If there’s one thing marriage teaches you, it’s that love is patient… and occasionally hilarious. Especially when your husband buys two “micro computers” off a government surplus auction site for fifty bucks and drives two hours to pick them up.
That’s exactly what Jim did.
Now, in fairness, he’s always had an eye for interesting tech finds, but money was tight at the time, so when I saw him bidding on two mystery machines labeled “Sony Vaio UX Micro PCs,” I gave him the kind of look that could make a Vulcan flinch.
Still, off he went.
Two hours later, my phone rings. Jim says, “So, they messed up. They only had one unit… but they refunded the whole purchase price.”
Meaning: he came home with a free computer.
And not just any computer, this little silver marvel that looked like something straight out of Star Trek meets Mission Impossible. It was tiny, touchscreen, had a keyboard that slid out like a secret compartment, and it could actually run Windows. I fired it up, and within minutes, I was in love.
My nerd heart was gone. 💻💞
Of course, Jim had to ruin it with four little words:
“We got it for resale.”
Fine, I told him. I’ll list it. But if I have to sell something this cool, I’m going to do it my way.
So I took some photos, wrote a completely honest listing on eBay, and priced it at $699.99 — because that’s the number my inner rebel came up with to say, “Over my dead body.”
In the description, I explained the whole story, how it was technically a resale item, how my husband was the practical one, and how I was trying to obey that practicality while secretly hoping no one in their right mind would ever buy it.
I figured I was safe. I mean, come on… $699.99 for a used Sony micro PC? No way, right?
Wrong.
Less than a week later, the listing sold. Just like that. Gone.
I sat there in disbelief, staring at the confirmation email like a widow in a bad soap opera. Jim just grinned that smug little grin of his and said, “Told you someone would buy it.”
And that, dear reader, is how I learned two important lessons:
Never underestimate the enthusiasm of tech collectors.
And never write a listing that good if you secretly want to keep the item.
I did the responsible thing. I shipped it off, sighed dramatically, and promised myself that one day, I’d find another little computer that made me feel that same spark again.
Until then, I guess I’ll always have my memory…
…and the screenshot of that $699.99 sale.
With laughter and a lesson learned,
Tonya
🖖💻✨
