So, did anyone else get screwed by the new eBay/PayPal account link policy? What eBay/PayPal account link policy, you ask? That's exactly what I said when it happened to me the other day. And it did not make for a happy toy guy.

I found an item I wanted to bid on, but (and I realize some of you will probably resent me for this, but it's the nature of the game) like I prefer to do a lot of times, I intended to snipe the item at the last second - perfectly within the rules and a heck of a lot of fun! Like Weird Al says in his eBay song, 'I am the type who is liable to snipe you with two seconds left to go. Whoa!' By the way, if you've never heard that song before, you should; it's pretty hilarious.

Anyway, the countdown is on... '20 seconds'... I choose my maximum bid price... '15 seconds'... I click the 'Place Bid' button... '10 seconds'... I review my bid... '5 seconds'... I click the 'Confirm Bid' button...

And instead of seeing my bid take effect, I receive a message from eBay that says my eBay and PayPal accounts aren't linked, so I'll need to fix that first before I can proceed. What the...?! Talk about a lousy way to lose an item!

First off, I'm thinking, 'What do you mean, my eBay and PayPal accounts aren't linked?! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.' Not only were they linked before (or so I thought), but eBay owns PayPal, for Pete's sake. You'd think they'd have a clue. But there it was, right in front of me, laughing at me, strangling me with its needless red tape. I assumed it was a technical glitch. And with the message, a link was provided for me to go through a procedure to link the two accounts.

Now, I could have just clicked the link, but that's not like me. I like to know what's going on. So I contacted eBay, and asked them what exactly had just happened. The eBay customer service rep explained that this 'new' account link policy was actually put into effect several months ago, but has been rolled out over time to affect users by groups, and that it must have finally hit my group. I asked if users were emailed to notify them of the change, so they weren't suddenly lambasted in the middle of bidding on an auction, and the rep didn't know, which tells me they weren't.

If they didn't bother to send an email on the subject, at least they could have had an alert pop up on users' screens when they access eBay, much like they do when you have an unpaid item dispute. Then again, what am I thinking? Huge corporate monopolies shouldn't have to bother themselves with things like consideration for their customers.

If it hasn't happened to you yet, you're lucky. But be forewarned, that suddenly in the middle of a bid, you might find yourself staring at a message from the eBay gods telling you to go jump in the lake.

Tomorrow I'll share another funny story from my earlier toy collecting days. Not sure which one just yet, but I promise, you'll be amused. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

I have a lot to address today, so I'd better just get right to it.

I think I've finally put an end to the transaction with the Seller's Remorse guy. I asked him to cancel the mutual retraction agreement unpaid item dispute, but I gave up on waiting for him when I realized I could basically cancel it myself. By responding to the dispute and choosing the option in the dispute that says I do not agree to cancel the transaction, not only do I NOT get an non-paying bidder strike (which would have been ridiculous if I did since I paid for the item with an instant PayPal payment right after I purchased it, which the seller later refunded), and not only does the seller NOT get his eBay fees refunded (in this case just pennies), but the seller can't open another dispute of any kind on the item.

So, basically, case closed. And I sent him an email right after and told him as much. I know it was only pennies, but I wasn't about to let the guy get his eBay fees refunded to him after he so obviously scammed me. You may recall that this all started several days back when the seller wouldn't ship the item I purchased because he felt he didn't make enough money for it. Of all the problems I could have foreseen happening with a seller, I never would have dreamt that the seller would basically just decide not to ship the item. Insane!

And another recent source of contention: What is with sellers including the 'Or Best Offer' option on their listings, then not responding to your offer? They have 48 hours to respond. They can say 'yay' or 'nay.' Or they can just be lazy and let it expire. Well, nearly every time I make an offer, the sellers have taken the lazy way out. I've developed the opinion that if they can't (or won't) respond within 48 hours, then their communication with their customers is pretty poor and I probably wouldn't want to deal with them anyway. Apparently, eBay feels the same way, or they would have given sellers more time to respond to your offer.

Another way I've seen sellers use the 'Or Best Offer' option is they set up an automated response to offers that come in. Personally, I think that's even lazier yet. It means the seller doesn't want to take the time to consider each offer. If the seller feels they don't have time to address offers, and they already know what they want for the item, then don't use the 'Or Best Offer' option at all. Just set a price. Instead, they give the buyer a sort of false hope that the seller will work with them on the price.

As a case in point, I made an 'Or Best Offer' of 10% below the 'Buy It Now' price on an item I was interested in. Not unreasonable, right? I received an instant automated response declining my offer. So, that tells me the seller is pretty firm on the 'Buy It Now' price and the 'Or Best Offer' is just put there to make the buyer think the seller will work with them. Pretty lame, in my opinion.

