On eBay

I'm an occasional eBayer - I like it a lot though. I figure it's like every garage sale in the world distilled and (hopefully) you can find pretty much whatever you want. I'm very excited about my latest eBay purchase: boots. I think buying boots on eBay is risky, because they are definitely the kind of thing you need to try on. Somehow - by sheer chance - I've managed to get lucky and score a great pair of flat black boots.
And here they are (excuse the knees, please):



It's really not a great photo, but you probably get an idea of what they are like.
I think I am in love with these shoes. And purely because I LOVE a bargain. I have been in desperate need of some shoes that are suitable for winter - up until now I've been trying to get away with still wearing my summer sandals to work. The other girls, meanwhile, all wear great-looking boots. Most covetable.
I was after a flat pair because I only do heels now and then. Plus I have to walk about 10 mins to the train and in the afternoons there's the kid to wrangle as well.
So, for some reason, a week or so ago I decided to search eBay for 'black flat boot size 6'. After scrolling through several vomitous pairs I stumbled on these. They are a size 6.5 but I figure a $2 on a pair of inner soles could sort that. The pic made them look silvery: emailed seller to confirm they were actually black. Still I didn't bid - too unknown.
They went unpurchased and were subsequently relisted. By now I was regretting not buying them. You see, they are Gary Castles boots, supposedly with an RRP of $269. The starting price was $30. Nice. I decided to take a punt on them. This time round there was a little interest in them and the final price was a whole $41 ... plus $9 postage.
The boots arrived on Monday when I was laid up in bed with an appalling migraine. I'd also sprained my ankle on the weekend, so I didn't even open the package (no point,there's no way they'd go over the swollen ankle). When I did get around to it I was very pleased with the look of them - hardly a scratch. Next issue: they were rather, er, snug around the calf. One afternoon's wearing and they are stretching nicely. Am feeling most smug about my $50 investment. Granted, they may not be exactly this winter's shape or style, but I imagine they will last me several seasons.
This eBay experiment proved much more successful than some others I've carried out in recent years. There was the Country Road t-shirt I bought for my nephew last Christmas. Brand new, tags on, nice colour, five bucks. What could be wrong? Well, I found that out when it arrived: the fabric was terry towelling. Bleurgh. Not something you could pick up in a tiny picture. Then there was the time I bought my all-time favourite bottle of perfume, Samsara, on eBay. The bottle was new and seemingly a great bargain ... again, disappointment when the parcel arrived and said scent was a teeny weeny 5ml purse-sized bottle. My fault for not reading carefully before I bought.
So, yes, it's buyer beware - you win some, you lose some.