I've sold my R/C helicopter. I have no savings, and lately I've been growing more aware of how tenuous that financial position really is. I decided I wanted to get out of that position as quickly as possible. I still really like the helicopter and it was a really difficult decision to sell it (as I worked with it, cleaning it up and taking the pictures for the auction, I started to reconsider my decision), but the fact is, I've only flown it once in the last year. That $1000-worth could be put to better use.

It was a sad decision, because selling it feels like admitting that I'm giving up on learning to fly. Of course I can always buy another one if I want to get back into it, but now that will mean investing another $1300, rather than just pulling it out of the closet. Odds are much lower that that will ever happen. Sadly, I can't even use my R/C flight simulator, because it requires a real transmitter, which I sold with the helicopter.

That is, of course, assuming that this sale actually goes through. The eBay user who won the auction has zero feedback and is registered in the Netherlands. Let's see how this goes.

I'm pleased that the helicopter held its value so well, though. It's too bad most of the rest of my expensive gadgets are electronics, which quickly become obsolete and lose all value. My $430 Palm Pilot, only two years old, now sells for $15 on eBay. I wish I had spent more of my money on mechanical things.

Still, some of my gadgets seem to retain a decent resale value. I haven't touched my PSP in at least six months, and those look to still be worth over $100 used, so that's another candidate for auction. If I can find it.

Update: Oh, good. I sent the auction winner an email asking for his address so I could calculate shipping costs. He replied, "Ik denk dat de verzending heeeeeel veeeeel geld kost naar holand laat het maar weten anders trek ik mijn terug." Yes, excellent. This transaction is going to go wonderfully.

What's more, I ran his message through Babelfish and he seems to be saying, "I think that the sending costs a lot of money to holand lets it but know differently appetite I my." In other words, it sounds like he's having second thoughts. I wish there were a key on the keyboard to stab someone in the face.