I have no intention of ever employing the 'Or Best Offer' option on my listings as a seller. The way I look at it, the price is the price, and if you want to give buyers a break, run a sale. But if I did use it, I would at least have the courtesy to respond to offers within the allotted 48 hour window and NOT make it an automated response.

Once again I've managed to get sidetracked from the topic I intended to discuss today, which is the new eBay/PayPal account link issue. That'll have to wait for tomorrow. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

I don't know about anybody else out there, but I am really getting psyched for the new Iron Man movie that hits theaters next Friday. I had a lot of comics as a kid (mostly hand-me-downs, as I mentioned in a previous blog), and the few Iron Man comics I had were always my favorites. Then, when I got a little older and had the opportunity to read the whole series, I enjoyed the comics even more. Maybe it's because the writers were willing to make the story more real by tackling Tony Stark's alcoholism issues, or maybe it's just because Iron Man is a serious bad a**. Either way, if they do the comic book series justice with the new movie, it could be one of the best Marvel movies we've seen.

I still have a bunch of Iron Man toys in storage, and I'll do my best to list them before the movie hits, so that all of you crazed Iron Man fans out there can have a chance to add them to your collection and/or get them for your kids. I have some great stuff both new and old, so keep your eyes peeled. And the same goes for Hulk toys - I still have a bunch of that to list as well, and with the second Hulk movie coming out this summer, I won't be waiting too much longer to make those available.

I won't belabor the following point too much, but I did want to bring it up, so here goes. I'm fairly new to blogging in general, and more specifically to eBay blogging. And you'll notice I've been archiving my rags in my eBay blog the day after they appear on my eBay store's home page. While there have been a few interesting and/or informative comments made by other eBayers in my blog, I've already begun to notice a trend, and maybe someone can explain it to me.

What's with people using other people's blogs to advertise their eBay ME pages or their eBay stores or listings? Is this appropriate? I don't think it is, but maybe I'm missing something. I've deleted many 'adverts' from my blog already, and I guess when I started my blog, I didn't really expect to see so many people using it to advertise their wares.

Some of you have set me straight on many bloggers' inability or unwillingness to write in complete sentences (or complete thoughts, it would seem), use punctuation or bother to spell much of anything correctly. I guess it's like text messaging, you have to learn to read between the letters, or in this case, words, or sometimes content. I suppose I can do that, but the shameless advertising has to stop. In my opinion, I should be the only one permitted to advertise anything in my blog. If others insist on doing so, they should be prepared to have their comments deleted.

Did anyone else get screwed by eBay's PayPal/eBay account link policy? We'll tackle that on Monday. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

So, yesterday after I posted my rag, the Seller's Remorse guy issued my refund, and I wish I could say it ended there. Instead, the seller felt it necessary to push my buttons. He could have just let it die, but what do you suppose he did? He issued an unpaid item dispute, asking me to agree to cancel the transaction so he can get his 24 cents in eBay fees refunded to him. 24 cents. Are you kidding me?

I'd had enough at this point. Not only was it like pulling teeth to get any communication out of the guy, but when he did respond, he claimed he mailed the item but couldn't offer any proof, and then he listed another identical item (maybe the same one?) after I paid, without offering the item to me since the one I'd purchased was apparently lost.

So I let him have it. I told him exactly what I suspected he was up to, and surprise, surprise, he didn't like hearing it. Shot back with excuses and insults, which tells me I'm right on target. Didn't even bother to deny this time that he never mailed the item.

With any luck, he'll honor my request to cancel the unpaid item dispute, and we can finally put this puppy to bed. I can pretend none of this ever happened, and he can go on his merry way and continue to distinguish between which customer orders he wants to mail and which ones he doesn't. Naturally, I'll keep you posted if anything new develops.

On a positive note, his email was pretty well written, I'll give him that. But from the opening line, it was garbage. Suffice it to say that he began by claiming the only way I could be on to him is if I had scammed my customers the same way. What kind of twisted logic is that? Besides the fact that I wouldn't have 100% positive feedback on over 1500 transactions if I was scamming my customers in ANY way, he obviously underestimates the power of the human brain to spot a con-artist.

I know I said I'd discuss other eBay bloggers in today's rag, but I hope you'll forgive me for taking liberties, under the circumstances. We'll get into bloggers tomorrow. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

In case you're wondering, still no refund or communication from the Seller's Remorse eBayer that I mentioned in yesterday's commentary. After stating in an email last week that I would have a refund by the beginning of this week, the seller has fallen off the face of the earth. Here's an idea, if you're going to offer a refund, do it. Don't promise it and then disappear.

