Chalk me up as another eBay addict

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

I thought I had escaped the soul-sucking monster that is eBay, but, sadly, I have not.

I collect a certain cartoon character* that is not readily available in its own merchandising, so I’m always on the hunt looking for it, and have a few modest items in my growing collection. There is one particular item I’ve been looking for since I first saw it (and, of course, didn’t buy it when I did) about three years ago - in fact, my whole family has been on the hunt for it. I always figured I’d be able to find it on eBay one of these days, but never seriously looked for it.

Well, I finally got around to it, and now I’m hooked.

I set up search parameters and eBay kindly (HA!) sends me e-mail any time a new item is listed with those keywords, and I’m suddenly finding out that, indeed, there is quite a larger number of items with this character than I had thought (still amazingly small compared to the likes of Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse or such, but still more than I thought).

And I want it all.

Good news is, I did find the thing I was specifically looking for right off the bat, and got it for a very, very paltry sum. But then I saw a lithograph. Then original sketches. Then a Christmas ornament - ooo! Uh-oh…

AAAAAH!

I can’t afford another semi-expensive hobby! (Although some of the deals, if you keep your eyes open, are pretty good, even if it is a giant flea market.)

AAAAAH!

Aw, but it’s so cute! And on the bright side, when my family asks what I want for Christmas, I can just send them a bunch of eBay URL’s.

AAAAAH!

{sigh} I should go back to collecting scorpions.

Esprix

[sub]*Actually, I collect more than one, but that’s another story entirely…[/sub]

#2

I used to do that, too, but I never knew where to put them all, and they were always underfoot, and you had to look down every time you sat down or–snap!–you got a pincer, right in the–

–Oh, I suppose you mean the inanimate kind. [sub]Carry on, then.[/sub]

But seriously, I know how you feel, several months ago I decided to check out this eBay thing, and just do some browsing. How can there be so many people selling so many things that I need but don’t have? Damn technology!

#3

Hello my name is Cindi and I’m addicted to E-bay.

[sub]Hi Cindi[/sub]

My bid item of choice is usually jewelery of all kinds–costume, vintage,mixed lots, loose gemstones nothing is unworthy of just a little look. I didn’t start out to be an addict-no one ever does. It started with a successful bid on a mixed lot of costume jewelry–oooh there were some good things in there. Yes you always remember your first time. I knew that this is was what my boring life had been missing. It was as if it completed me somehow. Scoff if you want but if you are an addict you know exactly how that feels. All I wanted was to feel that way forever. Soon mixed lots weren’t enough to produce that rush. My habit soon progressed to jewelry by the pound always always in search of that one great find. Like the white gold and 1.5 carat diamond bracelet appraised at $450 that I got in a lot of 20 bracelets for $15, or the gold bracelet that weighed 20 grams that I got for $10.

In an effort to distract me from my expensive gold habit I attempted to substitute clothing. I figured it’s practical, I need a jacket like that and besides it’s only $15 I can afford it----Oh the lies we tell ourselves in an attempt to rationalize…

Lord I admit I am powerless over this affliction so I will allow you to decide my fate. I’ll make you a deal, if you don’t want me to bid on anything else ever again then you will cause E-bay to close forever right now…
I’m still waiting…

Ok that settles it, nothing happened so I will continue to bid-only this time it is with the blessing of a higher power.

(I am so weak)

#4

My dear mother is an eBay jewelry junkie. She does searches for “gaudy,” “ugly,” and similar words-- a big fan of mega-sparkly costume stuff, is my mom. She’s got tons of the stuff now, and the cool part is that most of it’s actually pretty nice, and I get to steal… I mean, pick out a couple pieces to keep every time I visit. It’s like my very own jewelry store!

#5

Actually, I think he was talking about the animate kind:)

#6

The Hello! Kitty vibrator, right? :wink:

–Cliffy

#7

No, no, I’ve got that already…

:eek:

D’oh!

Esprix

#8

[sub]I’ve set Ebay as my opening web page.[/sub]

#9

sigh

Hi guys, come on in. Coffee’s in the corner. Help yourself.

