eBay - a long and happy love affair

707 sales and purchases since 2004 with 100% positive feedback, it's safe to say I have a long lasting love affair with eBay.

No other auction site has ever come close for me and whilst I may dabble in Facebook selling groups and online forums like salihughesbeauty.com for skincare and makeup, eBay, for me, remains the best. 

Postage price hikes and cheap knock offs of big brands aside (never buy Benefit makeup on eBay for example!), I love the variety of products and access to international buyers and sellers. Today's post is all about the buying but I sell quite a lot too - rest assured I haven't made 700+ purchases in almost 10 years......although I think the scales will tip in the buying direction! 

Just by looking at my last six purchases on eBay (one of which was an impulse buy last night!) I see how I have come to treat this site as a more exciting Amazon and a cheaper ASOS or Net a Porter. I love a good rummage in a sale or charity shop so perhaps that's why I can sit for hours considering everything from all of the variations of midi skirt, the perfect parka through to kids party bag treats and cat litter tray liners (!?). And it's a myth that everything on eBay is used......my mum despaired at me when I showed her a bra that would have cost about £40 in the shops - asking how I could wear someone's old bra.... it was £18 and BRAND NEW! That's how!

So my last six purchases....excuse the pictures, these are straight from eBay! 

Karen Millen real leather trousers £29.99 plus P&P 

Now I am totally desperate for some real leather leggings but seeing as the Baujken ones I covet are more than £300, I thought I would take a punt on these...... They are enroute so fingers crossed.....am hoping they don't create a 'Ross from Friends' talc moment!! I will report back!

Kids sports gloves £9.95 plus P&P

Cold weather and a son who plays tennis and football = quick purchase whilst on the train to work or else I would have forgotten! So here is an example where I may have paid the same as on Amazon or in somewhere like Sports Direct....but I love that it was done in a couple of clicks, will arrive next week in time for the tennis lesson and my memory does not need prompting again!

H&M leopard print skirt £2 plus P&P

Bit of a random one and probably a little too young for me - RUBBISH!!! I think this is a bit of a summer holiday skirt and I was really looking for something more like this from Net a Porter (yes I realise the H&M version looks nothing like it.....this just goes to show that when you put in a really low bid you always have the chance of winning!) Oh well, the search will continue!

20 wooden craft pegs 99p plus P&P 

These are for my new 'clothes line' picture gallery of all the kids artwork I hate to chuck but equally isn't worthy of the 'keep forever' box. Need to either get hunting on eBay or pop over to Hobbycraft for some twine and hooks.....might happen one day!?

Brand new Lulu & co jumper - still with the Net a Porter label on (whoop whoop) £17 plus P&P 

Bargainous jumper alert!! Not as beautiful the one I bought on ASOS but a lovely casual sweatshirt with the beautiful iconic rainbow to brighten up my day!

15 Lego party bag chocolates £9 plus P&P

One click, job done, kids are happy.....more time to keep looking for that elusive leopard print skirt!

So you see, eBay is for everything. And I mean everything....from the sublime to the down right ridiculous. This includes cheese toasties with the face of the Virgin Mary selling for $28,000 in 2004 to clippings of Justin BIeber's hair fetching over $40,000 in 2011.... 

Only in America I hear you say........ and yet apparently a few years back a 10 year old girl from this side of the pond tried to sell her grandmother on eBay, describing her as 'annoying' but 'cuddly'. The site had to take down the offer as it was breaching regulations on human trafficking - nice try kid!

So eBay is great place to shop, have a bit of fun searching for those expensive treats that you could only dream of affording in real life! For example I buy all my Current Elliott jeans on eBay - at £30 a pair rather than £200 I don't mind that someone has worn them a little first! 

My favourite eBay story is a lovely friend of mine who, as a result of insomnia, seems to get some great little bargain purchases in the middle of the night! She gets quite a lot of good deals and therefore a lot of parcels that her postman has to lug up her driveway so, to keep the postman and her amused, she regularly changes her delivery name. Favourites include 'Precious Deserves a Treat', 'Princess Sweetie Pie' but the best, which the poor postman is made to read out on delivery: 'Glitzy Sprinkle Bootie Bomb!'

On that note I am off to check out the latest eBay auctions- although Sunday nights are the most popular times to end an auction so not always a bargain to be had. Why not set your alarm for the middle of the night and compete with my insomniac friend for some gems!!