On a lighter note, I've been meaning to share a story with you, and it looks like today's the day. Some years back, my wife was in Minnesota (my home state) on business, and wanted to get something nice for me related to my beloved Minnesota Vikings. You can't find much Vikings gear in Arizona, although you'd think you could since Arizona doesn't really have a pro football team.

So, finding herself in the airport in Minneapolis and running short on time, she purchased something she thought I might like. Upon returning home, she presented me with a Randy Moss (when he was still a Viking) purple #84 beanie bear. Although I don't collect beanie bears, I thought it was a sweet gesture and it was a nice addition to my collection of various Vikings memorabilia.

A few days later, I found a receipt mixed in with some stuff on our dining room table, and I could hardly believe my eyes. The receipt was for $70 from the Minneapolis airport for a Vikings purchase. My wife couldn't possibly have paid $70 for a Randy Moss beanie bear, right? I mean, after the infamous Rhino incident (see my April 18 post in my eBay blog), you would think she wouldn't make that mistake again. I checked on eBay just to be sure this wasn't some kind of rare pricey collectible, and it was as I feared. They were in plentiful supply and selling for less than $20.

For weeks I continued to mull over the idea that my wife had spent $70 on a beanie bear, most likely just because she thought it was something I would enjoy. Throw in a set of brushes and one of us selling our hair, and you've got a regular Gift of the Magi tale. I shared the story with a close friend, telling him how I wanted to ask my wife about it, but that I didn't want her to think I was upset, because it really was a thoughtful gift. I decided to be thankful I have a wife who likes to see me happy, and I let it go at that.

Then Christmas came, and my wife was so excited for me to open one of the gifts she had gotten for me, that I thought she was going to burst. Imagine my surprise when I opened the gift, and it was a brand new, very stylish Minnesota Vikings jacket. All at once, it made perfect sense, the $70 receipt (which my wife had no idea I'd seen), wasn't for the beanie bear at all (thank God!). I told her my story and she pretty much told me I'm an idiot, and we had a good laugh. Moral of the story: as Homer Simpson once said, 'Assume, and you make a something out of something and something.' No wait, I think it was, 'All work and no play make Homer something something something.' Well anyway, you get the idea.

Tomorrow I'll share some more thoughts on eBay bloggers. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

I had planned to tell you an amusing story about my wife, the Minnesota Vikings, a beanie bear, and a $70 receipt, but I have an axe to grind today, so Randy Moss will have to wait.

You may recall that I told you I'd keep you posted on the situation with the seller that claimed the item that I purchased from him 3 weeks ago had been mailed. Well, let me tell you about a little thing called 'Seller's Remorse.' I had my suspicions all along as to what had happened, but I had those suspicions confirmed yesterday. Here's how I see it (and if I'm right, which I'm almost sure I am, it's a lame way to do business).

The seller had an old, fairly rare item that is probably worth about $10, but he started the auction at just 99 cents, probably figuring it would be more enticing and would get a few bids and still sell for around what it's worth. Well, it got one bid, mine, for 99 cents. Enter Seller's Remorse. Realizing that he didn't get what he wanted for it, the seller did nothing. No confirmation of my payment, no indication of a mailing date, nothing. Heck, I'm virtually positive he didn't even mail it. He just decided to wait and see what I would do. When I emailed him to inquire about the status of my order, he claimed it had been mailed and couldn't explain what could have happened. When asked if he had any proof of mailing, he claimed he couldn't find the mailing receipt or delivery confirmation receipt.

Then, and here's the beautiful part, he offered a refund. You see, in the seller's mind, that makes everything all ok. Never mind the fact that the seller has just wasted my time. Never mind the fact that in the meantime I might have passed up other opportunities to get the same item from a legitimate seller. Never mind the fact that the practice he's employing abuses the spirit of the professional relationship between buyer and seller and goes directly against eBay policy.

So you might be thinking to yourself, 'How does this guy know the seller didn't actually mail the item?' Well, I don't. But I'm about 99% sure he didn't, and here's why. Besides the seller not being able to supply a mailing receipt of any kind, this is not the sort of item you're likely to have two identical ones of in stock (unless you're a virtual Toys 'R' Us like I am, which this seller clearly is not), yet he's relisted the identical item recently, since I purchased it and paid for it, and this time with a much higher opening bid and an even higher Buy It Now. This seller has clearly learned from his Seller's Remorse. Upon checking the seller's feedback, it became clear that this is not the first time this has happened. Other buyers have complained about not receiving an item after a very low purchase price, then having the seller offer a refund. I wonder how many of those items ended up being relisted as well.

