In my efforts to make my new digs aesthetically pleasing on a student budget, I turned to slipcovers. I found that covers for my grandma's armchair can cost quite a bit. The slipcover store "Surefit" charges $99 for a cover that size. Macy's had it listed online for $89, but didn't stock it anywhere. Although I really like Ikea, I couldn't find anything that fits standard American size stuff, so I went to my good buddy Craigslist. However, Craigslist is only as good as the people who offer items, and no one was selling anything that I wanted. So I decided to reaquaint myself with eBay.
The evil eBay and I go way back. It was a quick relationship with a terrible ending. The address listed in my eBay account is 2505 Cedar St, in Berkeley, so it's been about five years since I last (and first) used eBay. I was a brand-new firefighter at the time and I bought a "Firefighter Barbie" for kicks. It didn't cost me much, but I got janked out of my money as the seller never sent it to me. So five years later, still without a Firefighter Barbie, I trepidatiously logged on and found something that could work for $4.99 from the Surefit Outlet Store. So when Surefit can't sell stuff for $99, they send it to their outlet store for $4.99! Amazing how much markup people can be conned into paying. If like the Surgeon General's warnings on tobacco containers, or the USDA's food labels, they required the Checkbook General's warning to outline what the markup was on merchandise, people might think twice about parting with their hard-earned dollars so easily.
So the bidding deadline quickly approached. I planned my day to stay at home until the bid was over. I had heard that one should not bid until the last minute, so that's what I did. I bid, was outbid, bid again... my heart was pounding. Incredible how one can feel at war when bidding on a $4.99 item (or should I say a $99 item?? -which would make me feel less silly). I could feel my face flush, my muscles tense, my concentration intensify. Total sympathetic response (a.k.a. flight-or-fight response), man! And I won! My wily predatory nature garnered my success, and now I stand proudly before you, the newest owner of the Surefit Separate-Seat Matelasse Chili-colored Chair Slipcover, and I am only $7.51 poorer for it. Sure beats $99 + tax and gas/time costs to get to the store.
I just hope I get it in the mail!
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I quit fighting fires and being adored by the public. Now I'm about to become a poo on the heel of the medical profession, otherwise known as a "medical student."
4 comments:
I felt the same way with my first ebay purchase, it was a Levi's handbag, very cute...I was an obsessed bidder! I am sure you will get the slip covers, but if not you can leave a negative review of the seller.
I know this is the wrong blog, but I am so frustrated---what the flying frack is Marfans Syndromw??? You cannot leave us hanging!!
Marfan's is a disease where a person's cartilage forms abnormally and ends up making really long, spindly fingers and extremities, and the person becomes very tall and thin, kind of alien-ish looking. The sad part is that other organs in the body are also affected and patients often die of other complications. Very insensitive disease to play charades about, but we gotta memorize all this stuff somehow! Since I don't know who "anonymous" is, I can only hope that whoever you are, you don't have a relative with Marfan's.
No, I don't think I have any relatives with Marfans Disease, but you had me wondering. Now if it had beren some cool non-metric crainal trait, or culturally imposed cranial deformation I would have been on familiar ground.
See you on T day.
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