My Buyer From the Looney Bin

Well, either she's from the looney bin, or she's gonna send ME to one! Here's the listing in question, but it's completed, so I don't know how long it will be available. If I narrate this one, we'll be here all day. So I'm just gonna do a copy/paste. Note the dates. This has been going on since August 16th.

August 16, from buyer: hi, do you have the 10th card for the bear? thanks

[Let's consult the listing, shall we?]

August 16, me: No, she comes with 9 cards.

August 16, from buyer: hi ok can you tell me the brand name of this carebear and tell me what cards are there. Maybe I can find the missing one on line. My kids want this care bear :)

[Let's consult the listing again, shall we?]



August 16, me: The brand is TCFC. The cards that I have are firetruck, watch, balloon, carrot, ring, shoe, sheep, elephant, and corn. They are 2-sided cards, so there are 18 options to choose from. My kids and I played this several times, and it is absolutely playable without that 10th card. It's like a 20 questions game, so there is never a point where it matters that the card is missing. If she asks you if the fruit is orange, and you aren't holding an orange (if that's the missing card - but I have no idea, this is just an example), then you just click on no and she asks the next question.
Thanks for asking,
Jessica

August 17, from buyer: don't know that company? I'll google it. thanks

August 17, from buyer: hi are there any other names on the tag? thanks

August 17, me: TCFC = Those Critters From Cleveland.

The back of the tag says: "(C) TCFC Inc. Manufactured under license by Play Along (H.K.) Ltd. A division of JAKKS Pacific, Inc.

August 18, from buyer: oh ok I called the company but they don't have the replacement .....is there any way you can find the missing card? hope you find it :)
August 18, me: When this bear was given to us, it was already missing one. There is no chance of us finding it. But it is completely playable with only 9 cards. We have played it several times and never once was the missing card an issue.
August 21 (3 days later), from buyer: ok that's great :)

August 21, from buyer: Hi again, are you willing to take $10.00 for the bear? please let me know thanks so much

[I think I had her priced at either $19.99obo or $24.99obo)

August 21, me: I haven't had this bear listed for very long. She is in very good condition. At this time, I'm not willing to go any lower than $15.

August 21, from buyer: what is the cheapest shipping to zip 80911? thanks
August 21, me: Parcel post is $8.65. Priority mail is $9.60.

August 21, from buyer: hi again :) Do you combine shipping?

[At this point, I'm starting to get a little annoyed, but I now see potential for multiple sales...]

August 21, me: I sure do! You'll have to let me know the item numbers before you order. I will go in and remove the immediate payment requirement on those items. Then once you've ordered, I will send you a revised invoice showing the combined shipping.

August 21, from buyer: oh ok should I go ahead and put in my best offer? you said to let you know the item numbers. Forgot to ask,If you're ok with $13? thanks again

[Sigh. Scroll up.]

August 21, me: $15 is the absolute lowest I am willing to go. If you are making offers on both items, then yes you can go ahead and do that without telling me the item numbers. If there is not a best offer option, then you'll need to let me know the item numbers first.

August 23 (2 days later), from buyer: hi, I noticed you had alot of items to look at :) I'm going to try to finish looking by tomorrow night.

[Criminey. Just buy/pay/go away already!]

August 23, me: Sure thing. Thanks for letting me know :)

August 23, from buyer: hi I saw this so cute, how much is this and the care bear? and the cheapest combined shipping?

[Let's consult the listing again...]

August 23, me: The bear was $15. The pig is $7.99. So the total for the 2 would be $22.99 + shipping. Adding the pig doesn't change the shipping at all, so it would still be $8.65 for parcel post or $9.60 for priority.

August 23, from buyer: saw this too :)

August 23, me:

$15 bear
$7.99 pig
$9.99 game
====
$32.98

$11.82 parcel post shipping OR
$15.05 priority mail shipping

August 24, from buyer: hi oh ok :) Have you played the Clue game? is it a different out come every time it's played?

[wow. really?]

August 24, me: Yes, it is played just like regular Clue. You randomly choose one card from each category (room, weapon, and character) and hide them away at the beginning of the game. Those 3 cards are your solution, so as many different combinations of 3 there are, that's how many different outcomes there could be.

August 24, from buyer: ok are you willing to go lower on this and the pig car?

August 25, me: No, they are both already priced lower than I originally wanted for them.

August 26, from buyer: oh I'll let you know asap

[I don't remember exactly at which point she made the offer on the Care Bear, but the next correspondence I have is well after the purchase.]

August 30, me: Are you still shopping? If you are done, I'd like to get this shipped out.

Thanks,
Jessica

August 30, from buyer: hi yes I'm still shopping sorry about the wait. Also trying to decide if I want to buy simpsons game.

August 30, me: No problem. I just hadn't heard from you for awhile, so I thought I'd see what was going on. Take your time, and let me know when you're done :)

[If ever I could take back any of the words I've ever said in my life, it would be those.]

September 4 (5 days later), me: It has been nearly 2 weeks since you ordered this bear. Are you still interested in it? If not, please let me know as soon as possible so I can relist it. If I haven't heard back from you by Friday, I'll need to cancel the sale and relist.

Thanks,
Jessica

September 4, from buyer: Hi Jessica,
Sorry took so long I've been out of town.
I will be paying tomorrow :)
Is the pig shake and go car still available?
Thanks so much

[Sigh.]

September 5, me: Yes it is. You can copy and paste this link into your browser, or you can do an ebay search for item #120759714136. Thanks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120759714136?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

September 6, from buyer: thanks so much! Forgot to ask can the batteries be replaced?

[Um ... it's not disposable! It's also not solar-powered. It's also not rechargeable.]

September 6, me: Yes. It requires 2 AA batteries, which are included.

September 6, from buyer: hi Jessica forgot to ask does the pig car play music too?

September 6, me: The pig oinks and snorts, and there is the sound of a car engine running. No music.

September 6, from buyer: ok I will be payin today (WED evening) :) thanks so much for your patience :)

September 8, from buyer: hi Jessica, I tried to pay but for some reason my paypal is acting up. I'll try again in the afternoon. Also on the invoice, the shipping is wrong :(
Sorry about the wait. Thanks so much again.

September 8, me:

On August 21, I sent you a message with a shipping quote:

"Dear xxxxxxx,

Parcel post is $8.65. Priority mail is $9.60.

- ellie_belle00"

The invoice I sent you shows the same numbers.
I will be relisting this bear on Friday at 8pm EST if this transaction isn't completed by then.

Jessica

**********

This is where we are currently. I am so ready for this to be done. I kind of hope she doesn't pay, so I can just open a UPI or cancel the transaction or something. Anything! Ack!

I'll keep you posted.