For The Love of Ebay / Driving With Mr. Daisy

For The Love Of Ebay

Ebay...such a lovely name, such a lovely place.  When you live on an island buying and ordering things on the internet takes on a whole new meaning.  Oh the joys of walmart.com, amazon.com, and lowes.com!  You just can't imagine.  Being able to shop online and get it sent directly to you.  No hauling packages around and long boat rides.  No missing a day's work or giving up your Saturday off from school to shop.  Love it.  But my favorite website of all is ebay.  As I mentioned in a previous post, there has hardly ever been a time when I was searching for something that I didn't eventually find it for sale on ebay.  And if you are will to buy used items, and I am, you get get some fabulous bargains!

I buy almost all my jewelry making supplies from ebay and all of my camera equipment.  Do the deals ALWAYS work out fabulously?  No, but the times I have gotten stuck with a broken or worthless item are very few and far between, and you are talking to someone with around 2,000 transactions to her name!  I both buy and sell on ebay.  Now, as far as selling on ebay, I must say that there is not the money in it that there once was.  Ebay fees take away some, but mailing and shipping fees have gotten so high it eats up a large chunk of your profit margin.  When N. was little I did very well selling his clothes and then taking the profits and rebuying the next size.  Now on small items the shipping fees negate some of the bargains to be had.  Great deals can still be had on cameras, however.  People often get a new camera and find they don't use it, get more than one camera as a gift on special occasions, or buy a huge DSLR kit and can't quite figure out how to use it or get tired of the weight.  Then they sell these items on ebay, sometimes at incredible savings.

Last week after going to the Rehoboth outlet stores, I came home without a purse (SHOCKING, I KNOW!).  I had seen a few in the Fossil store and one in Michael Kors that I really liked.  But I wanted to keep looking and never managed to go back.  So the next day I set out to see if I could find something I liked (and maybe even a little cheaper) on ebay.  In a couple of days, I managed to win a couple of auctions, and on Friday, they came.  Here is my ebay haul...two like new fossil purses and a great fossil watch.  

I spent about $68 with shipping fees, and all were delivered right to my post office down the road.  I'm happy.  I think those purses will look great for FALL.  I do know that the idea of buying used merchandise in not comfortable for all people, and if it's not your thing then that's OK too.  But keep in mind not everything on ebay is used.  You can find great deals on brand new items as well.  I recently bought my new kitchen light fixture and new cabinet knobs from a hardware dealer on ebay.  And last year my new kitchen faucet came from there too.

Here's a tip....you are going to need a PAYPAL account if you are going to start buying on ebay.  Paypal will manage your payments to ebay.  It is a safe site, and easy to set up.

And What You May Ask Did I Do Today?

Driving With Mr. Daisy

Earlier this summer N. performed that rite of passage that all 16 year old's long for - completing Driver's Ed and obtaining that golden ticket called "the Learner's Permit".   In Virginia once you have obtained your permit you must drive 45 hours with a parent or other licensed driver.  Since most people on Tangier don't have a car on the island (golf carts rule here!), and only keep one on the other side at Crisfield, this can be very difficult to accomplish.  

N. and I had the opportunity to go off the island for a few hours today.   With me starting back to school next Wednesday, and him after Labor Day, our time to get in any practice driving is getting short.  He has driven a few times with his dad this summer, and while on vacation with both of us to Virginia Beach, but never just with me.  Luckily, I did not need the sign posted above!  He did very well.  We managed to get in about 3 hours of driving, a trip to Walmart, a Chinese food lunch, a Sonic slush, and dropped off 3 bags of donations at the Hospice Shop Thrift Store.  It was a good day for us both!  

What a week it has been, new blog started, craft projects finished, new ebay scores arriving, Tangier Homecoming, and supervising a student driver!  Oh, and a hummingbird has returned to my backyard.  More about that in a later post, but for now I'm going to go sit a while on my dock of the bay.