I haven't actually seen my refund yet, so we'll see what happens. I just wanted to share this while it was still fresh on my mind. Being a seller, too, I guess what really grinds my gears most about this transaction is that I would NEVER pull this on one of my customers. I've said it before, it's this simple: buyer buys, buyer pays, seller ships (within a couple of days of cleared payment is nice), buyer receives within a week, and everyone's happy. I just wish all of the sellers I deal with would adopt the same philosophy.

Tomorrow I'll share with you the story behind the $70 Randy Moss beanie bear, I promise. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

My rags of late have been running a little longer than I'd like, so I'll try to keep this one short to start off the week. My FromMyToyBox eBay store Grand Reopening ended yesterday, and I must say it was a great success. A big Thank You goes out to all those who opted to take advantage of the 10-day sale and cherry-pick from my substantial personal collection of Marvel Legends figures. There are still plenty of great figures available and many more to come! Tip of the iceberg, my friends. And for those of you who were asleep for the Grand Reopening, never fear, the next sale is scheduled for about mid to late May. By then, with any luck, there will be closer to 1,000 different items in the store. There should be that many items in the store already, but recent home improvement projects have demanded my attention and stunted the store's growth quite a bit. I'm sure all of you homeowners out there know exactly what I'm talking about.

On to today's topic. If there isn't one already, someone needs to start a class on email and blog etiquette, and it should be a required course before typing one letter on a computer keyboard. We've all seen it. The email that shouts at us in all caps, or the email where you'd swear that English is the sender's second or third language, when you know full well it's their first, or the email that just plain doesn't make any sense, no matter how many times you read it. Perhaps the most annoying of all are the threatening emails, which I've found typically employ most, if not all, of the aforementioned characteristics.

And apparently this sort of kindergarten level communication is not limited just to emails. I thought to bring this up after reading a comment on my second blog entry from last Tuesday. You may recall, if you read it, that I shared how I got started collecting toys many years back. A few minutes later, someone posted a comment, if you can call it that. I considered deleting it, then decided it would make a great example for a future commentary, so it's still there for you to read today. Are you ready? Here's the link, their comment is at the bottom of the page... http://blogs.ebay.com/frommytoybox/entry/The-2nd-rag-becoming-a-toy-collector/_W0QQidZ601451013#comments

Yep, that's it. No editing of any kind. It's still there in all its unintelligible glory, exactly as it was posted last Tuesday morning. I think Bengaltiger55 just got a new nickname, 'hi like toys.' I tried to imagine scenarios that might explain the comment. Maybe 'hi like toys' was brain dead from doing taxes, or maybe 'hi like toys' let their five year old play on eBay that morning, or maybe it's a typo and 'hi like toys' meant to say 'I like boys.' Then again, maybe 'hi like toys' just needs a little training.

Mandatory classes. All in favor?

Be with me tomorrow when I reveal the story behind the $70 Randy Moss beanie bear. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

P.S. Please note that previous B4 Breakfast Rags can be found in my eBay blog at

http://blogs.ebay.com/frommytoybox

The new garage door is finished, looks great and works like a dream. Let us speak of it no more. Except to say that a friend of mine emailed me after reading my rag the other day and informed me that HE had dented his garage door once with his car, and that he wasn't drunk when he did it. Just has a thing against garage doors, I guess. No, I know accidents happen, he is just the first adult I have known personally who has done that, so I thought I'd pass that on, for the record.

In case you're wondering, 2 days now since that seller I mentioned in yesterday's rag said he'd email me with the delivery confirmation for my 'missing' package. Any guesses on why the delay? You see, unfortunately, what happens in a case like this is that the buyer begins to question if the package was even sent. Lack of proper communication can lead to mistrust. Conversely, I just now received an email from FedEx that my customer in Texas has signed for his package this morning that I sent to him on Wednesday, after his purchase and payment on Tuesday evening. I informed him on Wednesday that his items would be shipping that day for Friday delivery, FedEx sent him the tracking info on Wednesday, and he received the package this morning, right on time. How tough is that? I'm here to tell you, not very. Even if a seller is using the Post Office for all of their shipping, the same approach to communication will potentially save both the seller and the buyer a lot of headaches and heartache. I wish the seller I'm dealing with had thought of that. I'll keep you posted.

So have you seen any good bumper stickers on someone's car lately? I mean really, think about it. I can't even remember the last bumper sticker I've seen that didn't inform me of the intellectual prowess of someone's child or that proudly displayed someone's voting patterns or that intricately detailed every member of a person's family right down to their dog, two cats and a hamster (ok, technically, I suppose those aren't bumper stickers, but you know the stick figure family trees I'm talking about).

