Wednesday, June 24, 2009

First Bidder on eBay

I just realized that I have been a member/user on eBay since it first began. I think it was in 1995 or so, when I only had two children and was in the stage of "bored housewife." The days were long back then when my two oldest children were still toddlers and napped in the afternoon. At that time, I was just starting to get into collecting marbles and buttons. Somehow, I came across eBay through someone else (another stay-at-home-mom) who bid on and won some buttons on eBay. I thought it was intriguing because it was difficult the drag two small children around to garage sales and antique shops searching for buttons and marbles. I remember being a bit skeptical that this idea of an online auction could actually be on the up and up. The first thing I took a chance on was some old, clay, civil war era marbles. I think I paid $5.00 dollars for them. I sent a check because that was before PayPal. I waited until they actually came before I told my husband what I had done. He was also intrigued by the site; and a bit skeptical. From then on, I was hooked and made several purchases and sold lots of marbles and buttons. My husband had a go at it as well. He still believes he is the one who discovered eBay, but I know who got him hooked. I believe I was one of the first few bidders on eBay!
These days we don't sell anything on eBay. We haven't in years. We have added two more kids to our brood and time is eaten up with all the day-to-day family stuff. I still bid on things and purchase items with "Buy It Now" and have never had any deal go awry. I have been lucky that way. EBay is still a fun place to poke around and find out if there are any good bargains to be had. Just the other day, I was looking for a nice, drivable 1960's Mustang for my oldest daughter to drive around in. Funny thing, there are several listed on eBay. Not that I would ever feel comfortable about making such a large purchase, but anyway, it's fun to look!

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