Idea Wind: Two Very Different Reasons to Love eBay

Monday, February 10, 2014

Two Very Different Reasons to Love eBay

I love eBay.

Yeah, I know, its not perfect. Ive been sniped more times than I can remember (Live by the sword...), overcharged for "handling", charged more for shipping to Alaska (in a USPS Flat Rate box!), told that shipping to Alaska was unavailable because they would only ship USPS (49th STATE people!), frustrated by lousy pictures, and annoyed, very annoyed at the crazy amounts some people will pay for items, thus driving the prices ever upward. Did anyone besides me notice the 4 vol. set of Audels going for $300 plus!? And it sure didnt look like the first edition either, rather the 1940s edition to boot! Crazy!

But for me, in the Old Tool Hell of the North, its just about the only way I ever get tools short of traveling back east. I dont really know how many tools I have, but I can count on a single hand the ones Ive scored locally. Okay, one local purchase was 30 wooden moulding planes that pretty much fell from the sky, but other than that, it is slim, slim, slim pickins up here. Which is why I spend so much time on eBay. And sometimes it pays off. Today I opened a box with a nice set of Russell Jennings bits and felt the satisfaction of having made a good purchase and added to my kit. Yep, despite all its annoying qualities, I do love eBay.

Gerald, on the other hand, has a completely different reason for loving eBay...