Ebay Anonymous

Recently I saw a side of myself that I didn’t know existed. I’ve always considered myself a nice person and rarely get angry. I’ve never road rage and in disagreements, I fight fairly, no name-calling or low blows. This side of me never before appeared— that was until last weekend.

Last weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday in front of my computer on Ebay bidding on jewelry making supplies, crystals, and beads. It was the first time I used Ebay in my adult life and to my delight, I won the first few auctions. When I left the house Saturday afternoon, Ebay was the farthest thing from my mind. That was until later that night when my phone started to buzz in my back pocket. To my surprise, it was my Ebay app alerting me that I had been outbid on a bag of canary yellow beads. Oh no you don’t. I quickly went to “My Ebay” to rebid on the item. After my first attempt to win the beads back I was outbid, so I bid again and again and again until I was finally the highest bidder.

Finally the reigning champion of the auction  once again, I realized that I’d been so consumed with trying to be the victor that I never stopped to think about whether or not I still wanted the beads. In the midst of my bidding, my heart was fluttering. I felt a rush. I was excitable and not in a good way. The feeling was on par with the feeling you get after narrowly avoiding a car accident. And to make things worse, I was now the highest bidder for an over priced bag of yellow beads. Did I have some sort of gambling problem?

I’d been to the casino many times. In this country they were everywhere, and Connecticut has some good ones. I don’t really like to gamble and usually say that I am going to the casino for the food but that’s not entirely true either because I am almost always on a diet. And I can’t say I go for the entertainment, the tickets are extremely pricy. I couldn’t get anyone to go with me last year to see Fleetwood Mac, as the worst seats cost around $125 a piece. I mainly go because my friends invite me. It’s something to do. I justify my contribution to the casino by telling myself that it is still less than I would’ve spent on a night out at a bar or restaurant or if I went away for the weekend. Like most patrons, on particularly bad visits, I try to order enough free drinks to compensate my losses or at least try to.

The phone began to buzz again. I was outbid on another item. Quickly I placed another bid but was out bid again. This is when something sinister began to take over — it was as if I was possessed by a Grinchlike presence that I did not know existed. I bid on the item again and kept bidding though I didn’t  even want the item anymore. I  was bidding on the item again and again with the sole intention of driving up the price for the person who dared to out bid me.

As the night went on, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I was outbid for another set of beads. I glared at my smartphone. I was pissed and in my mind this was war—bidding war. My heart beat faster. I was teetering on the edge of safety. One bid too many and I was stuck with an overpriced piece of junk that I did not even want.  This reminded me of the playing the slots. When I was doing bad, I often said to myself, well, I’ll give it one more try and then bet again. After doing this God knows how many times on God knows how many trips to the casino, I eventually noticed a a pattern- that every time I found my self saying  I’ll give it one more try, the end result was the same: I’d lose.

The next morning I was awoken by a buzzing on the phone. I’d been outbid on a set of crystals, half asleep, I bid on the item again. It wasn’t until I  completely awoke that I’d realized what I’d done- that I’d bid on something in my sleep- thank God I did not win that auction.

I needed to stop bidding in my sleep. I needed to stop bidding on stuff I didn’t really want. I needed Ebay Anonymous.

11 Comments

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11 Responses to Ebay Anonymous

  1. Linda Seccaspina

    Hayley girl.. did you not know that every woman has some sort of shopping vein. Looks like yours has sprung full blown. I could not stand that phone going off though hahaha

    HUGGGGGGGGGGG

  2. Paul Roese

    it’s true! my sister warned me that sometimes you get so caught up in winning an item you can end up paying more than if you bought the item at a store. i doubted this till it happened to me. i now try to take a breath and think how much i want something before automatically bidding. i also check Amazon and Craigslist when in the market for an item.

    • Hayley Rose

      Hmm that’s a very good idea- to check other places first! Ya- now I set “limits” (it’s part of the “eBay Anonymous Program 😉 )

  3. I usually bid so many times and sometimes i worried the more i keep bidding on so many random things, the higher the price that i would have to pay. It is so hard to quit ebay, but it is so addictive, like caffeine drinking. And I wanted to try something else, like save up for retirement or get an apartment or get a new car, but i keep failing all the time because of the ebay syndrome im getting. And as of next Friday, im going pay the last payments on ebay and force myself to quit cause im tired of spending and try to do more saving. Can anyone can support me on this?

    • Hayley Rose

      The onlt thing I could think of in this case would be to cancel your account and try your best to stay away for a while good luck!

  4. Kari Stewart

    I recently had the same problem with Ebay and after paying off my credit bills this month, I knew I needed to stay away from Ebay. It is hard though. I am so tempted to go to my Ebay app and search for jewerly, shoes, or other items I think I need but really just want. I was in denial at first, but now I know I have to enlist some self-control to stay away from those Ebay auctions. It feels good to confess my problem to others. You could say it is a catharsis of sorts. Thanks for your post.

  5. Eryn Matin

    Jewellery may be made from a wide range of materials, but gemstones, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used. Depending on the culture and times jewellery may be appreciated as a status symbol, for its material properties, its patterns, or for meaningful symbols. Jewellery has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings.-*^.

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    Bye for now