Volume 1, Issue 2                                                                                                             July 1997

Addiction Stories- Honorable Mentions

From: packrattwo@aol.com

You know you're an eBay junkie when.........
You find yourself turning on the computer as soon as you get out of bed, and you don't turn it off until it's time to turn in.

You sign up for three extra servers just to make sure you can get on line.

You start buying more and more electronic gadgets and software to help with those images.

You have to keep your cell phone turned on, so the family can check on you every few hours to make sure you're still alive.

The phone bill on your metered business line just went through the roof.

You start soliciting junk mail, and you subscribe to three more newspapers, just to have more paper for your shredder.

You've got your friends scouring the local dump for reusable shipping boxes, and you start picking up the newspapers at the curb ahead of the recycling truck.

The clerks at the Post Office and the UPS delivery man call you by your first name.

You start buying alkaline batteries by the case for your digital camera.

You start sticking pins in maps.

You start bidding on other people's items, just to get the boxes that the merchandise comes in.

You declare eBay as a dependent on your income tax form.

You've got the healthiest checkbook balance that you've had in years.

And..you're having a lot of fun!    

From: pdx4us4@earthlink.net

Part I  eBay: A Life Changing Experience
It was a dark and gloomy night sometime near the end of January. I was bored, sitting and flipping through Netguide magazine. I discovered a page about auctions. Gosh, that sounded like fun, I thought. I checked out a few and discovered eBay. The rest, as they say, is history.

I started small, buying just a few items at first. This lasted about 3 days. By Valentines Day, my addiction was in full swing. My browsers starting page was set at eBay. I totally monopolized the family computer. I had lists set aside of items I wanted to buy and their exact ending times so I could swoop in and be the final buyer.

For Valentines Day, my husband bought me a 33.6 modem so I could swoop faster yet. I was thrilled! So now, up to speed, I was buying, buying, buying. The problem now was, I had a great modem but our computer was...well, let's just say it was dated.

Dear sweet husband to the rescue! By early March, my new computer system was in place. My new computer, of course, came with a fancy modem so now I had an extra modem. What better thing to do than auction it off at eBay. I sold it to a gentleman in Russia which I found to be a quite romantic end to a wonderful Valentines Day present.

Part II - A Truly Life Changing Experience
As one might guess, all this buying, buying, buying would lead somewhere and it did - to a rapidly depleting bank account. So I thought I would try to sell a few things. I started small, finding an item or two around the house. Soon I was hitting every flea market this side of the Mississippi, searching for the unique, the oblique, the perfect item to auction off. Buying to sell was starting to take all my free time (I work full time too) and I needed HELP!

Enter my second knight in shining armor, my brother. He was bored (early retirement). I mentioned my eBay adventure, and he was off and running! eBay has changed our lives significantly. We now have formed our own little business, KayDee collectibles. We buy and sell at the auction, of course, but are also putting together our own web page to feature some of our favorite new collectible items we have discovered in our travels, such as limited edition banks. I hope to be able to quit my job someday and just buy and sell.

Yes, I admit to total and complete eBay addiction. And I couldn't be happier. Thanks for changing my life, eBay.

Submitted by: pdx4us4@earthlink.net, proud owner of a new computer system, a digital camera (the best way to sell an item is with a picture!), a new part time business, and a new lease on life.