IF THERE'S A HEAVEN, I HOPE IT HAS EBAY

Without being immodest, I can say I'm a woman fairly free of economic folly; I drive a twelve year-old car (and, being a Subaru, no one except a true "petrol-head" can tell how old it is), I prefer a classic dress sense (read: I can wear the same clothing for years), and most of my durable furniture is from La-Z-Boy, which means it will probably be functional long after I am.

Where I let the team down though is in the area of what I'll call binge buying, meaning, if I buy something and enjoy it, I have to own an entire set of whatever that item may be; DVD box sets, books by a particular author, and so on. A good example of a recent binge would be airline dinnerware. Yes, you read that right, airline dinnerware. I now have a collection of plates, cups saucers, ramekins, cutlery and cloth napkins from the best of 'em; United, Delta, TWA, Western, Pan Am, National, and a few other airlines you've probably not heard of if you were born after 1979. Some people may think, "well, you're just a collector", but the truth is I'm not. A true collector buys things but doesn't sell them while a binge buyer a) buys things b) keeps buying until bored with it, then c) gives the stuff away. At least, that used to be the case until eBay came around. Now, I can buy all the bunny rabbit salt and pepper shakers I want, knowing full well that when the obsession passes, the Salvation Army stores won't have more stuff on their shelves. I can now get my money back by selling it on eBay.

Selling on eBay can be a bit tricky for a beginner but it's actually quite easy to do, and the more often you sell, the simpler the process becomes. When I first started selling on eBay, the entire shipping/feedback/PayPal transaction system completely baffled me, and my first few sales were completed with me in a seemingly perpetual state of confusion, but working the process is really the best way to learn. And, it's amazing to see what some people will buy; a magazine I was fully prepared to toss in the recycle bin sold in a bidding war between three buyers for $202.00. An out-of-print, spoken word CD that was a gift long forgotten fetched $175.00, and a buyer in Australia paid $45.00 in shipping charges alone (the item itself sold for $15.00) for an old cup and saucer from the 20th Century Fox studio in Los Angeles. Of course, it's not all wins; I've listed a few items that never received a bid, but it's a no-loss situation; I get to keep the item. As much as l like to sell however, there are some things I would never sell on eBay. Jewelry, clothing, appliances, and the like are all great categories in which to sell, but there's plenty of "pros" on eBay doing that, and I leave them to it. But for the binge-buyer like me, who collects oddities such as old movie posters, DVD box sets, old sheet music, cups and saucers, salt and pepper shakers, and yes, even airline collectibles, selling on eBay is heaven. I can indulge my binge to my hearts content, secure in the knowledge that another binge-buyer is out there somewhere to take it off my hands when I'm ready to sell it.

You'll have to excuse me now, a bidder in Israel just bought my VHS copy of an obscure made-for TV-movie, A Fire In The Sky. Time to fill out my Customs Declaration.