Being a martial artist is an expensive profession.  I can't tell you how difficult it is for me to get everything I need when I need it, without someone jerking up the price.  What would be best is if EBay allowed a Usage box to enter what one is planning to do with the item.  So that everyone could see whether or not they really should be bidding on it (I know everyone thinks their reason is the best, but for those poor people out there, sometimes the people with lots of money should pay more to actually produce the effects of Reaganomics).  I do find myself wondering, "What are they going to do with it?  Sell it for cheaper?  Wear it around the house as a fashion statement?"  But I know ultimately, there will be times when I am competing with someone just like me.  Perhaps someone who doesn't work at walmart, or have a poor family background, but still may need the item for the same reasons.  I was outbid on a perfect kaku obi (for iaido), and had to settle with a lesser one (with defects) that some wonderful people had to up the price of.  So sorry you didn't get the item, but maybe I should just give it to you, the items defects ultimately outweighed the $30 I spent on it.  A case of buyer beware, I know, but the obi's condition doesn't seem that it can be worn correctly without coming to pieces.

I ordered what I thought was a Paul Chen Tsuru Iaito Wakizashi from JRush, for the unbelievable price of $159.  Turns out he had mistakenly listed the item as a Tsuru when in fact it was a Nami (a fact I didn't catch till after I paid for it), but he was kind enough to give me a full refund.
I am heading to California this summer to test for my Shodan, saving nickels and dimes; but that alone will not guarantee me the "belt".  I need to be perfect in style and skill.  In Mugairyu, the entire Iai of the art centers around the wakizashi for surgical efficency.  Other styles may require students to be of a certain level to wear a wakizashi, but Mugai, I dare say, demands it from day one.  I need an obi that will not fall apart on me.  I need a good but cost-effective wakizashi.  I will also need to order an iaidogi.  All of this atop a staggering total $1,000 I need for the trip.
Did I mention I work at walmart?