Clarify what you're getting - BEFORE you leave to pick up

I always ask the standard questions: What and how much have you got? Where are you? Do you know how much you want for it? But yesterday I ALMOST got caught short:

Telephone caller has some stuff she wants to sell and wants to know how much I'd pay. I determine it's about 2 to 300 pounds of Light Iron and she's about 30 miles away. I'm not buying light iron (not worth it, especially if I have to pick it up) and explain this to her. Ask her if she's got anything like copper wire, aluminum pans etc. "Nope". Tell her I'd give her .04/lb if she brings it here. That's when she tells me she also has a bunch of windows and how much for them? I determine they're wood frame. Tell her it'll cost her $50 plus $1 a window to get rid of them.

End of conversation.

By CALLER ID and cell phone #, I figured out she'd just moved here from Indiana.

WE all have had those calls , it's much like the Hot Tub calls lots of work little pay one has to charge !!

I guess there's two sides to that coin. I was recently asked if I'd pick up a microwave and a couple of lamps. Sure! Two full trailer and pickup loads later there's still at least one more load waiting. I was rather sceptical of one load, over a hundred miles away, over $30 in gas alone, but told them in email I'd be there Monday. Come Monday I called before leaving to "verify" the pickup, and say it would be about 1PM, during the call I also asked for a clearer determination of the amount, the 9 computers was enough, plus a couple large copiers, old fax and printers. If I had more experience with the huge old copiers I could have made a pickup charge as well but, what the hek. Turned out one of the old keyboards alone sells on Ebay for more than my gas investment :)

I get those danm keyboards so often now i just toss them in with steel.selling 2-3 keyboards online a month aint worth building a stock pile in the triple digits. Probably would take me years to sell the stock i got now.

put em on buy it now, second one cheaper than the first, and with combined shipping, you get double sales at half the time packaging ;)

Oh i hate them calls.
Heres some:
Will you buy my 300 microwaves for 5.00 a peice?
Will you pick up a 2000 gallon water tank?
Do you take shingles?
And them the people who try to convice you. Its only 30 miles come pick it up, please?

These people drive me crazy.