8 responses to “Maximum Barbosity.”

1. 

   joodyb said on November 28, 2005 at 5:21 pm

   I love it! I always wanted a white tree. are the ornaments old or new? the poodle skirt is a gas.

   thanks for doing this.

   and belated happy birthday.

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2. 

   Nance said on November 28, 2005 at 5:26 pm

   My sister started us off by giving Kate about a dozen of the Holiday Barbie Christmas ornaments that she’d been collecting, and then gifted her with about 10 more, picked up on eBay and elsewhere. We’ve subsequently bought two or three new ones every year. Soon she’ll outgrow that little tree. I’m thinking the next one will be a four-foot white tree, probably not fiber optic, because what I really want are Barbie-pink lights. The problem is finding them on white cords; I’m always on the lookout for them.

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3. 

   brian stouder said on November 28, 2005 at 6:35 pm

   As the father of a 7 year old daughter, and a 17 month old daughter, I must say –

   Very cool!

   You mentioned ebay, and just to state the obvious – whenever the day comes (if it ever does) that you want to divest yourself of that (or of any parts of it), I have no doubt you would set off a bidding frenzy on e-bay.

   The oddly alluring (and somewhat unnerving) marketing power that ebay harnasses is really, truly amazing.

   A week ago Pam was ramping up for another little sell-off of baby clothes that no longer fit Chloe. She has become quite good at this – snapping pics and writing forthright descriptions. These sales of hers usually result in a bargain for the buyers, and a little cash and more space for the seller (Pammy) – win/win all around…..

   well, I had several boxed games on the shelf that had literally gone untouched for more than 5 years. They were in good shape – I had bought one for $10 in a clearance sale, and paid maybe $25 for another. When the bidding on those two games was over (this weekend) – I’m not kidding when I tell you I was shocked.

   Really – it made me more than a little…. nervous is the word – that folks were running the price on CARDBOARD bits and sheets of paper up so high. Anyway – Pammy is unexpectedly now ‘cash-long’ for the Christmas-season homestretch.

   ebay simply amazes me. Things that are gathering dust in your closet may well be worth silly amounts of money to someone else

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4. 

   Lois Marquart said on November 28, 2005 at 9:11 pm

   Tell me you are also going to put up a REAL tree, or a reasonable facsimile of a green Christmas tree!

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5. 

   Nance said on November 28, 2005 at 10:38 pm

   Well, yeah. This is just the Barbie tree.

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6. 

   maryo said on November 29, 2005 at 12:24 am

   I know at least one four year old girl in my household would be screaming for a Barbie tree of her own if she saw those photos. The other four year old girl probably would demand an equal-time Power Ranger/superhero/Star Wars tree. My 9 year old, the original Barbie fanatic, thinks herself too sophisticated for Barbie these days — though occasionally I’ll find her quietly putting the Barbies back in the toy box in the twins’ room when she’s done playing with them.

   Very nice!

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7. 

   Pam said on November 29, 2005 at 11:23 am

   Hey Brian — I also get nervous about ebay bidding but it usually turns out OK. Last year I put up 5 Haviland ramekins or custard cups. They were pretty old and (I thought) kind of rough looking. Ramekins usually get about $10 each. These got bid up to an amazing $50 each! Talk about nervous! I thought that when the buyer got them, she would send me a screaming email about how crappy they were and demand her money back. Well, she sends me a message about how her hands were trembling as she unwrapped each precious piece! and that you can’t find this pattern in such good condition any more! and how lucky for her etc. So you just never know!

   The Barbie Christmas tree was actually my friend Carol’s idea. She has a white tree with pink lights (so does her sister) and every Barbie ornament ever made. It’s so very cute! This year she’s adding another tree with blue lights for all of her Frosty Friends ornaments (she has the whole collection and there’s another funny ebay story there). She also has a regular green tree. Christmas is the time to be silly and have fun!

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8. 

   brian stouder said on November 29, 2005 at 11:56 am

   “Talk about nervous! I thought that when the buyer got them, she would send me a screaming email about how crappy they were and demand her money back.”

   Exactly!

   Pam has the Ebay savvy, and she does things very particularly – pictures, descriptions, and prompt and detailed answers to any questions…

   And she has a very definite way of transacting business. When the bids on two of the games went north of $100, I began pressing her to throw in insurance, which she absolutely would not do! “I offered that (for the additional cost), and the bidder didn’t ask for it”.

   Anyway – we got paid, and all the stuff shipped – and the most expensive thing already arrived and the buyer put a feedback up that was nothing short of glowing!

   Watching Pam when the auction ended was interesting; she goes into business-mode and gets everything done with astonishing alacrity. She instantly got paid (through PayPal), and then went to the USPS site and electronically paid postage and printed shipping labels, and sealed up the USPS boxes (which you get for free, for the asking; she has a supply of them) – and I dropped them at the post office the next morning.

   Bim-Bam-Boom – chaching.

   Still makes me nervous.

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