I first discovered Nikola Tesla's Purple Plates in a Linda Goodman book. I completely forgot about what I had read until recently when I came across a couple of websites on the subject.





These links will help you get an understanding of what they do:

http://www.teslaplates.com

http://www.naturesalternatives.com/energy

http://www.linda-goodman.com

http://www.purpleharmonyplates.com/nikola_tesla.htm

Do they work? In my opinion, yes!

I bought a medium purple plate on eBay for $16AU (rrp $45AU) and a couple of pendants for around $8-10 (rrp $30AU)The seller was from St Louis, USA - in this case buying from an international seller worked out a lot cheaper than buying locally from a shop.

VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

Some call them 'Postage Pirates' AAARRRGHGH!

They are the ones who hold 0.99c auctions and charge $40, $50 or $100 for postage!!

Here's a nifty way to beat those nasty pasties...

1. Sign in and go to "My eBay"

2. Scroll down to "Items I'm Watching"

3. Click on "Customise Display"

4. Move "Postage Cost" to the right hand column

5. Save!

The postage for items is now visible at all times.

If the postage reads "Not Specified", don't bid until you ask the seller about the cost of postage. That way you can avoid nasty surprises at the end of auction.

If in doubt, do a check with the following postage calculators:

USPS - http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm

Australia Post - http://www1.auspost.com.au/pac/

Royal Mail - http://www.royalmail.com (use the quickfind menu at top of page)

Sometimes you get the perfect piece of clothing. For the perfect price. I snapped up this authentic JAG top (similar to top pictured) for $5.50 / $10.15 including postage



VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

I was lucky to buy from an individual who no longer wanted the top - this may be the best way to buy brand name clothing. I would be wary of big eBay stores that claim to sell "authentic" designer clothing at ridiculous prices. One has to ask the question - how is this profitable for them? The answer is...it isn't. Unless of course the designer labels are quickly sewn or glued on before selling.

I have seen a lot of people burned by fake designer goods. Look at the person's feedback - if a lot of people are saying "not sure about authenticity" or "this is a fake!!" then use common sense. Also, if you are buying a Prada bag for $15 then you don't really have that much to complain about. If you ask me, the dang things aren't worth $500 anyway.

Happy Shopping!!

These were all bargains. Retailing at $30 new in shops, $40 for hardback, I managed to snap these up from $2.00 to $6.00 - often the postage was more expensive than the book!!

VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

Here is the list of the Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta Books (in order of publication):

Postmortem
Body of Evidence
All That Remains (August 1992)
Cruel & Unusual (December 1993)
The Body Farm
From Potter's Field
Cause of Death
Unnatural Exposure
Point of Origin
Black Notice
The Last Precinct (October 2000)
Blow Fly (October 2003)
Trace (September 2004)
Predator, was released on October 25, 2005

They will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.

technorati tags: patricia cornwell, kay scarpetta, scarpetta books in order, books, crime, fiction

Yes. That's right. I have ventured into the territory of selling.

It is my first time and I am researching as I go. I will explore the
ins and outs of ebay selling in future posts.

Go to ebay and look up:
Faith No More – Angel Dust CD












Offspring – Smash CD












And... Telstra Prepaid Starter Pack with SIM $10 credit












They will be on ebay.com.au (see top left button)for the next few days...

Happy Bidding!!!

When you place a bid, you make a commitment to buy the item if you win. There isn't really a "get out of jail free" card.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that they can put a bid on a number of the same item and only buy the cheapest one at the end of all the auctions.

Wrong!!

If you put a bid on 5 different Nokia 2600s, and you win all 5 auctions, you're buying 5 phones.

This is the biggest mistake many people make when learning to use ebay.

Here it is. The dreaded negative feedback. This is what it looks like and I hope you never have to deal with one.



Always check the sellers feedback on ebay. If they have 100%, great! If they have 99.9%, check the one negative feedback comment.

I have encountered two kinds of negative feedback:

1. The buyer makes an outrageous/stupid comment like "THIS IS A FAKE!!! DON'T TRUST THIS EBAYER!!"

...when the item description clearly stated "REPLICA FOR SALE"

It's ridiculous to complain about anything that is listed correctly in the item description. It's not right to give negative feedback when you didn't read the listing carefully enough.

Most likely, the response from the seller will be "CLEARLY STATED IN ITEM DESCRIPTION. LEARN TO READ." or words to that effect.

In this case, I would still consider buying from this seller, as the negative feedback was clearly unfair.

However,

2. If the seller has more than one negative and a number of buyers are saying the same thing - Beware!!

Examples:
Item never arrived.
Very rude seller.
Item arrived broken. Will not answer emails.

In this case, I would not consider buying from this seller. Why create problems for yourself? Buy from someone with better feedback - you will save yourself time and worry.

Many sellers with feedback such as this will hide behind their sales numbers eg. "OVER 1000 CUSTOMERS SERVED" - this is no defence.

If a lot of these items disappeared, were faulty, sub-standard, or had excessive postage added, then stay away. You could be next!

It's not so much the number of negatives but a matter of detecting a pattern. The way to pick which sellers to buy from comes down to instinct.

Use the force, Luke.

