Best of Philly 2005: Help

Messenger Service: TimeCycle Couriers Not just for documents — we’ve had them pick up oversize boxes at U-Haul and bring them to our door, return rental tuxedos after a wedding, even retrieve some aged gouda from Reading Terminal’s Downtown Cheese for a cocktail party (215-627-7874).

Luxury Car Broker: Mark Kreider For a $1,000 fee, Kreider will find you the 2003 BMW 5 (or any other luxe used car) you lust after — at the auctions where dealers get their own used-car inventories. You’ll save enough to get those tricked-out 18-inch rims you’ve been eyeing (717-665-6611).

Place to call when you smash your luxury car: Concours This South Jersey shop not only makes your car’s body look like new; the mechanics here treat you like somebody — not just another insurance company check (815 Hylton Road, Pennsauken; 856-663-7580).

Place to find great books, cheap: Harvest Book Company Outlet This Media-based outlet store features thousands of titles — all for $2 or less. Can’t find the odd title you’re looking for? They’ll be happy to search their 140,000-volume archive, based in Forth Washington (9 East State Street, Media; 610-566-3191).

Accumulated-junk–in–basement removal service: Fritz Junk Removal Steve Fritz will cheerfully haul the goods up the stairs and take them away, leaving a neat, orderly basement—now with enough room for a ping-pong table (700 Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore; 610-642-2378).

Place to get new junk for your basement: Freecycle Network
This free, online network, a nonprofit run by volunteers, is dedicated to “keeping stuff out of landfills.” The more than a dozen chapters in the Philly area let you get rid of and receive things from others in the network (freecycle.org).

Mover of Priceless Objects: Tristin Lowe Any reasonably careful mover will safely transport a leather sofa or 40–inch LCD TV, but handling a Donald Judd sculpture or a seven-by-11-foot Andreas Gursky photograph requires a specialist. Lowe has all the necessary equipment in his toolbox (he once used a crane to get a 900-pound sculpture through a second-floor window), and he makes child’s play of hanging an oversize painting (215-260-8195).

Way to get great Phillies tickets: Phillies Ticket Marketplace This service on the Phillies’ website lets you buy otherwise sold-out Diamond Club and Hall of Fame Club seats from season ticket-holders who aren’t using them. The best part: You’ll never pay more than face value
(phillies.com).

Way to buy Eagles tickets: Stubhub.com The eBay of the sports and concert ticket world, StubHub lets you bid on seats and generally gives you a better deal than professional ticket brokers. And no, there’s no risk: They guarantee the seats will be available for pickup before the game or show, and their fulfillment center is inside the Stadium Holiday Inn.