Phew!!

In between Christmas dinners, physio sessions and daily addiction to TV soaps, I've finally managed to complete my Christmas shopping. I don't know how on earth I managed to NOT start in September in previous years, because I feel exhausted after three months of the intense frenzy and panick of searching my brain for ideas. I must be getting older. Before you ask, I have found something for my brother, and it is football-related!! How original. So I'm merely putting off for another year the painful task of finding an original idea for the men in my family. I would bet my own weight in dark chocolate that I will be just as stuck this time next year. Unless Sam finally signs that contract with Real Madrid...
Ebay has definitely been an extraordinary experience. I think it's the magic of typing something in the search browser and realising that pretty much everything is buyable. The fact that you can spend hours reading about all sorts of objects for sale, and they're yours at the click of a button. We were discussing "ebay methods" yesterday at yet another Christmas meal we were invited to. Talk about varying table conversation topics - what on earth were we talking about five years ago? How did the world ever exist without the internet? Anyway. The dilemma was whether you should bid early on and thus not be drawn into a bidding contest in the last few seconds, or whether this just pushed up the price of the item. Personally, I like the thrill of watching the item for hours, if not days, and then snatching it off at the last minute by putting a high bid on. It gives me almost more satisfaction than buying the item I want. Somehow, I'm almost disappointed if no one else tried to get the item. Perhaps there is a part of me that wonders if I'm getting some piece of junk nobody else desires.
I've also had my first negative experience on eBay. I bought a football glove signed by my brother's favourite goalkeeper from someone new to ebay and who had no feedback. That was about 10 days ago, and I knew that I would have to pay by paypal, otherwise I wouldn't have time to send a cheque in the post, wait for it to clear and get the item in time before we leave for Switzerland. Unfortunately, at the time of paying for the item, the paypal account of the seller was unable to accept payment, and the seller hadn't communicated an address for buyers to send their cheques. That was on a Wednesday. I emailed the seller every day until the Sunday to try and get an address, and when I finally got an answer, it was definitely too late. I emailed back, asking the seller to sort out his paypal account so I could pay him that way, but he did not reply. By that stage, I had asked ebay for the contact details of the seller and found out that the name he had given me did not match ebay's record. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he suggested to drop the sale, and demanded that I retract the negative feedback I had left him, otherwise he would complain to ebay that I hadn't paid. Highly dodgy, but I did retract my feedback, because to be frank, I didn't want a non-paying strike and people can still read the feedback I've left, even if it's retracted. And it worked - a few days later, I had the satisfaction of receiving an email from another ebayer asking for information about that seller, because they'd read the comment I'd left. Ha ha, I'm feeling avenged!! The Christmas spirit is upon me!!!