had to make up his mind whether he really liked it or not--he'd already tried it on for size. But being a 2012 bike, well, you just don't buy a new bike! So it all came down to my number one priority: is it the right price?

Once again, Sam and I found ourselves in "the room" with Glen, ready to talk business, when suddenly, Sam stood up and said, "she's the negotiator. See what you can work out." And he left. Talk about being fed to the wolves... At the same time, it really showed me that Sam appreciates and respects my opinion in these matters. And since we're talking about a bike--something he drools over if it's the right one--perhaps he realized it was best that he not make a decision being in "biker-heaven" where every answer is "let's ride!" So he had me in there, knowing my mind wouldn't be clouded by motorcycle fumes. So there I was: a woman trying to negotiate with a man...about a bike. But perhaps my disinterest in bikes worked to my advantage. It's easier for me to say, "take it or leave it" and actually not get my feelings hurt if you leave it.

There was the list price.
Then, the price he offered Sam.
Then the price he dangled in front of me.

So I said, Here's how it's gonna be mister! Just kidding. I think I was polite. But I don't like bantering back and forth with prices (...so I guess I'm really not much of a negotiator after all). But it feels dishonest saying "I'll give you this much" when really I may be willing to give more for it. So I said, "We're talking about a new bike here. Who can afford that? We've got a budget, and a person can't just spend money they don't have. Now Sam and I have talked about this, and this is our limit. If you can't meet this, then I don't even want to hear a counter offer. It simply means, this isn't the right bike for us."


To make a longer story short, Glen made a few calls, and that was that. He got the price, plus tax. Unbelievable. Of course, Sam still had to make the final decision, and after another 30 minutes that felt more like five hours, he gave the final "let's do it!"

The proud owner of a Harley

The following week, Sam had some work done on it--oh don't you know, there's always some tweaking to do. The week after, he put some new exhaust pipes on it--gives it a more grueling sound. This week, he had extended foot pegs put on. And I'm sure in the next few weeks or so, he'll have more work done on it.

Boys with their toys.....