[CUE MUSIC: “Harlem Nocturne”]

My story? It’s not really different from yours, or yours, or yours. It started with shot glasses.

Yeah, shot glasses. I collect 'em, ya see. All kinds, from places I’ve been, different brands of liquor, novelty shapes, and so on. One day I typed “shot glass” into eBay just for kicks. And found that folks were selling something like 10,000 of 'em, including a bunch I had wanted for a long time.

After awhile, I started browsing for my other collections. Car brochures, car dealership items, records, books, stuff for my Cadillac. I just couldn’t stop.

There’s a guy who emails me every time he puts a bunch of car brochures up for auction. It’s gotten to the point that once he sees I’ve won an auction he just sends me the stuff and I send him the money through PayPal. It’s very neat. No personal contact, so it’s totally deniable on his end if I get busted.

I think I’ve got it under control, although I’m still in the running for an optional specifications manual for my Cadillac. I won’t spend more than $50, I know I won’t. Hey, off my back! I make the mortgage payments, the phone’s still on, and I manage to get out of bed every morning and get to work on time.

It’s under control, really.

[FADE MUSIC]

Zap!

#10

I need serious intervention. I’m now searching jewelry under the the word pounds.

#11

The words of a true addict.
Join the club.

I also collect something not readily available, and have discovered eBay is a great source.
It’s also good for old out-of-print or hard-to-find books.
What, you’re not gonna tell us which cartoon character it is?

#12

Not an addict, but found gifts for people who collect old collectible stuff. And some collectibles for me, like out of print books.

#13

I’m not an addict, no really I can quit anytime I want to.

That’s what they all say. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

#14

I’m addicted to eBay, too – only selling stuff. I do pretty well selling small sketches and cartoons on there, and oftentimes it gets people to my galleries. :wink:

Although, I do turn to eBay as soon as I need something I haven’t been able to find at a local store. I recently found a gorgeous evening dress, old but looks like it was never worn, for $10.00. And I needed a sparkley dog collar to go with it, since my regular collar is nylon and would look awful with a dress. I can’t find any “dressy” dog collars in the pet stores here, but I found one on eBay right away and in the right size.

Oh, and if you browse the recently ended auctions for items with no bids, many times you can e-mail the seller and ask if the item is still available, and if they’ll sell it to you for their starting bid price. That is what I did with the dress. (I found the auction in a search, but it was already ended when it popped up – I missed it by a few minutes.) I don’t recommend doing that with anyone w/out lots of positive feedback, though, because eBay won’t be involved if they never send the item, and you can’t leave negative feedback unless you actually bid and one the auction.

#15

Hi, my name is Feynn and I am an E-bay addict.

It’s the fountain pens that keep drawing me there, the Parkers, Shaeffers, Watermans, Omas, and so many others in all their glory.

But what I really want is a Conway Stewart 388.

If only my budget matched my impeccable taste…

#16

Keep coming guys, don’t stop. Let eBay surround you and engulf you. It’s my hubby’s hobby, he sells tons of stuff there every week. He goes out to auctions, buys up stuff and makes a ton on money putting it on eBay. Saves him time, travel and agony because he used to be a professional auctioneer. Now all he has to do it list it on eBay for about 7 days and makes at least a third of his buying price on his items. Course it’s a pain in the butt shipping all that stuff, but hey, it gives him something to do.

#17

I’m not quite an addict, but I do find myself searching there quite a bit and putting low bids on some don’t-really-need-it/but-would-really-like-it crap. I haven’t won too much, I just don’t have the killer instinct required to win a bidding war.

Lately my searches have focused on things Barney (yes, that Barney) related for my little girl. She thinks the purple one is really gear. I’ve also spent some time searching for electric shock collars (for my dogs, before any sickos out there get any ideas). Our main dog laughs at the normal collar, so we have to get him one for “stubborn” dogs. The damn things are like $90 retail, so I keep trying to get one cheaper on eBay.

I’m also doing my best to keep my wife as far away as possible from there. She is seriously into horses, and would spend hours bidding on horse related crap (bits, bridles, saddles, riding crops) if given the opportunity. And apart from the saddles and the riding crops, there really isn’t anything I could use :).