Christmas Shopping: 2007 edition

I am done. Yes, I should have been done a while back (and I thought that I was) but my dear friend's suggestion of turning to the power of the internet (namely ebay) to look for these books on Nicholas's list led to a bit of a last minute shopping spree. Basically, I found the two books with such ease and at such a good price that I begin to ponder "Hey, what about this truck and this movie that I also could. not. find. anywhere. else.".



The movie was a breeze to find. I actually bought it used from a private collection instead of new from a warehouse, as I have found you more often get an authentic USA version (aka legal) copy this way. And a DVD viewed several times is still just as good - we frequently shop Blockbuster's pre-viewed DVDs.



The fire truck was quite another story. Apparently, I was not the only one looking for this particular item, and there just were not that many out there. I found one, starting at a reasonable price, and I decided to watch it. Even if it arrived a little after Christmas, no big deal. Late one night, I checked the listing, only to discover that someone else, in the same boat as me, asked if the seller would consider a Buy It Now option. Apparently there were two trucks, one of which the seller agreed to place as Buy It Now. I looked for this other listing.



There it was! Just placed on the auction and still available! I scooped it up for a bargain price!



I just discovered that the other truck that was auctioned finally sold for almost thirty dollars more than I paid. I must admit that I feel a little guilty, because I was not the one who asked for the Buy It Now option, yet I am the one who benefited from it. All I know is that there is no way that I could have/would have paid $45 for this wooden truck! I consider it pretty fortunate that I checked in on the item at the time which I did.



All in all, I was pretty impressed with my Christmas shopping on ebay. I need to remember that next year, earlier!