A Close Call

Sometimes, I’ll win an online auction for a price that I consider to be just pennies on the dollar compared to what it’s worth. Usually, I’ll resist the urge to contact the seller and tell them how delighted I am to have won, and to be super duper careful packing it, and to insure the package – after all, I don’t necessarily want the seller to think he should have gotten much more.

From past experience, when a seller thinks he’s been shortchanged, that tends to trigger all manner of online shenanigans, from "oh I can’t find the item now, I must have lost it" to "accidentally" sending me the wrong item, to claiming the item was lost in the mail.

So usually, as was the case in this story, I just sit as patiently as I can and bite my nails waiting for the item to arrive safely. I had won something in an auction from a Florida seller who didn’t know beans about pencils; he or she did a great job describing the item but a pretty bad job taking pictures of it. If it was what I thought it was, it would be a truly significant find, and if it was in decent condition it would really be something special. But, when the auction closed, I didn’t end up having to pay very much for it.

After standing next to the mailbox for a few days, I received my package from Florida. I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out what was inside . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company