I have received quite a few fake ebay emails in the past, but I was waiting for one to use as an example. Nothing would please me more than to ruin a spammer's day!! So here it is in all it's glory. (Click to enlarge)



Here are the ways to spot the newer, more sophisticated fake ebay emails:

These ones are clever - it looks like it was sent from an ebay member. In fact, the body of the email is almost duplicated exactly from a real ebay email.

Firstly, don't look at the body of the email - check who it came from.
1. Was it sent to your email address that you originally registered with ebay?
My answer to this question was NO. The email was sent to one of my other email addresses so it could not possibly have come from a real ebay member.

2. Do you recognise the name? Is it someone you are dealing with?
My answer to this question was NO. The person asking the question was from the UK, and claimed to have sent money to me.

3. Does their question make sense?
My answer again is NO. Why would someone send me money when I am not an ebay seller and I do not have a Dell Laptop to sell!!

4. Safety check
Whenever you answer emails from ebay members, log straight into ebay and check "My Messages". This is the best way to check if the message is authentic. If it's not in "My Messages" then chances are you got a fake. There are exceptions to this rule, but you will learn to know which are the real ones.

5. Real ebay messages don't ask you for logins or credit card details
The one predictable feature of spam is that they often ask for your login and password or say they have "lost" your credit card information and would you please update them? Use common sense. If a stranger called you up pretending to be from the bank and asked for all your account details, you would be suspicious. And you would probably call your bank or visit them to check the authenticity of the call. It is no different online. It's just easier to forget that even though it's the internet, it's still real.


It's a feeding frenzy for the sharks. Make sure you're not on the menu.

If you are joining ebay for the first time, you need to do the following:

1. Sign up
2. Resist the temptation to start bidding/selling/buying etc.
3. Go straight to the "COMMUNITY" section (see picture)



4. Research this section until you get sick of it. Really. If everybody did this first step, it would reduce complications in the future.



5. When you are ready to start bidding on ebay, do the following - check the seller's feedback (click to enlarge)



If you are satisfied with their feedback score and comments, start bidding!!

It is a good idea to start small with your first purchase (I should take my own advice!!) just to see how it all works.

Happy Shopping!!

I discovered a great blog for all those who love Hello Kitty (and there are many!).
It's called "I *heart* Hello Kitty".

http://i-heart-hellokitty.blogspot.com

Here is the official Hello Kitty website for all things Hello Kitty...
http://www.sanrio.com/main/mbna/card.html

And the shop:
http://shop.sanrio.com


I found some great Hello Kitty stuff on ebay:
(No listing links here - check the seller's feedback before bidding, check for signs of authenticity and ask questions if unsure)

1. Hello Kitty Webcam


2. Hello Kitty Phone


3. Hello Kitty Lamp



Happy Shopping!!

P.s. I have now added a babelfish "translate this site" button for languages other than English.

Join the CrispAds Blog Advertising Network!

I've noticed that some outfits are flattering to the figure, and some are not. For today I'll focus on jeans:

Firstly, don't get a pair of jeans that bunches up around the waist and hips. This looks bad on everyone, including Kate Moss. Make sure the jeans don't taper at the ankles because they will make your legs and hips and waist look bigger than they are. Here is an example of the "Wrong" look, courtesy of Lorraine on MAD TV:




Now, for the style of jeans/pants you should seek out...

Jeans that are low cut minimise bunching around the waist

Flared or bootcut around the ankle balances the line of the pants

Corduroy can be extra flattering and comfortable as well!

Here are some I picked up on ebay:



VERDICT - SUCCESS!!!

Here are another couple of examples to get a better idea.




Remember - don't go for the Lorraine look. Things aren't that bad!!

Buying things for some people can become like an addiction where they fail to do the proper research. Always remember it's your money that you're spending. Spend it wisely.

Here's another ebay listing from the "weird" category:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&item=300014302394

Don't forget to subscribe to my feed. Just put your email in the box on the right and press "Subscribe Me". You will then get new updates delivered to your mailbox.

The emails you receive will look like this:



It's convenient and keeps you up to date with the latest posts!!

Happy Shopping!!

I have to tell myself to be patient. It is too easy to give in to the temptation to just bid on ANYTHING. And NOW.

The result is often paying too much for an item you don't want, don't need, doesn't fit or doesn't suit you.

For example, this one looked great in the picture, but when I got it back, it just didn't suit me. This is something you can't really tell when buying clothes online, you just have to give it your best guess.



VERDICT - Win some, lose some!

However I learned from this experience and did a lot of "Watching" and a lot less "Bidding". Finally I found the perfect top, put a bid on at the right time (ie. there was no-one else bidding!) and won the top for 0.99c!!!



VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

This is a good example of the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure":...
A person buys some videos in the 1980s. They watch them once and store them on a shelf for a long time. In 2006, when ebay is the place to sell your old wares, a golf nut discovers these two titles and puts on a bid. The seller gets money and some shelf space, and the golf nut gets two indispensible instructional videos.

And they all lived happily ever after.

VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

Time for a ratings update.

To recap on the "Ratings System" entry - the results are either "Success" or "Not". Simple!!

Click on the picture for a bigger view:





So far so good.