I'm surprised. Well, not truly surprised -- I know what a fickle beast the internet is and eBay is no exception. After all, I am asking for my beloved buyers to part with their hard-earned cash for items that I wouldn't have in my house if I it was just me. But, I had thought a couple of items would sell... instead, I'm greeted with that ugly notification from eBay -- Your Item Didn't Sell.
Of course, there are many reasons why this might have occurred, and I don't take it too personally. I don't bemoan a failed auction with tears in my beer weeping "What, is my stuff not good enough for you, O Internets?" I rationalize the possible reasons. Other folks might be selling the same thing only cheaper. The item itself isn't hot right now. I don't have enough feedback to mark me as a "real-deal" seller. Any combination of factors might be at play... or, to pervert a phrase from that fine Tom Waits ditty, "the ocean of online auction buyers doesn't want me today."
Now, I am a realist at heart. I understand that there's a limited market for used 8-track cassettes. With those particular items, I'm catering to a brand of geek audiophile that I know is a rare breed. LP's a little less so -- oh you crazy kids today with your mp3s... I had hoped that a 3-record lot of Fleetwood Mac would catch someone's eye, but no dice -- they are back to hanging out in the "salable stuff" corner of my office. Same goes with the first printing of Choose Your Own Adventures #1. If I could go back in time to the 80's and be in grade school, I of course would have been all over it with a bag of chips, but I understand that I'm again dealing with a limited audience.
But the Star Trek Ken Doll as Spock? I really had high hopes. It's new in the box. It's a Barbie doll. I know those things sell. And, it's freakin' Spock. Spock is the pointy-eared definition of American Sci-fi Cool. I had priced it competitively and felt pretty good when I first started getting watchers on the auction. I was sure it would pop at some point... the auction ticked down to zero with no switch from red to green. Rats.
"The ocean of online auction buyers doesn't want my stuff today, but I'll list them again tomorrow for pay." Ahem. Sorry, Tom. If you want me to stop, you could always come play Texas... just sayin'.
It's Monday. No sales, which is fine -- my day job beckons. So far, my hottest item is a practically brand-new Kasparov Advanced Chess Trainer. I almost considered keeping this one, because I love Garry Kasparaov like a tween girl loves Justin Bieber. I remember eagerly reviewing his matches with Deep Blue back in the mid-90's. Why yes, that is my geek card showing again. How-do-ya-do.
*Sigh*. I could list more items today, I suppose. I've been considering listing some CD's that I've toted around with me for the past two and a half decades, but I just can't bring myself to part with them... and they're not going for too much on eBay anyway... Heck, if they don't want a Spock doll, somehow I suspect the internets aren't going to have much love for used ambient goth/neo-folk CDs.
Maybe I'll just listen to some Fleetwood Mac... in mp3 format.
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