Bad luck for me on eeeebay...

Found a ds bag that would hold ALL of Kash's games.
It is RED. His favorite color.
It comes with headphones.
It was only $15 including shipping.
It was "Buy it now."

He waited patiently, patiently, patiently! He waited for a week longer than it said it would take.

The postal service LOST HIS PACKAGE!

I testify to you that Murphy's Law is REAL: Find something you really like for a good deal, it WILL get lost on the way to you.

The seller refunded our money after he could not locate it.
These ds bags are hard to find, and Kash was so happy to have found it.  Bummer

Next:
I tried to buy a tilt/swivel tv mount from someone on a yard sale sight.
She lives in Hurricane.
Do you come to town?
Yes
When will you come next?
I will come on Monday.
What time will you be here on Monday.
Around noon.
Where will you be?
At the DI.
I got tired of getting such shallow, go nowhere answers that I told her never mind.

I had already found one on eebay that was 8 dollars less than the yard sale one. It would be delivered to my house, and I didn't have to keep asking question after question.
I ordered it. Done!

It came in the mail, and Hubby put it together.
EXCEPT it was missing the MAIN PIECE!
The piece that connects the tv to the wall, the piece that makes the mount swivel and twist was not with the kit. Hubby was ticked. He thought I lost the $50 I paid for it. I knew I hadn't, cause I had dealt with other things on eebay that were described wrong, and in every case, the seller met my demands of a lower price to make me happy.
(Like one time the pants were listed as dark green. I really needed that color of pants. They ended up being gray. They fit well, and I said I'd keep them if he took off $5. Which is what it would have cost him to have me mail them back.)

So, I emailed the seller of the tv mount:

Hi, I got the Tv Wall Mount. However, the box of pieces is missing the MAIN piece. The "mount arm" that hooks the tv brackets to the wall is not with this box. It is not in the picture of parts you have in your picture either. I contacted Sanus to get the missing part, and they don't make "parts" for this item. It is only sold as a set at Costco. He also stated that "if" they made parts, then the mount arm that is missing would cost $100 by itself. So, the kit you sold me is worthless without that mount arm. You stated that it might be missing a drywall anchor or something, and that the mounting pieces are in excellent condition. Without the mount arm, it is NOT in excellent condition. Will you look around and see if you can find that missing piece to send to me? Otherwise, I will need a complete refund, and I can just throw this away for you, or you can pay to ship it back so you can throw it away.
Thank you, DS


She emailed me back:

Hi, thanks for the message. I don't have any other pieces to this. I have a no returns policy and I did take proper pictures of the item. I also mention in the listing that I 1. didn't have the instructions and 2. thought it was AT LEAST missing a drywall anchor.
The pieces I had were in excellent unused condition, as stated. I think we're not agreeing here, I sent exactly what I advertised in the listing.


I was ticked that she was so stupid.  I mean, who is dumb enough to think that just because you claimed "no returns" that it means if you sell me a pile of metal and screws and claim it is a kit, that I can't return it?


I wrote back:

"The picture does not show that it is missing the mounting arm. From what I can see, the mounting arm should be attached to the bulky mounting piece (in the picture) and folded under like it is designed to do while attached to a tv. I had to go only on the claim that it was "new in package" and "mounting pieces in excellent condition." Nothing in this "package" is worth anything without the mounting arm. The description states that most of the hardware was sealed, but some had been opened (not maybe missing,) and only says that there might be a drywall anchor missing or something small like that. My husband says that he couldn't even tell there is a piece missing from the picture, and he is the one that tried to put it together. I did read the whole listing, and I did view all the pictures. That's why I felt confident in buying this item, cause it was described as "in excellent condition". If the main piece is missing, then in no way can it be described as "excellent condition.""



She wrote back:

"I don't agree with the return request because the item was shipped exactly as I described it. I provided clear, detailed pictures of the item. There were no pictures of the mounting arm. In the description, I disclosed that item was missing the directions, and I could tell it was missing at least some hardware. The pieces I had were new and unused, many still wrapped in plastic. I believe the buyer failed to view all the pictures and read the listing, which also stated no returns on this item."

  
UGH. I had to take it to the eebay peeps:
I basically repeated everything I wrote to the seller.

EEbay then reviewed the case and then they sent me a packing label to put on the package to mail it back to the seller! 

They charge the seller for the shipping to send it back to them if the seller describes it wrong. How awesome is that? I was worried for days, cause I wasn't sure if I'd have to pay to send this worthless kit back to her. It was a heavy 5 lbs.

So, in the end, I had bad luck with what should have been an easy purchase or an easy return. but, I was happy that what I said would happen happened.
She had to pay to have it shipped back to herself so she can throw it away. :)

Most sellers want you happy and will accommodate your reasonable negotiations.
They want a positive feedback score.
Therein lies the best part of this transaction.
I still get to leave feedback about this sale.
Bye bye 100% positive for this seller.
Others need to know what they will face if they buy a mislabeled item from this person.
Just doing my civic duty.

