The Glories of Ebay...I Sing You Praises!

January 12, 2007

I wake up and am still not pleased with our new agreement. It would just be so much easier to pretend, to ignore, to forget about, to...my, god I need to stop whining! This was my idea after all!

I stumble around my once again banned purchases littered in the apartment and turn on the laptop to search Ebay for all her hidden treasures.

What to my surprised eyes should appear but a mountain of pages all selling these balls!

It's a glorious sight indeed. I sent out 11 e-mails asking the sellers where their exercise balls and foam rollers were made. Eleven messages asking where a product was made. I wonder what these good souls must think of me. I wonder if Luke's parents, who are passionate Ebay sellers, are asked such seemingly random questions. I think about calling them to check.

Of the eleven e-mails I sent out, nine people actually responded to me. I am shocked and quite pleased. All of the balls are made in China and one of the foam rollers is made in America.

I almost become frustrated again when I remember that it is ok to buy used items made in China since we are not the primary consumers. What delight, since there is a seller on E-bay who lives in Chicago.

We e-mail back and forth and he agrees to wave the $10 shipping if I pick up the item. Fortune must have smiled on me. Not only do I win the exercise ball for $.99, he even agrees to drop it off to me on his way home from work, which isn't far from where we live, for an extra penny.

Now, I'm not completely nuts, I did agree to meet him in the middle of Lincoln Square on a day when Luke is able to go with me (I hope this makes you feel better, mom!) and the extra penny was a whole lot cheaper than taking the CTA to meet him at his place.

I love my "new" silver (my second favorite color) exercise ball which cost me a dollar! Hell, that's a better deal than the sale at Kmart. I even use it almost every day. (I did forget to bid on the foam roller though, and the auction has ended.) Now my original purchases can go back to Kmart.

Ebay, you saved the day!