What happened to 'Honk if you're horny?' Or 'If you can read this, you're too d*** close!?' Or 'My kid can beat up your honor student!?' I honestly don't remember the last even remotely funny bumper sticker I've seen on someone's car, and even the serious ones seem to be falling by the wayside. Was the bumper sticker just a fad from the 60's to the 80's? It seems that today's driver doesn't want to 'dirty' his or her car's 'image' with anything that requires peanut butter and a whole lot of scrubbing to remove. And maybe the bumper sticker isn't as cool as it once was, having given way to the personalized license plate, the modern day driver's means of vehicular self expression.

I remember when people were compelled to support public messages with bumper stickers on their cars that read, 'Don't drive, one in five' or 'Don't drink and drive!' Personally, I always thought you could save time and ink if you appealed to both the alcoholics and the solo-commuters with one bumper sticker, and just said, 'Don't drink and drive, one in five.' But see, maybe that's the problem. Maybe nobody is coming up with anything funny anymore. Maybe the bumper sticker saying reservoir has been tapped. You'd think that if nothing else, someone could at least make one that says, 'Save the Bumper Sticker.'

You might be curious what even made me want to talk about something as obscure and apparently irrelevant as bumper stickers. Well, besides being what I do, I feel that we need to constantly question the things that change the direction of our society, even something as seemingly insignificant as our use of bumper stickers, and that freedom of speech is one of the most important rights we have as Americans and should be supported by our use of one of the easiest and most direct means we have, the bumper sticker. Ok, no really I just saw a 'Hillary Clinton for President' bumper sticker on the same day I ran into a bumper sticker in my desk drawer that a friend gave to me quite a while back, one for a great live rock band called 'Ghost Cow' out of Tucson, and it got me to thinking. After some careful reflection, it occurred to me that I have never once applied a bumper sticker or anything like it to any of my vehicles, not even on a bicycle when I was a kid. So I've just decided that today is the day I change that. My van is about to become the proud displayer of what I have to admit is a very fashionable and attractive Ghost Cow bumper sticker. Maybe if we all 'stick one on' it will turn the tide in favor of the bumper sticker once again.

Ok, that's it for me today. Time to eat! 'Beam Me Up, Scottie!'

I know, that was shameful.

Join me again on Monday and I'll talk about something else (after all, that's what I do). Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

It's now day 3 and 9 total hours of labor later, and our new garage door is still not completely finished. It's close, and should be done today, and I have to give credit to the installer for being here each day when he said he would (after the first day), but clearly whoever estimates the time for these jobs is way off. It's looking really nice, I will say that.

This is the latest in the day I've gotten to a rag since I began last week, but with the garage door finished, I should be able to direct my attention back to writing earlier in the day. Besides, I'm one hungry sonofagun!

Before I begin today's topic, I really need to get something off my chest, again. Last week I mentioned how, in my opinion, some eBay sellers just don't get it. Well, I've got another winner I'm dealing with right now, and I would never name names or give away anything too specific, but let me tell you that this seller doesn't get it. Two and a half weeks now since my instant PayPal payment, and no item. When I inquired about it, the seller swears it's been mailed and will try to find the delivery confirmation number and get back to me. If the seller had just emailed me the delivery confirmation number to begin with, I could have tracked it myself and seen when it was delivered or if there was a problem along the way. That was yesterday, so we'll see what happens.

I guess I get particularly frustrated by poor service because my customers never have to go through this when they order from me, so I feel I shouldn't have to put up with it from other sellers. Maybe that's unrealistic, but if people weren't idealists and were just content with status quo service, we wouldn't have things like drive-thru's or microwaves or personal computers (pretty heady, huh?), so I don't mind having high standards. I think all too often we accept things the way they are instead of allowing ourselves to expect better. When a seller ships fast, communicates well and delivers what they advertised, I am the first to give them high praise, as I would hope others would do for me. But I, for one, am tired of giving my money for second and third rate service.

Ok, I feel better after that little rant. Now let me tell you a little bit about the collectibles market (in this case, particularly as it relates to toys). Toy manufacturers like to play games with the consumer, I'm convinced of it, and I'll give you a specific example, because my wife asked me to share this.

When I began collecting toys, my main focus was on Marvel action figures. At the time, they had been releasing several lines of figures, including Iron Man, X-Men and Spider-Man, the latter of which I was determined to find all of the figures in the series. Now, manufacturers don't always make the same number of each figure (for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the manufacturing cost for each figure, which can vary, or the projected demand for each character). So a case of action figures, which could have 20 figures in it, might have one or two characters that are 'short packed,' meaning maybe there's only one or two in the case, or that maybe there's only one in every few cases! Naturally, these become highly sought after since the demand is greater than the supply, and speculators see the opportunity to get something rare that could be worth many times more than retail.

