Dear Forum Folks,
Have you had any experience buying on ebay? Ever since hearing it from my younger brother, who’s been buying and selling on ebay from almost a year, I decided to try out this site that boasts to offer excellent deals representing 40% to 60% savings compared to any local retail stores.
So about six weeks ago, I set up a brand new ebay account, provided my credit card information through a secured web page, and created my own password. The first bid I won was on a DVD movie; the seller was located in Singapore. I paid the equivalence of $13 Canadian dollars for it through Pay Pal, including shipping cost. A month and a half later, I still haven’t received my DVD! And then I found out that the seller was no longer a valid ebay user, apparently he was expelled from ebay due to some sort of misconducts! So now the only recourse I have is to call my credit card company and place a dispute on this non-delivered item. At this point the complaint has been filed and I can only sit tight and wait for a reply. It’s a test of endurance for me. Well, so much for my ebay experience, I got burned on the very first deal! I swear I will NEVER bid on anything from Asia, or outside of North American continent for that matter, from this point on, regardless of how cheap or enticing the price may be.
Since I am not a quitter, I didn’t give up on ebay just because of one lousy deal, so I moved on. Next I bid on an HP LaserJet printer from New York, paid for it through Pay Pal again, and this turned out to be a very sweet deal, I saved over 50% on this printer compared to the local electronic stores like Future Shop or Best Buy, even after adding in shipping, custom and duties. The printer did arrived in perfectly good working condition. The next thing I bought was a brand new computer book called: “Excel 2000 formulas” written by American spreadsheet guru John Walkenbach, the converted price including shipping I paid for was $40 Canadian, the book was listed for $80 in a local Chapters bookstore. So that was 50% saving for me again. So after two sweet deals, nothing can stop me now. I moved on to win bids on Fido cell phone sim card ($14 saving), USB hub for laptop computer ($19 saving), printer toner cartridge ($35 saving), laptop PS/2 keyboard adapter ($13 saving), cartoon book and trading cards for my son ($15 saving) etc, only from sellers located in North America of course, and so far I have been receiving all brand new products in good working conditions.
Overall I saved more than $200 Canadian dollars by buying from ebay. I wholeheartedly embrace the idea of “deferred gratification”. This idea was instilled in me through my prolific readings and vigorous training in wealth management and financial planning.
My next several targets include: bidding on a Firewire PCMCIA card and cable for my newly bought DELL Inspiron 1150 laptop computer, two books titled: “ebay Bargain Shopping for Dummies” and “When bad things happen to good people”. I am also thinking of bidding on an external 3.5” USB Floppy drive and a set of USB wireless keyboard and mouse for my laptop. I don’t believe in buying second hand stuff on ebay, so I only bid on brand new and solidly sealed products.
My younger brother Hugh is such an ebay junky that he constantly watching and bidding on ebay for just about all the ‘men’s toys’ he ever wanted. He’s a self-taught electrician. He completed all the wiring for his own basement when he renovated his rental house. He also runs a little “remote starter” installation business from his own garage when he gets off from his full time geophysical job. He was able to sell a lot of unwanted electronic auto parts on ebay, instead of throwing them away for nothing. His car’s rear bumper was smashed up in an accident, and after replacing a new bumper; he was even able to sell the undamaged side panels from the old bumper on ebay and got some money for them! All it takes is posting a few pictures on the products, taken by a digital camera and let people bid on them. Our society has been promoting frugal lifestyle for years, and I can’t think of a better way to lead a frugal life than utilizing ebay to turn your unwanted trash into extra cash. Thanks to modern computer technology, we have this online auction site called ebay, now one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and everybody is happy.
One of my friend who’s in the public practice accounting business recently approached me to outsource some of her bookkeeping works to me. After subcontracting most of my spare time to her, now I am extremely busy without any free time to spare. This explains why I haven’t been able to sit down and write about my France trip, to satisfy many forum friends’ craving and curiosity. There’s always a price to pay when you try so hard to have “irons in the fire” besides your full time employment. Hopefully the supplemental income will act as an extra layer of protection for me, so that I am not nakedly exposed under the threat of “whims of the boss”.
Live long and prosper, bid on and prosper!Neil
