My Favorite Time Sucker

Tip Of The Day: Fabulous and freaky things you can find on eBay. Even if you don’t buy, you can BROWSE, which is a great way to kill time at work.

Tip For Tomorrow: My quest for eternal youth continues – product review of Neutrogena’s Deep Wrinkle Eye Revitalizing Treatment. Plus, pictures of what I bought on my TELEVISED shopping spree (yup, I truly will NEVER let you forget that), and free stuff I got from India.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: In my other life as a Realtor, I do many real estate-y type things, such as educate others on ways to promote their listings. Listings, for those of you NOT in the know, are the houses we have for sale. And sell them we will, come hell or high water. One of the ways we can help sell all those listings is by posting them on eBay.

That’s right; you can buy real estate on eBay. You can also buy shoes, purses, cell phone accessories, cemetery plots, sweaters, stuffed animals, jewelry, cars, costumes, patterns, dishes, designer diaper bags, and a person’s soul.

Seriously, someone tried to auction off their soul a few years back. Guess they weren’t using it anymore and it was taking up sooooooo much space in the garage.

My own eBay spending has been severely limited since I started the whole “$20 or less per item” experiment. Why? Because even though it’s easy to find something fabulous for less than $20, you have to tack on the cost of shipping. And it’s the shipping cost that will get you EVERY TIME. WHICH SUCKS. THUS, THE ALL CAPS HERE.

Tips To Lower Your Shipping Costs:
1. See if the Seller will ship to you in a less expensive fashion, like ground vs. Priority Mail. This doesn’t usually work if you’re buying something from overseas, though.
2. See if the Seller offers combined shipping rates – this only works if the Seller is selling more than one thing you want/need.
3. Try to buy local and then go and pick your item up, instead of having it shipped. Hey, it works for Craig’s List, right?

However, if you are not bound by a random, restrictive shopping rule like mine, eBay is still a great place to find a bargain, shipping costs or no. Here are just a few items I picked up before my August embargo:

1. Peep-toe leopard-print platform heels. $26, including shipping
2. Chocolate brown, cable-knit, shawl collar cardigan by Jones New York. $24, including shipping.
3. Brown doctor’s-bag purse by Liz Claiborne. $11, including shipping.
4. Stuffed Piglet with angel wings (for my angelic nephew). $7.24, including shipping.

That’s just the stuff I actually BOUGHT. Then there’s all the stuff I COVETED. Yes, I understand that coveting is a sin, but I didn’t covet anybody’s wife. Just their stuff:
1. Antique estate rings, size 4.5
2. Beige pointy-toe stilettos, size 7
3. Cashmere v-neck sweaters, black or red
4. Vacation home in Hawaii, $613,000

Last but not least, here is my favorite item on eBay today. Buy now!
You can become a Laird or Lady of your own (mini) Scottish Highland Estate for just $34.99. I could be the first MacDonald in my family (yup, I’m Clan MacDonald of Glencoe) to actually own real estate in Scotland in hundreds of years. Lady MacCheapchickohue. Do you think they'd take just $20?