This was the case with one action figure in particular from 1994, Toy Biz' Marvel Spider-Man Animated Series Rhino. While the retail price at the time was less than five bucks, the scarcity of this figure had driven the aftermarket price up to ridiculous heights, reaching anywhere from $50 to as much as $100. At the time, I couldn't justify paying that much for one figure, so I let it go, only to find myself later owning one after my adoring wife bought one from a scalper for $60 to surprise me with. Well, it worked, I was surprised, and I really appreciated the effort she went through to find one for me. I finally had my Rhino, the coveted rare Rhino, the piece de resistance, the last figure to complete my Spider-Man collection.

This is where the manufacturer messes with you. For weeks, I felt fortunate to own one of the most difficult figures to find at the time, and then suddenly, months after the initial release of the wave of figures that included Rhino, that same illusive figure started showing up by the droves in discount bins everywhere. The manufacturer had played their little joke, and as a result, my wife swore she'd never buy an expensive collectible figure like that again. Can't say I blame her. I was upset, too. Who knows why Toy Biz finally decided to release the Rhino figure in quantity, but one thing is for sure, manufacturers have the power to turn the collectible world upside down, and all too often they exercise that power, and some of us are left holding a $60 Rhino that's now worth four bucks.

Naturally, it doesn't always go that way. Sometimes that figure you paid the inflated price of $60 for is now worth twice that. It's a guessing game, and in this game, the manufacturers write the rules and change them at will. So why do collectors still collect? Why don't they just stop? Well, it's like this, every now and again you get sick from something you've eaten, but you don't stop eating, right?

So when was the last time you saw a good bumper sticker? We'll talk about that tomorrow. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

My wife and I are now the proud owners of a brand new garage door. Well, sort of. The job that was only supposed to take 2 to 3 hours took 4 hours yesterday, and the installer was unable to finish before he had to leave for his next appointment. He said he'd come back this morning, which I suppose means anytime this week.

You're probably asking why we replaced the garage door in the first place. Ok, maybe you're not, but I'll tell you anyway. Years ago, the previous homeowner's young son rammed the garage door from the outside with their car. He was only four years old at the time, and after being left alone in the front seat of the car with the engine running, he kicked it into gear and the door was toast. My wife and I could have insisted they replace the garage door before buying the house, but they were giving us a really good deal, so we let it go.

I told the installer that story and he replied that he replaces A LOT of garage doors for that very reason, but that most of the time it's adults that run their cars into their doors. That led me to ask the question, 'Who does that?' I mean, seriously, who does that? I've never known any adult that's attempted garage door homicide. There must be a lot of inebriated people out there running down their garage doors, because I can't imagine any other reason adults would even come close to hitting their doors with their cars. To talk to this guy, you'd think it happens every day. I promise you, if my wife or I ever try to tear our garage door a new one, I'll include it in my rag.

So, to hit on today's real topic, Blockbuster Online needs to fix their online DVD issue reporting process. What leads me to think this? I've been lucky enough to be singled out by Blockbuster Online as a 'problem customer,' and let me tell you why. It would seem I've been reporting too many issues with the DVD's I've rented from them. At least, that's what they indicated in the email I received the day before yesterday. Not knowing what that meant exactly, I inquired about it through an email to their customer service department. I received a reply, but not an answer, which is fairly typical. So I inquired again. This time an answer was provided. Apparently, I was too impatient while waiting for my next DVD's to be shipped, because sometimes, when I noticed that there was no progress with the DVD's I'd returned to my local Blockbuster store, I would use their 'Report' option and ask them to send my next DVD's. Clearly the people at Blockbuster don't appreciate being asked to do their jobs.

I guess what led to my slap on the wrist is that a few times in the past I had noticed after several days that while it showed I had returned my DVD's to the store, it didn't show that they were sending my next ones. So I used their online 'Report' feature, which allows you to select an option that tells them you've returned your DVD to the store but that it hasn't left your online queue yet, and to please send the next DVD. Time is money, you know, and when it happens often enough, anyone above the IQ of a chimp catches on fast that the best way to avoid delays is to cut them off at the pass. When you use Blockbuster Online long enough, you begin to recognize when it is likely you will have a delay. So lately I've been reporting movies if I begin to see the signs.

The thing is, Blockbuster Online wants you to wait 3 days before reporting a delay (under penalty of law, they would make it seem). With this in mind, I've reached the following conclusion. Blockbuster Online knows when you've returned a DVD to your local store. It is scanned and immediately shows in your online queue as having been returned. Therefore, if Blockbuster Online wants customers to wait 3 days before reporting a delay, they should just set it up so that the customers can't report a delay until 3 days have passed. Instead, they give their customers the opportunity to use the 'Report' feature to pre-emptively reduce delays, and then penalize them for doing so.

