Yesterday I tried to craigslist a 19" monitor for $25 to replace my recently deceased one, and some "simplified Chinese character books" at someone's apartment sale. I went there at the scheduled time and announced to the intercom that I was there for the apartment sale. The conversation that followed can be approximated thus:

intercom: "#@ON HO@$#W"
me: "I'm sorry?" (wrong house maybe? definitely the right address though)
intercom: "$#@OU @$@*"
me: "...apartment sale"
intercom: "SO?"
me: "is it going on right now?"
intercom: "&^%OU I@#$ FA@%$#"
me: "I'm sorry, I can't understand you"
intercom: (over-enunciating) "$#@OU IH%@ OO FA@#$@"
me: (I'm in too far? That hardly seems possible, I'm not even inside) "...oh, okay"

At that point I gave up and walked away. Whoever was on the other side of that intercom was obviously getting more exasperated than I was, but not enough to simply let me in or come downstairs to explain. In these situations I always try to come up with an "at least," but about the best I can do in this case is, at least I didn't have to carry home a 19 inch monitor. I suppose it would have been wise to call ahead, but really, I can't be arsed.