Sense to Save

Twittering, and guess my baby’s gender!

I’m “Twittering” with more regularity now, and I can see why so many people like it! It’s a fun way to say little bursts of things to your friends and fellow bloggers.

I’ve got to admit, it took me awhile to figure out how to do it, and what the big deal was.

Check out this post at Mom Advice for an excellent run-down of Twitter.

Then, pop on over and follow me!

Do you use Twitter?

–

Five days from now on Aug. 2, I’ll have an ultrasound that should tell us if we’re having a little boy or a little girl! Eee! If you’d like to guess what we’re having, please stop by my personal blog and vote in the poll in the upper right sidebar. It’s a close race right now!

Be careful about ‘winning’ an eBay auction

With five minutes to go, my heart began to pound. Sweat moistened my palms, and I wiped them from time to time before pressing “F5″ to refresh my internet browser.

An eBay auction was ending soon, and I wanted to win.

WIN.

My prize? Getting to pay the price I wanted for a pair of long Gap maternity jeans.

I’m no stranger to the internet auction site, and lately, I’ve found some great deals on maternity wear. But the thing is, if you’re not careful, you could get caught up with the excitement of the moment, the desire to win–and pay more money than you originally intended.

I’m extremely competitive and if I have a chance to win something, I do my best to do so.

We need to be cautious about the language used on that site — “winning” an auction.

To avoid last-minute temptation by increasing my maximum bid higher than I’m comfortable, I do one of two things:

I choose “buy it now” listings instead of auction ones. That way, I know the final price and I’m not waiting for other bidders or for the listing to expire.

I search other web sites and other auctions to find out how much similar items have sold for. When you log in to your eBay account, you can view “completed listings” to see these prices.

If you’re seeking an item that isn’t totally unique and you aren’t in a huge hurry to own it, you can afford to pass on an out-of-control auction.

With regard to the maternity pants I wanted, I knew that the price I wanted to beat was $25. Old Navy has long length maternity jeans online for about $25 (plus $7 shipping), and several eBay auctions for the Gap line were selling for $22-30 with shipping included.

Since it’s still summer, and since I’m not particularly pregnant-looking yet, I knew I could take my time to bid on these auctions.

I found a listing for cute pants in my size, and the price was right so I gave it a shot.

I established my maximum price: $23.51 with shipping. I knew that if several bidders wanted the item and the price jumped higher than that, I would not continue to bid, since I knew I could find similar items somewhere else.

I didn’t bid until the last minute, and I put my maximum price in at that time. I didn’t want to risk increasing my max bid by $1 or so at a time, and then have my computer freeze and miss out. Some people choose to bid in small increments, hoping they’ll be able to pay less. That strategy doesn’t work for me.

I ended up “winning” the auction for cheaper than my maximum price. I paid $23.72 (this includes a $1.30 charge for package insurance, so if you want to get technical, it was $0.21 more than my max price).

I know that some bidders are really annoyed at people who swoop in and win an auction with just moments to go. Sorry. That’s how the game is played. If you wanted the item, you should have set your maximum bid higher. If someone else was willing to pay more money than you, then they should be able to buy the item.

How do you bid on eBay? What great deals have you found on that site?

Check out this recent post on Wise Bread that touches on the whole “eBay auctions can be like gambling” phenomenon. Also see this two-year-old Fox News article about addictive eBaying.

Salvaging bleach-stained pants

I took a risk by buying a pair of damaged pants on eBay. These were dark black, long and maternity–exactly what I was seeking. This style of Gap pants came out earlier this year, and the pair seemed to be in good condition…

…except it had a bleach spatter near the waistband.

Bleach turns black cloth into a disgusting yellowy/orange color. It’s ugly and almost always ruins the item.

But, this stain was high enough in the pants that the seller thought a longer shirt would cover it no problem.

Since the “buy it now” price was $4.95 with free shipping, I decided to take a chance to see if I could salvage the pants.

I dug out my black Sharpie and doodled over the damage on both sides of the fabric. It was working! The black marker matched the pants close enough that it made the bleach mark much less noticeable.

It didn’t completely erase the appearance of damage. If you look closely, you can tell that there were spots.

But, I’m confident that it’s covered up enough for people to not notice. Plus, my shirts will probably cover the spot anyway–the Sharpie is just great back-up protection.

I don’t want the marker ink to bleed onto other clothes, so I’ll probably hand wash these pants. No biggie.

Saving a pair of dress pants from the dump (and for less than $5) is a great way for me to add to my maternity wardrobe without breaking my budget.

Check out other frugal ideas at Crystal’s blog.

P.S. In the photo, the pants almost look charcoal gray. They’re actually a dark black–the lighter appearance is just how my camera captured it.