Sunday Dishes: Harlequin Platter

Harlequin Oval Platter in Chartreuse. $6.50 at the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall in Phoenix.

Flip That Dish?

One of my favorite Harlequin items is double egg cup:

It is my goal to acquire one egg cup in eleven of the twelve colors produced (I will never have medium green...too rare and WAY too expensive). And I'm almost there. Last night I won an ebay auction for one in gray.

While the gray egg cup is not a rare piece, it is far less available than the rose, spruce, and blue ones pictured above. The final price (before shipping and handling) was $9.99. That's certainly less than I anticipated having to pay.

Shortly after discovering the win, I noticed a new message on my ebay watch page. I thought it was a seller's invoice. Nope! It was another buyer wanting to buy the gray egg cup. And she was willing to pay $30 for it. Apparently, she didn't get home in time to bid against me.

I had never encountered this situation before, and didn't know how to respond. On one hand, a 200% return on my investment sounded quite attractive. But on the other hand, it might be awhile before I find another gray egg cup. And I definitely won't find one for $10! I didn't reply to her offer right away. Instead, I decided to sleep on it.

Early this morning, I received a second e-mail from her. It seems I wasn't moving fast enough for her liking. I wrote back, declining her offer. But I added that if I decide to sell the egg cup, I'll give her first crack at it.

Thursday 13: The eBay Edition

Thirteen items I have bought on eBay:

1. Video games. Buying used video games saves big money. The trick is getting the boys to wait for the package to arrive in the mail.

2. College textbooks. I was too lazy to drive to the campus bookstore. Anyway, I think I saved a few dollars this way.

3. Legoland passes. The savings was considerable.

4. Dishes. Lots and LOTS and LOTS of dishes. I wouldn't have a Harlequin collection without eBay.

5. Cell phone accessories. Cheaper than going to the Verizon store...as long as you can find a seller who doesn't charge inflated shipping fees.

6. Glow stick bracelets. I give these out at Halloween instead of candy.

7. A Genie Wireless Keypad. The boys haven't been locked out since we installed this thing.

8. Clothing. Ebay is a great way to get gently-worn designer items for a pennies on the dollar. It also beats facing disappointment when the Anthropologie sale rack has nothing cute in your size.

9. Yu-Gi-Oh cards. These are now sitting at the bottom of a drawer.

10. Pink Legos. Years ago, Kyle wanted more variety for the Lego City he was building. The city has since been dismantled, but he still has the little house I built using the pink Legos. It's now covered in dust.

11. A leaf canister for the pool. What did we ever do without this thing?

12. Vacuum cleaner filters. I couldn't find them locally.

13. A St. Joseph statue that you bury in the ground when you're trying to sell a house. And yes, it worked.