Thanks for letting me vent. : )

The science behind cookie ingredients! I knew it!!! finally, someone wrote it down.

http://time.com/3179770/the-science-behind-baking-the-most-delicious-cookie-ever/

People don't leave babies in "hot" cars.

Every news agency always states that a baby or child was "left in a hot car."
That statement boils my blood. First off, the cars are NOT HOT when a baby is left in it.
The cars are always comfortable when the baby gets left in it!
THEN, the temps soar and turns the car hot!  DUH!

Now that that is off my chest:

I read this entire article. It was pretty lengthy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html

I didn't even need to read the article, I already knew of everything it stated.

Some people even go as far as to offer advice to people to help them not forget a baby in the backseat!
Dumbest thing I have ever heard of.

First of all, I have recently read over 400 hate-filled comments regarding this topic.

People are basically perfect.

If you are perfect, then what good will it do you to leave your "cell phone in the back seat"
or "leave a shoe on the floor" in the back seat, or "leave your purse next to the baby"!!!

PERFECT PEOPLE DON'T NEED A REMINDER, AND THEY WON'T DO IT.

They won't leave a shoe or their phone in the back seat,
because they don't plan on leaving a baby in the car.

I am NOT talking about the people who leave their kids in the car while they "run inside to pay a bill" or while they "run inside to get a prescription". That is a completely separate topic all in itself, and even though I don't condone doing that at all, I am not addressing that subject at this time.

(It finally, in this moment, just made sense to me why there is a SIGN in a close-to-the-door parking spot at my local Wal-mart that states that the spot is "RESERVED FOR PARENTS OF SICK CHILDREN", is it perhaps so the parents can "run inside the store to get medicine or prescriptions" while they leave the sick kids in the car? just a thought.)

A girl won a science fair cause she invented a device to stick under the baby
that will alert your phone in case you left the baby in the car.
I would never buy it. NO ONE would ever buy it.
Who in their right mind thinks it could happen to them and PREPARE FOR THE DAY?
No one will buy it, cause the thought of needing it is ridiculous.
PEOPLE ARE PERFECT!



It's all about the ROUTINE, people!

My boys used to do gymnastics EVERYDAY for 3 hours a day.
If school got out early, or there was no school at all,
I would forget to take them to the gym 80% of the time.

If we were out of town on Sunday, then I would forget about piano lessons on
Monday morning. Everytime.

If I was supposed to pick up a kid at school on Tuesdays, and there was no school on Monday,
I would forget to pick him up EVERY time.

I totally understand mad people that say that forgetting a child is unacceptable.
I get that. I do.

But, it's NOT about FORGETTING a child.

It's about the ROUTINE. (which has to do with the BRAIN)

In the article, these people that lost their most prized possessions were
crucified by their peers for doing the unthinkable.

Guess what? They all had breaks in their routine:
phone distractions, extended family concerns, work related problems,
doctor appointments, a song on the radio, something else, or anything else.

Many people in the article REMEMBER taking the baby in the house and
putting it to bed before moving on to the next task just to find out later,
to their horrer, that they hadn't actually taken the baby inside.

Brains are mysteriously confusing.

I will never understand mine.

I can remember almost every rule in the softball rulebook,
but I can't remember where I put the keys to the car just now.

I can always remember the sugar content to a cup of yogurt or a can of soda,
but I can't remember if I just took 500mg of Acetaminophen or 1000mg.
(the kind of stuff you NEED to know)

I spent 2 years trying to get pregnant with my 7th child.
Even though I would nurse her all night long, it seemed,
every morning for the first 9 months of her life I would wake up surprised
to see that I had a new baby!

Hardly anyone "leaves a baby in the car." Hardly anyone "forgets a baby in the car."
I am here to tell you that if the baby is being left in the car at all,
it is because the person believes the child is SOMEWHERE ELSE:
at the sitter's, or in it's bed, or with it's other parent, or whatever
other thing that is normal in that person's life.

The venom that spews out of some people is uglier than the accidental death that has occurred.
Forgetting that the baby is in the car does not happen a ton and is not a crime
and should not be punished by the courts.
The "venom spewing" SHOULD be a crime, and SHOULD BE PUNISHED!

So many people have had their fair share of  "brain farts".
Leaving the house to go shopping, but forgetting the money or the coupons.
Going hiking and forgetting the water.
Going hunting or bird watching and forgetting the binoculars.
Going to another room in the house and forgetting what you went in there for.
Whatever it is.
WE ALL DO IT!

Sadly, some people get caught having a life altering "distraction".
Then they have to spend the rest of their lives torturing themselves
and searching their "imperfect, human brain" for answers that ARE NOT THERE.

Venom spewers beware! If you have not recently "knocked on wood"
while you have spewed your judgmental venom, you WILL be next.
In some way or another.