| | I have great news. eBay and I have kissed and made up. Now some of you may not be aware of how deep the rift betwixt us was. But it was a deep and jagged. A few years ago I bid on and won an iPod on eBay. It was being sold brand new from a power seller with return policies and the whole shabang. After winning, paying, and not receiving the item I contacted eBay's Resolution Center. It turns out that this woman had accepted payment for many iPods that week and then disappeared. It was pretty much a class action complaint that eBay received. We were assured that our money would be returned and then NOTHING. I contacted eBay as well as several of the other purchasers and none of us could ever get anything rectified. After dozens of futile attempts from the group of dissatisfied customers, we all shook our heads and chalked the money up to loss. I began utilizing eBay again sometime later, sure that my unhappy experience was a onetime deal. Then it all started again last Summer when I attempted to log into my eBay account which had been maintained and used by me for a few years. I had bought and sold several items including books, CDs, and event tickets. Soon after selling several expensive textbooks and expecting the largest check to date from eBay, I went to the computer intending to check the status of my proceeds. But, alas! I could not log in! Confused, I tried several more times before I realized that I had an actual problem on my hands. I went directly to PayPal to log in there and, again, no access! I soon realized that I had been hacked. I tried to contact eBay (a nightmare in itself) and struck out at every attempt. A couple of frustration-filled weeks later I decided that the money was lost, the books was gone, and I was a sucker. I boycotted eBay. I decided that it was too easy to have a problem and too hard to remedy it. The risk was too great and I was too cautious to take it. But.....then I found myself with a large box of antique books and no good venue for liquidating them. So I decided that eBay was worth another shot. With chagrin over losing the star and number next to my username which boasted to the world of my veteran eBay user status, I created a brand new account. This time I completed all of seven transactions before lightning struck. I logged in one day to be sent immediately to a page which told me that my password was not strong enough. I had to reenter the password and type in the encrypted number for security purposes. This should have taken me to the password change page. Instead it sent me back to the original log-in screen. Using the only valid password I had, I found myself back at the encrypted security page. Once again I typed and once again I was sent back to the log-in screen. Round and round I went. I tried from a variety of computers. I ensured that my pop-up blocker was turned off. I asked for help. I tried at different times on different days in different ways and always the same result. Many months of zero eBay activity and many eBay emails passed. The 2008 holiday season began to creep up on me and I decided on an item that would make my returning soldier a very merry Christmas boy. So I sucked it up, created a new username, and bid voraciously on many listings. Thwarted left and right, I finally won an auction and clapped in jubilation. As I attempted to set up a new PayPal account to accompany my new eBay account, I realized that it was not going to allow me to enter the coupon code that I had received in my email. Apparently, that coupon code was only good for the account that it was sent to. That fact changed everything! It was going to save me a fair amount of money and I had only bid so high with the intention of using that discount. With my tail between my legs and a pit in my stomach, I emailed the seller. There's been a mistake, I lamented. MY mistake. Fortunately, they graciously canceled the transaction within minutes of the final gavel with no hassle and no fuss, releasing me from my obligation. I thought that all was lost in my effort to purchase this item from eBay. In a last ditch attempt, I decided to try one more time to change my password on my second account. I clicked my way through screens and screens and screens until I found myself resetting my password through a link in my email. HARK! I was logged in! Now I have access to my already established account, don't have to set up a new PayPal account, can use the discount coupon and can start all over!!! For now, eBay and I are once again friends. This tedious narrative of the ups and downs of our relationship does nothing to represent the precipices of joy over winning great tickets or the valleys of sorrow over helplessly losing money that I have experienced over the last five years or so. But at this moment, in this little cubicle of mine, I am content once again to shake eBay's hand, call the past the past, and venture out to buy Christmas gifts from strangers in Connecticut. Party on eBay!
____________________________________________________________________________________ Completely unrelated aside:
I am at my office as I write this post. I have been here since 11:00 am. Over the hours the place has grown quieter and quieter. But I remained. I worked, wrote, and monitored my bidding. The cleaning crew has come and gone and informed me that I was the last person here. This has been the case many times before and never have I felt unsafe. However, moments ago as I typed this post, the overhead lights suddenly went out. The power in my cubicle remained on so I knew it was no outage. I yelled, "Hello?" No answer came. I heard footsteps. Thinking quickly and breathing shallowly, I grabbed my phone and hurriedly typed in my password to unlock the screen. I looked around for a blunt object at my desk and had nothing. I thought back to an attack I mounted on my dear friend, Andy, in seventh grade when he hurt me with the locker door and I promptly removed my high-heeled shoe. Not wanting to be trapped in my cubicle or be on the defense, I took my phone in one hand and my shoe in the other, spike facing out, and hurried toward the main door. I was ready to defend myself and possibly call for help. Instead, I saw an older gentleman coworker of mine trying to shut the door to my area. I breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he looked up with puzzlement at this crazed, one-shoed woman pouncing at him. "Hey, Don. I thought you were here to murder me. See you tomorrow afternoon at the meeting." And I calmly returned to my desk and my Xanga post. |
