Ebay & Me

Last night, I ended up quite resistant to writing, so I ended up rambling on and on just to make 1,667 words so that I could log off the computer and go write in my journal instead.

Speaking of journals, I love to look at some of the ones for sale on ebay. I really like the leather ones. But let me pause for a moment and talk about descriptions:

Number one, I want the measurements to be standard, i.e., 5x7 or 8.5x11; none of this millimeter and centimeter crap.

Number two: when listing a journal, give an approximate number of pages.

Number three: give as many details in the description as possible: lined or unlined? Leather? Cloth? Paperback? Size? Page count? Do not just write: BRAND NEW! and then expect ME to figure out from the picture the stuff I really want to know.

Number four: if posting an item for sale, take a picture of the actual item you're selling, in halfway decent lighting. Do not use a stock photo.

One time I emailed a seller wanting to know something about a journal, if it was a particular size, I think it was, and the seller emailed me back repeating something idiotic that s/he had written in the description. I say idiotic because I wanted to know the dimensions, but not the way s/he had written them because the dimensions didn't make sense. *shrugs*

Half the time, that's why I pass on the auction. I also prefer "buy it now" and/or Paypal items. But you have to watch the shipping and handling charges. I nearly bid on a journal last night that I liked; the price seemed right--until I looked at the shipping and handling charge. The charge was going to be half the price of the starting bid! I ended up not bidding because that seemed ridiculous.

I have usually been satisfied by the things I've purchased on ebay. One time I bought a journal that I hoped would have approximately 400 pages, but it had only about 144 (I thought it was the same as one I had bought in a store; only in a different color). That was my fault for not asking, and the description didn't say how many pages it had. Another time I bought a journal thinking I was getting what was described, but it ended up not being not what was described. Silly me had forgotten exactly what I was supposed have purchased, and by the time I realized it was the wrong item, it was like two months later. What had happened was that the item's description said one thing, but the picture was another thing, and I got what was in the picture, not what was in the description. But like I said, it was like a month later when I realized my mistake, and it was only approximately $5, so it wasn't worth putting up a fuss over.

People should always check their descriptions for sense before hitting submit. Nothing worse than an excellent title description without a photo that makes it sound like a really great item, or just what I'm searching for, but when I click the item, it's nothing like what I was looking for at all. I hate those too, for making me click. I haven't shopped on ebay since earlier in the year. What I bought then were a couple of cheap journals with cheap shipping and handling. I absolutely HATE the listings that have an item for like 22 cents, and then the shipping cost is $20.95. And S&H on ebay is one huge scam anyway, because I know what it costs to mail something media mail, and it's only a couple of dollars--at the most--and I've shipped overseas and to FPO/APO boxes and here in the U.S.

If you're buying a book and the S&H is over a couple of dollars, go buy the book at the bookstore or check it out from the library.