Take a Bite out of This
by acdickson
The holidays are coming and you know what that means, right? eBay prime time is here. From about now until mid-January anything that has any value whatsoever should fly off your virtual shelves. Things that didn't go in June? Relist them now. I want to see some sales out there, people. Big sales!
AC is no exception. What am I selling? Tickets to the New York City premiere of the AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller seminar. That's right folks, AC is headed to the big Apple.
When? December 12th, 13th and 14th.
Where? The EFA gallery at 23 West 39th Street in New York City.
Why? Well, my good friend Molly has curated a show called the Searchers about eBay and Generation Net.
How can you or your New York friends come? By buying a ticket on eBay, of course.
Actually, not of course. Amazingly, I've never thought to do this before, by Molly, smarty pants that she is, suggested we sell tickets on eBay. And so we have. Get 'em here!
I'm waiting another a week or so to give the show a big calling all cars email alarm, but if you know any eBay fiends in New York or any press types, please tell them about the show, or get in touch with me about getting in touch with them.
What else has been going on?
eBay has been in the news quite a bit lately in regards to the new PS3 game thingamagigy. A few enterprising souls hired strangers off of Craigslist to wait in line over night or nights so as to be able to get around the one console per person rule. Their plan? Sell them for three, four, five times their value on eBay. Many of the entrepeneurs were all too happy to tell reporters of their scheme and grab front page headlines in the process.
AC is torn. On the one hand, this is the way capitalism, and hence eBay works. Find something people want, find a way to buy it for less than its worth, and sell it at its true value (or above) for a profit. But there is a place where capitalism and eBay veer off. See, eBay has a soul. And as eBay members we have look deep within that soul and decide whether or not our actions are honorable. Do they do the greater community harm or good? I'm going to come down of the side of harm as far as the PS3's are concerned.
Keep in mind, I withheld judgment on the eBaypreneurs who bought Madison Square Garden's U2 tickets at face value and sold them for 4 times that on eBay. Yes, hearts were likely broken. But such things are part of the nature of events. And by and large rock shows are for adults, or at the very least young adults. Who should by now understand the life isn't fair principle. So what is about the PS3's that chafes AC?
I may be a little naive here, but video games are by and large for kids. I know, lots of adults play video game, just as lots of adults collect comic books, or throw tantrums in public, and most video games these days are probably best not seen by young eyes. But at the root of it, video games are games and games are designed for children. And like all things designed for children these days, the consoles were released for the holidays. And hence the only kids who will be getting a PS3 have parents with the free time and fortitude to camp out in line, or rich enough to buy one at inflated prices online. Which seems to leave the working class kid playing PS2. Which I guess isn't such a bad fate, I mean it beats working in the coal mine, but that's not the point. The point is there's something grinchy about the whole thing and it turns AC off.
So, what to do to get that grinch off your back?
Check this out. Curiously, that Tradition Keeper fellow looks like he could almost be AC's long lost brother. Strange.
Posted on November 27, 2006 | Comments (4)
