Last week I told you about some of the purchasing successes I've had in the online auction world. The list continues to grow. But as I write this, I am experiencing my first auction anxiety. Cross-country warranty work and a slow-to-respond vendor are the culprits. Is it worth it? Would I do it again? Come, sit down beside me. Have some Pepsi. Let me tell you all about it.

"I'm so mad I could spit!" That's what my feisty grandmother used to hiss through clenched teeth when I did something to anger her-that and some other things I can't repeat here. I've been repeating them at home, though. You see, I found the greatest deal ever on eBay. It was a nice, basic set up: IBM THINKPAD 75 16 megs of RAM, a 120 MG hard drive, 1.44 meg floppy, and for $81.00 in a dutch auction. Sounds too good to be true, right? Right. So I looked at the seller's previous auctions and feedback. There had been a few minor snafus amongst a lot of positive comments, but everything was always resolved to the customers' satisfaction. People were saying good things about Circuits-Circuits, a company running its business on eBay, as many do. No bidding wars here: enter the minimum of $399 and when the auction expired it's yours.

I just couldn't pass it up. I placed my bid, waited for the confirmation email, and sent in the money order, with $20 extra for shipping and handling. The service is slow, as I discovered, and they keep leisurely hours. It took a couple of weeks for me to get the system after they received payment. "Built to order," they said. "Our low prices mean sometimes you have to wait," they said. And that was when I could get in touch. Office hours are noon to 5:00pm, Pacific time. No answering machine or voice mail, and the lines are busy through most of the five hours they're 'open.'

So, I finally got the system. It worked fine for about a week, and then all of sudden it stopped recognizing my network adapter. Couldn't use my cable modem. Reinstall, reinstall, reinstall. Call, call, call. After another week of trying to get some kind of straight answer, I finally got some quality time with the technician and he advised me to format the hard drive. Swell. But it was better that then having to send the box back.

The format helped. But then, a couple of days later, it started re-booting at random times (usually when I was mid-sentence on the most brilliantly inspired piece of prose I've ever written). Three or four days later, I finally am able to contact Circuits-Circuits again. This time, they decided to send me a processor and RAM. This time, I'm angry and losing my patience, but still humble and polite. "Are you sure it's not the motherboard?" I ask.

"Try this first," they say. I get the parts, via USPS express mail, take out the old and put in the new, and nothing. In fact, by now there's no video and it will not boot. Motherboard. "No, we can't ship you a new system until you send the old one back," they said. "Got ripped off one too many times," they said. "Pack that one up and send it to us and we'll send you another one," they said.

"You're reimbursing me for everything, and please get it back to me quickly," I said. "I do all my work on the computer."

"Ho-hum," they said. "You and everyone else."

"Maybe I should tell my readers about your excellent customer service," I said, sarcastically. And to paraphrase, they said "go ahead."

I'm still waiting for my computer. I do expect to receive it soon. I don't think I'm doing business with a dishonest person, just a lackadaisical one. The seriousness of that is compounded in direct proportion to the distance in miles between my home and their shop. Would I do this again? If the price was right, maybe. Or maybe not. There's a certain point where money saved doesn't make up for the headaches suffered. On the other hand, if it were for a back up system...

I still have great faith in online auctions. I love to tell people about the deal I recently got on a AGFA 780D Digital camera. Those things retail for $600, and I got mine for $225. with a one year warranty. It came quickly and it did not work but they were able to exchange the camera with a working new one. Several of you wrote to tell me of other methods for finding deals that you prefer. Unfortunately, some of you have experienced auction scams. So far, I've been able to avoid that, I think because I tend to look for dutch auctions or set prices. I also enter my maximum bid and allow the system to be my proxy. That way I never get caught up in the "heat of the moment," where I may throw common sense to the wind in a bidding war and end up paying more than I wanted to.

I received lots of suggestions, encouragement, and great ideas from you last week. Thank you! I love to get email from my readers. Keep it coming. Send it to me at Phils web site, or post your comments and tips below.

Enjoy your weekend.

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