When I made a suggestion to that effect in my last email to Blockbuster Online customer service, this was the response I received, 'We take feedback and suggestions seriously and welcome them as a valuable tool needed to improve the quality of our service. I've submitted your feedback to the appropriate department for review.' Translation: it's in the circular file.

Ok, I'm going to wrap this up, because I'm starved. Tomorrow I'll touch on how collectibles manufacturers can sometimes mess with you. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

Tuesday, April 15:

I'm getting a little bit of a late start this morning. No, I didn't sleep in, you're not dealing with Odd Todd here. If you must know (who asked, right?), I actually started off my morning by preparing the garage for a visitor today. Today is the day we have a new garage door installed. And let me make an observation (because that's what I do). I realize that the thing these days is for companies to give you a 4 to 5 hour window when their cable guy, telephone dude, paramedic, or in this case, garage door installer is expected to show up at your door to perform the necessary task. But apparently, this guy's window is 'sometime this week,' as he was supposed to be here yesterday morning. At any rate, expect the door bell to ring and interrupt us at any minute, and just so you know, I haven't eaten yet, so the illustrious title of this commentary remains true.

Yesterday I gave you a little background on how I became a toy collector. So, the question for the day is, 'Why eBay?' First I'll tell you what led me to eBay, then I'll tell you how I feel about it. I started collecting in '95, and by '97 or so, I already had amassed a fairly impressive collection (mostly Star Wars, Spawn and Marvel). Living in a small apartment with my wife, it didn't take long to realize I needed to start moving stuff (it was that or sign the papers she'd filed). So I began selling at local toy shows, which in the Phoenix market at that time were pretty good. But it didn't take a genius to see the writing on the wall. Shows were getting smaller, less people were attending, and customers were heard to utter, 'I can get that cheaper on eBay.'

Somewhat reluctantly, I opened an eBay account in the summer of 2000, called it FromMyToyBox, and quickly came to the realization that no one wanted to buy from me. I couldn't figure out why, until another eBayer educated me on the reluctance of most buyers to purchase from someone with zero feedback. It seemed ridiculous to me that I had to make some purchases first before anyone would buy from me, but hey, I was prepared to do whatever it took to crack this egg of unimaginable wealth. That's right, unimaginable wealth, you've heard the commercials. Ok, you can stop laughing now. So, over 1500 feedback later, here I am. Probably very much like most eBay sellers' stories.

I'm not going to belabor the following point, but here's the real skinny. Most toy sellers like myself are here on eBay because eBay is really the only game in town. And my experience has been that the people at eBay know it, unfortunately. Customer service and competitive pricing become less of a priority when you have your customers over a barrel. Like all too many online services, getting in touch with someone who can actually answer your questions is next to non-existent on eBay, and when you look at the numbers and realize that you've given up nearly 20% of your listing gross to eBay and PayPal fees, you can't help but think it's time for someone to start a new eBay. Maybe they could call it fairBay.

I'll get more into specifics about my eBay likes and dislikes in future rags, but for tomorrow, I'd like to turn my attention to another online powerhouse, Blockbuster. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

P.S. Please note that previous B4 Breakfast Rags can be found in my eBay blog at

http://blogs.ebay.com/frommytoybox

Monday, April 14:

Yes, I realize that for many of you out there, it's actually just before lunch rather than B4 Breakfast, but, hey, I didn't set the time zones. As far as I'm concerned, the whole world could be on the same time, I wouldn't care if it was light at midnight here. People adapt. That's what we do. The point is, I haven't had breakfast yet, and since I'm the one writing this little blurb, that makes this the B4 Breakfast Rag.

One quick observation before I move into the topic of the day. The new Iron Man movie toys have hit the shelves, and I must say, I'm fairly impressed. As far as I'm concerned, Hasbro has done two things right since taking over the Marvel toy contract from Toy Biz at the beginning of '07: this Iron Man line and their 12-inch Ultimate Ghost Rider. While there have been some honorable mentions along the way, most of the rest of it has been a bust. Hasbro would do well to note that if you're going to charge more for your product than the previous manufacturer, it's always a good idea to have a better product to offer. That being said, the new 12-inch electronic Repulsor Power Iron Man is one of the best electronic figures I've seen in some time. If you haven't done so already, open one up. The 'Try Me' sampler through the package only gives you a taste of what it can do. It really is pretty impressive, and I envision a lot of kids with that toy when the movie hits.

