First thing you bought...

[Seriously]

on that infamous auction site.?

Me?, it was a 0.5m F-Type Connector Virgin SKY Coax Cable Lead 50cm apparently

(I was asking tonight for contact info on a buyer and it sent me an email saying when precisely I registered, so out of idle curiosity I went looking up my emails, so then I thought it might be interesting seeing the varying products bought the first time ever )

What about you?

[WWII70]

Ebay? Nothing.

[Ryan]

It was in 2008, and based on the feedback description and seller name (looking at the iPhone app), it was probably an LP.

[Martin]

how can I find what I bought so many years ago?

[Seriously]

I did it with a reverse dated search of my emails with an 'ebay' tag (just because I never delete emails) , my purchase dates to 2010.

...or look at your last page of feedback (but the actual item may well not be tagged along with that list)

[Martin]

Yes, I found it via my email archive. It was this watch, bought it dec 29 2007:


Still have it

[MHe225]

Almost to the day 12 years ago:


that's a pic from the listing.

Bike wasn't really running and came with non-functioning brakes, wheel-bearings filled with sand instead of balls & grease, ....... Perfect, as I was looking for a project to proof to myself that I could restore something like this. Which I did; found out after I got in to it that the bike was even worse than I was told, but after many hours and more eBay purchases, it ran and was actually tons of fun to ride.



After I had checked the box (yes, I can, etc.) I lost interest and never attacked the cosmetics. Which the next owner did:

[Nokie]

You guys should be detectives.....

[Jeannie]

It was around '97 or '98 and was probably a book, but I really don't know of any way to track back that far.

It was long before PayPal and long before Buy It Now. Also long before sniping programs. I'm not even sure the feedback system was in place yet. I can't remember.

Back then, it was a site for collectors and hobbyists and people looking for hard to find stuff. You put in your bid, noted the time for auction end, and then sat there refreshing your screen to make sure you hadn't been outbid at the last minute.

The rule was that the winner had to contact the seller within a specified period. It was all done by email. Payment was arranged, usually a check or money order, and merchandise mailed upon receipt. A lot of it was the honor system.

There weren't "merchants" and eBay stores. Just people who had stuff in their closets and attics they no longer wanted.

I primarily used it to buy out of print books I couldn't find in the local used bookstores. I also picked up some ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) and signed editions.

I got out of it when it started getting bigger and less friendly, but years later returned because I'd developed an interest in vintage and antique prints--pin ups and fashion prints primarily. eBay was unquestionably the best source.

I left again because I didn't want to do PayPal and more and more sellers wouldn't take anything else.

Eventually, I caved and got a PayPal account. Now I use eBay more as simply another online store when comparing prices.

I do miss the early days though. I'd win an auction and email the seller asking for their payment preference and telling them a little about myself and how I intended to use the item, etc. It was a nice place then.

Jeannie

[crownpuller]

My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) had been a bit nostalgic about one she had as a child; so...
December 2002, bought her one of these for Christmas. An original from 1979:


She lost interest when I kept beating her, and has been buried in our attic for years.