Doubled Down

ENTRY 0010


I don't go by the post office every day.  Usually, once or twice a week is sufficient.  And it can be depressing to stop by the post office a week after the last visit, just to be staring into an empty mailbox.

I didn't know if anything would be waiting for me.  I was hoping that at least one of my recent Ebay purchases would be waiting for me.  When I opened the door, I found a key waiting for me.  Good sign.

I walked over to the lockers, found the match for the key, and gave the key a twist.  Much to my surprise and delight, both of the items I was waiting to receive were inside the locker.

Once I found a place where I would be undisturbed for a few minutes, I opened the packages for my usual quick inspection.  Both were securely packed, and took a little careful maneuvering with my knife to get them opened.  Not that I'm complaining; to me, that means that it's less likely that anything was damaged in transit.

First up was the copy of Dreamwatch #16.  It was in great condition, and everything looked just as it was described in the listing.

Then came the copy of the July 1997 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction.  This particular auction turned out to be an even better deal for me than I originally thought.  When I sent the seller a message asking for the mailing information, I mentioned that I was also looking for the August 1997 issue.  Just as a longshot, I asked if he had a copy of the August issue, and if so, when he might be listing it.  He said that he did have a copy, and told me how much it would cost.  So when I sent the payment, I was paying for both issues.

The issues of Asimov's were probably in better condition than the copies I had lost a few weeks ago.  (Long story; don't ask.)  And I was definitely relieved that I had been able to replace what I thought would be the most difficult items of the bunch.

It took a few hours before I could get online.  As soon as I could, though, I left messages that I had received the packages, then went to Ebay to leave feedback.  My feedback rating was still at 233, but as soon as I posted feedback for each item, feedback was left for me, upping my rating to 235.

Yes, later this evening, I will be taking some time to enjoy my new acquisitions.


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First Success

ENTRY 0005


I finally got tired of auction stalking.  Yesterday, I finally made my move, and took the first steps in filling some of the gaps in my collection.

First, though, a little bit of exposition is required.  There was one very big reason I decided to get my account on Ebay reinstated.  Several weeks ago -- July 19, to be precise -- I lost a backpack.  Or it was stolen; I'm not certain which.  All I do know is that I know that I had it at one point, and suddenly discovered that I didn't have it at another.  I retraced my steps, and tried everything I could to find the backpack, all without success.

There wasn't anything particularly valuable in the pack -- at least, probably nothing of value to anyone but me.  But I did have a few magazines in the pack that I am now trying to replace.  Among those were a couple of old issues of Asimov's Science Fiction; the July 1997 and August 1997 issues, to be precise.  I had a feeling that Ebay would probably be the most likely place for me to find replacement copies.

Once my reinstatement was in place, I started running a number of searches on Ebay.  In this particular case, the search was "asimov's magazine 1997."  Lady Luck was on my side; there was a listing for the July 1997 issue.  I sent the seller a message, asking him if he accepted forms of payment besides PayPal.  I don't have a PayPal account, and to be quite frank, I don't see any particular reason or advantage in getting one.  At least, I don't see any at the moment.

The seller replied, saying that he did accept money orders, which is my preferred method of payment.  And so I began waiting.  I put the listing on my watch list, and waited.  Now, I'm not particularly certain why I was waiting.  This listing was a "Buy It Now" listing, meaning that anyone could have swooped in and snatched it out of my eager hands at any time.

Last night, I decided that I had waited long enough.  The time left on the listing had ticked down to under 10 days, and I decided that I was pressing my luck just a little too much.  So, I clicked on the "Buy It Now" button, confirmed that I wanted to buy the item, and sent a message to the seller asking where I should mail the payment.

I received a reply earlier today.  I wrote a very businesslike letter, restating what I had purchased, and that payment was enclosed.  I purchased a money order, filled it out, put everything in an envelope, and went to the post office to mail the letter.

Now, all I have to do is wait.  And at this point, I can be patient.  That is how I'm going to fill in all of the gaps in my collection, after all.  Just taking things one at a time.

One gap filled . . . more than a few left to fill.

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