So, I promised on Friday I would tell the story of how I got into the toy business, and far be it from me not to keep a promise. It started harmlessly enough, collecting a few toys here and there, but as many of you know, collecting can become an obsession (or as I prefer to call it, an art).

I would imagine that many people get into collecting toys because of their kids. I don't have kids. So what's my excuse? How does a grown man go from no toys to thousands of toys in just a few years? That's the key right there. No toys. Ok, I'm not going to pretend that I didn't have any toys when I was a kid. But I was the youngest, and you know what that means. Hand-me-downs. Broken, pieces missing, lost that new look hand-me-downs. I didn't have a lot of new toys as a kid. It just wasn't a priority in our family. And when I was a kid, action figures were a new thing. And pretty much, 'new' = 'not in little Joey's toybox.' So what do you supposed happened when I got older and had money to burn? You got it, new toys, and specifically, action figures.

I found myself in a Toys 'R' Us one Saturday in 1995, shopping for something fun for my young nephews, as I was about to join them and their dad on a trip to San Diego to visit the Zoo. You don't have to be a parent to realize that kids on a 6-hour car trip are a little more endurable if they have something new to entertain themselves with. So what did I spy with my little eye? Something beginning with the letter 'a' and ending with me spending the next 13 years of my life knowing the difference between 'Angela with panties' and 'Angela with no panties' (an obscure Spawn action figure reference that my wife thinks is absolutely hilarious).

Standing in front of the action figures that day, I made my first choice, Kingpin and Spider-Man, one for each of the boys. And then, suddenly, staring at a wall of toys, I thought to myself, 'hey, these are pretty cool, maybe I should get one for myself.' It was like a Cylon-switch went on in my head. Here was my opportunity to finally have all of the toys I didn't have as a kid (of couse, most of these toys didn't exist when I was a kid, but that wasn't the point). So that's where it all began, on that fateful Saturday in 1995. I still have that Kingpin figure, the first figure I bought for my now ridiculous collection, and yes, it's still in the package. I should ask my nephews if they still have theirs.

Why eBay? We'll discuss that tomorrow. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)

P.S. Please note that previous B4 Breakfast Rags can be found in my eBay blog at

http://blogs.ebay.com/frommytoybox/entry/The-inaugural-B4-B-R-from-Friday-April-11th/_W0QQidZ600135013

Friday, April 11:

Ok, many of you know me by now, the Arizona goon with more toys than the Toys 'R Us down the street. I'm no stranger to eBay, and like most people, I have opinions about a lot of topics both eBay and non-eBay related. So starting today, like the nuns in my grade school taught me to do, I'm going to share.

Every weekday morning, I'll be reporting in right here, that's my commitment to you, to bestow upon you what little bit of wisdom I feel is worth annoying you with. And today, I'd like to begin with something I think we all can relate to: shipping time. I can't be the only one who thinks that unless shipping is free for an item, it should probably arrive at your door in under a week, especially with as much as many sellers charge for shipping.

For example, I received a 2-pound eBay item today, that I paid for with an instant PayPal payment two weeks ago today. Not a word of communication from the seller, who waited a week to ship the package, and then sent it parcel post after charging me $10 for shipping. It's not rocket science, really. Buyer buys, buyer pays, seller ships (within a couple of days is nice), buyer receives within a week and is happy.

Oh, and it's a nice bonus if the buyer doesn't see that they paid three times more for shipping than it actually cost. I once had a seller charge me $15 for Priority Mail for a 2-pound eBay item, then he waited two weeks before shipping the item. I think he missed the whole concept of 'Priority.' It arrived 16 days after cleared payment and I could see the package only cost $5 to ship.

Ok, I know what you're thinking - why bring any of this up? I mean, it's not like we can do anything about it, right? We've all had to get used to poor service on eBay. Well, I decided I CAN do something about it. While I can't make every other seller accountable, I can assure MY buyers that they will receive first-class service.

I'm a one-man show, but I work hard to get your purchase out the door quickly (usually same day or next day after cleared payment), and most orders ship via FedEx Express 2-Day Air. So that equates to delivery in just 2-3 days after cleared payment. It is not uncommon for my customers across the country on the East Coast to purchase an item on Monday morning, and receive it Wednesday. If it sounds like I'm bragging, I guess maybe I am.

Don't worry, most of my daily 'shares' won't be this shamefully self-promotional. I just wanted to start off on the right foot and make everyone aware of my commitment as an eBay seller. If you're as tired as I am of a lot of the service out there, you came to the right place. I'm all about fun toys, fast shipping, careful packing, excellent communication and package tracking. I enjoy what I do and I think it shows.

Join me again Monday morning. I'll tell you a little bit about how I got started in the toy business. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)