Monday, September 28, 2009

SAMSUNG Semiconductor Products Guide 1986

You know you're getting old when items that were made within your lifetime are considered "vintage."

Samsung has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the 1930s as a small little electronics shop in Daegu, South Korea and has even surpassed Sony in terms of consumer electronics market share. Heck, my monitor is a Samsung. Having manufactured just about every single consumer electronic conceivable from home appliances to computers, they've done quite well for themselves.

Now you can own a piece of history. Okay, RECENT history. Because some 23 years after its printing, the use for a 1986 Samsung Semiconductor Products Guide will be somewhat useless for anything other than historical value.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

PORCELEYNE FLES DELFT CLOISONNE TILE - AMSTERDAM no res

The interesting thing about doing reviews for eBay auctions is that I get to learn stuff about things I was previously knowledgeable about, such as porcelain tile. While it is most commonly used for home improvement and the like, it is also an artistic medium, with many hand-painted designs up for grabs on eBay.

While many of them have zero bids on them, occasionally you see a truly unique piece, such as this one.

As the seller states, this is a pre-war piece with a lot of detail into the work and craft. Of course, it must go to the truly discerning buyer.

1938 Chevy ORIG stainless steel car grille L@@@@@@@@@@K

While I may be slightly annoyed at the seller's method of attracting interest in the item, the item appears to be selling itself anyway.

Given the interest in old car restoration and the difficulty in finding parts such as car grilles, punching that item into eBay will list a part for every modern vehicle ever made, and since most of them are "buy it now" type auctions, there won't be any bids on any of them.

But for a rare piece like this (reserve still not met), there are several. This is for a 1933 Chevy, which was newly polished and restored. It's so old, in fact, that it doesn't actually have a specific part number or interchange number. It's interesting that they still call it "new", however.

Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Progr

I'm pretty sure that I've seen titles of eBay auctions that were a little longer than this one, so I don't know if there's any excuse as to why the seller can't spell out "Improving the Social Security Disability Decision Process". As it is, it's cut off, so you think it's going to say "Program" when the picture of the book says "process."

This is probably one of the lazier auctions I've seen, as they haven't gone into a lot of detail on the product itself. Perhaps that's how they are able to keep their prices relatively low and they assume that you've already done your homework and already have read about it. This isn't entirely smart, as anyone would probably go on Amazon.com to find information on it (and they do sell it), and will discover that it's actually cheaper.

Official Novelty Doctor Dr Who Darlex Bed Floor Rug

With college students studying abroad and finally settling into their dorms, they are likely sparse on furniture. Designer discount rugs are probably out, being that they need money for important things like beer, food, and books (in that order).

That is, until the geeks stumble upon this. Definitely made for a sci-fi geek, this...is actually sorta tacky, actually. Since Dr. Who is fairly niche sci-fi (although probably the most prominent...it's listed as one of the longest running sci-fi series of all time), and college dorm dwellers are likely sharing the space with others, and Dr. Who fans are likely to be outvoted by the others. Oh well.

And isn't it called a "Dalek"?

Water Temp Sensor Green/Blue/Red LED Sink Faucet Light

This is actually sorta cool, actually. You've remodeled your bathrooms, got new sinks and tiles, and if you think your bathroom isn't nearly high tech enough, there's this.

While it's sold as a safety gadget, it's more for the novelty than anything else (ThinkGeek.com sells a model for the shower, although they completely skip over the possibility that it can have any practical applications, but their version is powered by the moving water whereas this one needs batteries).

But, you'd have the coolest bathroom around. Get the one for the showerhead and you'd never leave the bathroom.

FENPHEDRA +120 HARDCORE DIET PILLS TFuel BEST! 2X MORE

This auction sort of bothers me. While they don't necessarily claim to be selling the "best diet pills," some of the claims that they are making and their selling points for making this a desirable item are enough to make me really question the validity of their health claims.

For one, they named their product "Fenphedra," which appears to be a portmateau of two weight loss supplements, Fen-Phen, a drug that was implicated in the deaths of several users; and ephedra, a stimulant that is banned by the FDA. But, on the plus side, the seller is actually just giving it away as a free sample (gee, thanks), because they really want to push something they call TFuel.

But even still, there's something a little worrisome about it...as the auction says...We do not know how much longer this product will be available either, due to recent FDA regualtions, so stock Up NOW while you still can!!

Maybe later.

Reliable Salicylic Acid Box Full 1 oz. Md. 1933

Even if you don't have a chemistry background, you'll know that salicylic acid has many uses in today's households, whether it be for cosmetic use as an exfoliating product (showing up in dandruff shampoos and acne medication) or as the active ingredient in Aspirin. And what do you, know, they actually used to sell it by the box.

For the starting bid of $4.99, you can be the proud owner of a box of "Reliable Salicylic Acid", from circa 1933. Being that it's the better part of 80 years old, it stands to reason that it probably won't be active anymore, but that's not stopping the person from selling it (and indeed, they qualify it is for collector's value only). However, it can only be sold to the "right" type of buyer. Maybe that person is you? Hey, it's only $4.99.

Monday, September 21, 2009

VIZY VEST Yellow mesh Safety Vest with Flashing LED

Okay, not exactly the flashiest and sexiest item around, but safety vests are an important piece of equipment for a lot of different industries, ranging from film production to construction, and can even be used for sports safety, especially with nighttime.

This one is for a slightly fancier model, which is powered by batteries and has flashing LED lights. Selling something like this isn't really rocket science - you either need it or you don't. However, I don't know why the seller really needs to call it a "breathable material", as it's usually not form-fitting anyway.

RSJBW Weight Loss VERY FAST Diet Pills BEST Of ALL #1

I do a lot of reviews of eBay auctions offering diet pills and this is yet another one.

I've seen this one before. This particular auction sells a dietary supplement with large claims about fat burning and weight loss, but finding any information about this particular product (it doesn't even have a brand name, just 15 Chinese herbs as ingredients). Doing research about this particular product doesn't really dig up much either, as many of the listed ingredients don't have corresponding Wikipedia pages.

While the feedback rating of this seller is promising, always do your research first before you spend money on something you're putting into your body. ALWAYS.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

BUSINESS DIRECTORY PROFITABLE ONLINE WEBSITE HOME BIZ

With a large number of eBay auctions offering entire online businesses for sale, such as your own personal web site directory, it can be pretty tempting for those wishing to make money with minimal effort.

Sadly, there are no shortcuts, contrary to what a lot of eBay auctions selling businesses like these tend to offer. Things like search engine optimization and getting more traffic to your site can be very challenging for newcomers, which is why businesses like these exist. Consequently, the people who are good at things like that are very well compensated for their efforts.

I've dabbled in it briefly, and unless you know what you're doing, you will waste a lot of time.