That Ain't How Ya Do It

It was...a week and six days ago that I won a copy of Sonic Heroes on eBay. (Note: despite what some haters may say, it's actually a pretty good game. Sonic Team certainly cleared up some of the problems that plagued the two Sonic Adventure games, and those games are almost universally adored by Sonic fans.) I immediately paid for my game and then started to wait for it to arrive. Thus begins my tale of woe.

The auction said the game would ship in 24 hours; tracking data didn't appear for five days. Granted, one of those days was a Sunday, but still. Even then, though, the data didn't update to tell me what had happened, so I finally emailed the seller to find out what the deal was. He/she said they'd look into it, and on Monday of this week, the tracking information changed to tell me it had been accepted at the sort facility. My game was on the move, ten days after I ordered it.

The game arrived this morning packed, of all things, in an Act II microwave popcorn box with the shipping label taped on front. Now, as an eBay seller, I'm all for figuring out ways of cutting down on shipping costs, especially since eBay actually takes a cut of the seller's shipping fees (absurd). But, really, a popcorn box makes for pretty shoddy protection, and this box was smashed and the game was rattling on the inside. The label wasn't even taped on thoroughly.

But I might not have even mentioned the packaging had it not been for what the mailman said to me at the door. It seems that the seller didn't even pay the correct postage for my game, and I was left having to pay the difference of 51 cents. This, despite the fact that I'd already paid for shipping when I bought the item. Look, shipping's kind of expensive, so maybe the fee I paid didn't quite cover it (despite the seller looking for every possible way to save on shipping), but as a seller, I know when to admit I've made a mistake. If the fee I've listed doesn't quite cover shipping, then I should have posted a higher fee. I just eat the extra cost, instead of making the buyer pay for shipping twice.

So, while I did end up getting an underrated game for a decent price (just over $10 all told, and the game's in pretty nice shape), the service was terrible. Oh, yeah, I also never heard back from the seller to find out why there was a delay in sending my item.

 

Of course, the seller has been negative feedback'd.

Caleb

We Have Heard the Call to Blogging!

A strange, yet familiar, desire has awakened within me. It is the desire to blog. The conceit that I can expound upon whatever trivial thing interests me and that someone out there will read it must be indulged.

This desire has grown considerably in light of my recent decision to all but quit Facebook, a decision that came about for two reasons:

1. I hate Facebook.
2. I really hate Facebook.

Yeah, I'll have more limited exposure here than on Facebook, but so what? I don't care if my friend Bob's great-grandmother Judy's niece's uncle's stepson's pet orangutan doesn't get to read my blog. I figure, if you're reading my blog, it's because you've made an effort and you want to read it, which is more than can be said about 99% of the stuff that comes up in your newsfeed on Facebook, isn't it?

So, here's where we get to the part where I talk about something that's on my mind. And...go.

LaTeX. LaTeX is alternatively of the devil and the greatest gift to academia, depending on the mood I'm in. Actually, now that I've begun learning it, I like it pretty well. My background in computer programming certainly helps. Now, why anyone would ever use BibTex, that's a question I may never be able to answer.

So you know, LaTeX is the typesetting language I'm using to write my dissertation. Speaking of which, my dissertation is coming along rather well. Graduating in December: boo-yeah.

That's all I feel like boring you with for now.

Caleb