Just how badly does she want those pearls?

This advert is either complete idiocy or the subliminal message of the century.

Deal of the Day Site

I am officially sick of deal of the day sites. What was once a gun slinging, fast reaction combination of e-commerce paint-ball and shopping has now turned into either a way for retailers and junk peddlers to get rid of last years insect-ravaged toaster models - or - a way for bad local restaurants to lure in the masses with 50% deals on cheeseburgers and spa treatments.

It just plain sucks, and I ain't doing it anymore.

When Ebay switched over from the world's largest garage sale full of snipers, and treasure and bidding wars into the world's largest cheap Chinese good flea market / store, the fun went out of that as well. Ebay Stores suck.

So I don't do that anymore either.

What is left for me is Goodwill - which will soon be ruined by hoarders and vultures trying to pretend in their own limp way that they are American Pickers looking to score a "honey hole" or "flip" that silver plated baby rattle into the "find of a lifetime". I swear it is like dealing with a bunch of Guy Fieri knock offs with worse haircuts and more body odor.

I can still search through Craigslist and fend off the desperate horde of single moms selling baby swings, onesies and broken toys as I continue the elusive search for something of value - and the "something of value" gets harder to find every day.

Barn finds, estate treasures and garage sales are all that is left. It seems that I got to go mobile to get to the good stuff!

PayPal to the rescue - Sarah the Virtual Agent

I like to buy stuff off EBay - cheaper, faster and wider selection. I have like a plus 1000 rating - a 15 year customer - nobody else can say that. Today I made a purchase and the transaction wouldn't go through. No explanation - plenty of money in bank, lots of room on card, even funds in the PayPal account. It just said "contact customer service" - and popped up a little screen saying "talk to Sarah, our virtual agent". I'm game, so I give it a try.

After ten minutes of typing in every variation of the question "how do I make a payment", I finally became exasperated, and told Sarah she must kill herself for the good of mankind....



Now, I'm a fair fellow in a fight, but I got to hand it to Sarah, she kept her cool, and didn't mince words.

Good day to you sir. Good day indeed.