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.
-30-
Showing posts with label replacement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label replacement. Show all posts
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
First Arrival
ENTRY 0009
Okay, I have probably gone overboard with the "First" titles. On the other hand, I have probably run out of reasons to do another entry with "First" in the title after this.
When I saw the increase in my feedback score on Sunday, I took that as a sign that I would be receiving at least one of my my purchases this week. The only question remaining was how soon that would be.
Yesterday, I went to the post office. I thought the chances were marginal, but I wanted to see if the package had arrived. I inserted my mailbox key in the lock, opened, the door, and looked inside. Along with a few assorted pieces of mail, there was a key -- a sign that I had a package too big to fit into my mailbox.
My post office -- probably most post office branches, now that I think about it -- has a bank of lockers for large items. If a mailbox customer receives something that will not fit in their mailbox (and believe me, the people at the post office will do everything humanly possible to put it in there if they can), they put the item in one of the lockers, and put the key in the mailbox. I have to admit, seeing a key in my mailbox gives me the same sort of thrill that waking up Christmas morning did when I was a kid.
I took everything out, closed and locked the door, then went to the lockers, checking to see which locker matched the key. I inserted the key, gave it a twist, and opened the door. Inside was a large Priority Mail envelope, which I suspected (quite correctly) had been reinforced by a piece of stiff cardboard. (This of course, was done to ensure that the postal employees would not ignore the large red "Please Do Not Bend" sticker on the envelope.
Inside were the issues of SciFi Now and Doctor Who Insider that I mentioned purchasing in Entry 0006. I didn't do much more than give the items a cursory inspection. I made sure that the correct items were sent, and that they were as advertised in the listings. (The more detailed inspections came later, when I got home.)
Sometime later that afternoon, I went to the library to use one of their computers. I sent an email to the seller, and I signed on to Ebay to leave feedback on the transaction(s).
I'm satisfied with the way things turned out. One slight gap was filled in (SciFi Now still has a big gap; more on that in another entry), and I have a replacement for one of the items that I lost last month.
-30-
Okay, I have probably gone overboard with the "First" titles. On the other hand, I have probably run out of reasons to do another entry with "First" in the title after this.
When I saw the increase in my feedback score on Sunday, I took that as a sign that I would be receiving at least one of my my purchases this week. The only question remaining was how soon that would be.
Yesterday, I went to the post office. I thought the chances were marginal, but I wanted to see if the package had arrived. I inserted my mailbox key in the lock, opened, the door, and looked inside. Along with a few assorted pieces of mail, there was a key -- a sign that I had a package too big to fit into my mailbox.
My post office -- probably most post office branches, now that I think about it -- has a bank of lockers for large items. If a mailbox customer receives something that will not fit in their mailbox (and believe me, the people at the post office will do everything humanly possible to put it in there if they can), they put the item in one of the lockers, and put the key in the mailbox. I have to admit, seeing a key in my mailbox gives me the same sort of thrill that waking up Christmas morning did when I was a kid.
I took everything out, closed and locked the door, then went to the lockers, checking to see which locker matched the key. I inserted the key, gave it a twist, and opened the door. Inside was a large Priority Mail envelope, which I suspected (quite correctly) had been reinforced by a piece of stiff cardboard. (This of course, was done to ensure that the postal employees would not ignore the large red "Please Do Not Bend" sticker on the envelope.
Inside were the issues of SciFi Now and Doctor Who Insider that I mentioned purchasing in Entry 0006. I didn't do much more than give the items a cursory inspection. I made sure that the correct items were sent, and that they were as advertised in the listings. (The more detailed inspections came later, when I got home.)
Sometime later that afternoon, I went to the library to use one of their computers. I sent an email to the seller, and I signed on to Ebay to leave feedback on the transaction(s).
I'm satisfied with the way things turned out. One slight gap was filled in (SciFi Now still has a big gap; more on that in another entry), and I have a replacement for one of the items that I lost last month.
-30-
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Now, Insider
ENTRY 0006
I've actually had a few successful conclusions in rapid succession. I've just been a little busy with other matters to write about them until now.
The issues of Asimov's weren't the only magazines that needed to be replaced. Fortunately for me, these would be a little easier to replace, since they were more recent magazines. One of those was the first issue of Doctor Who Insider, a magazine that premiered earlier this year. (As of this writing, issue #5 is the current issue on the stands.)
My first thought was to contact the publisher to see if they had back issues available. But while DWI is geared toward an American audience, the publisher is in England, so acquiring another copy of DWI #1 that way was not the best option. Once again, Ebay proved to be the better option. Searching "doctor who insider" yielded an abundance of results, and several of those were of the first issue.
At the same time, I was also doing a few searches for issue #50 of the British magazine Sci Fi Now. I had missed the issue when it appeared on the stands a few months ago. Oh, I had seen it; I had just miscalculated when issue #51 would be on the stands to replace it. (I've done that with more than a few magazine issues, hence the need to fill in a few gaps here and there.) I did some double-checking, and I found one seller who was selling both magazines. The good news -- he was willing to combine purchases into one package to save on shipping. The better news -- when I asked if he accepted payment other than PayPal, he said yes. He also had multiple copies of both magazines.
I waited another day or two, and decided that I wasn't going to find a better opportunity. So, I clicked the "Buy It Now" button for both items, and sent a message asking for the combined total and mailing address. He sent the information, I got the money order, and it went in the mail.
And once again, it's a matter of waiting. I have a feeling that over the next week or two, I shall be quite pleased when I go to the post office to check my mailbox.
-30-
I've actually had a few successful conclusions in rapid succession. I've just been a little busy with other matters to write about them until now.
The issues of Asimov's weren't the only magazines that needed to be replaced. Fortunately for me, these would be a little easier to replace, since they were more recent magazines. One of those was the first issue of Doctor Who Insider, a magazine that premiered earlier this year. (As of this writing, issue #5 is the current issue on the stands.)
My first thought was to contact the publisher to see if they had back issues available. But while DWI is geared toward an American audience, the publisher is in England, so acquiring another copy of DWI #1 that way was not the best option. Once again, Ebay proved to be the better option. Searching "doctor who insider" yielded an abundance of results, and several of those were of the first issue.
At the same time, I was also doing a few searches for issue #50 of the British magazine Sci Fi Now. I had missed the issue when it appeared on the stands a few months ago. Oh, I had seen it; I had just miscalculated when issue #51 would be on the stands to replace it. (I've done that with more than a few magazine issues, hence the need to fill in a few gaps here and there.) I did some double-checking, and I found one seller who was selling both magazines. The good news -- he was willing to combine purchases into one package to save on shipping. The better news -- when I asked if he accepted payment other than PayPal, he said yes. He also had multiple copies of both magazines.
I waited another day or two, and decided that I wasn't going to find a better opportunity. So, I clicked the "Buy It Now" button for both items, and sent a message asking for the combined total and mailing address. He sent the information, I got the money order, and it went in the mail.
And once again, it's a matter of waiting. I have a feeling that over the next week or two, I shall be quite pleased when I go to the post office to check my mailbox.
-30-
Monday, August 15, 2011
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.
-30-
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.
-30-
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