Watermarks on paid printed art

Hopefully I hid the identity of this person enough so they don't get any flak or try and come at me for my very valid opinion...

Awhile back I gave a 4 star review to an admittedly mediocre artist (think fanart only/deviantart "I'm young & learning" style). Now there is nothing wrong with learning, nothing wrong if that's how you draw, either, except when you brag about how awesome and popular you are - which is only one reason why I mention this.

The 4 star out of 5 review was because they had watermarked their *printed pillowcase* their user/artist name with ugly typesetter font. 

The PRINTED, finished, paid for product. 

It is not all over the pillow per se (more on that in a second) but VERY easily seen, glaringly so, in that it looks ugly and detracts from the pillow. 

They also hid her name in the design itself!

WTF.

So I gave them 4 stars, mentioning that it was very odd to stamp your name so blatantly on a printed piece of merchandise. Their seller bio now says something like "don't listen to the less than perfect reviews, people are so weird here".

What?

I have a valid complaint! They even hid the watermark originally in the sales photos so you didn't see it, which leads me to believe they know it looks shitty but they don't care, because how awful it must be to their pride if anyone forgets they drew this lukewarm piece of shit. I know that's harsh (and seemingly hypocritical as I bought it). I bought it to use as a back pillow to sleep in front of. I didn't want to use any good designs, as I would feel bad if it got stained or washed out looking. So, yeah, I deliberately bought it because it had a character I liked but I could use it more. 

The art being mediocre is the point here, as no decent artist I've known does this. It's always the "OC DONT STEAL" ones where, honestly... no one's gonna steal it, okay? 

None of my other items I purchase has signatures in it! If you bought a lanyard or a keychain, would you asdume the artist has HEREISME.TUMBLRLOL on it as well as the art? Seriously, I was really nice in giving one star less. I could have been this bitchy and trashed them, but no. I do actually try to be nice first. But when they attack back it's just...no. I needed to vent over this.

Ugh.

Can't Choose Your Father (abuse 3)

I will try to preface all of these with saying that as I write them I am 42 years old, I am mentally scarred so badly I do not work outside the home or leave it unless I am with my husband. 

How you are raised will mess you up. Abuse will leave scars on a child for life, and may stunt them as they grow older. Don't do this to your kids. Listen to your kids. If they say, "That hurts me, it's not helping", please take it into consideration. Don't simply say you know what's "best" for them, because my family told me all my life they did what was "best" for me.

_




This takes place when I was in therapy, a preteen I suppose. I don't really remember, again, but I'm pretty sure drugs were already being forced down my throat for depression and they're part of why I have a lot of missing memories.

Which, of course, is a mixed blessing.

I was sitting with my mother and stepfather in the room. Mom usually took me, but he was there for some reason - I think because the therapist requested to see him at least once. She started to talk to him, about "his daughter", when he laughed embarrassingly and said,

"Oh, she's not my daughter."

I looked at the doctor with tears in my eyes, pleading, look? See? This is my fucking family. This is supposed to be my daddy. I had called him that, for certain, hugged him and loved him as a "real" father.

I shouldn't have, but, you know. Abuse. Childhood. I had no idea.

The psychologist stared at him with her mouth open. She then told me to step outside and I assumed she tore into him... but I'll never know. The only thing I do know? I had no father. I had a biological father that didn't care because he had new kids, a stepfather that was ashamed of me, and a grandfather I lived with that treated me the same. I mourn that grandfather the most, as he showed more care for me than any man did until my husband came along... but he did still call me a "fat, stupid bitch" to my face more than once.

The Hay Pile (abuse 2)

I will try to preface all of these with saying that as I write them I am 42 years old, I am mentally scarred so badly I do not work outside the home or leave it unless I am with my husband. 

How you are raised will mess you up. Abuse will leave scars on a child for life, and may stunt them as they grow older. Don't do this to your kids. Listen to your kids. If they say, "That hurts me, it's not helping", please take it into consideration. Don't simply say you know what's "best" for them, because my family told me all my life they did what was "best" for me.

_



This one is another of those "neighbor kids" stories, and this one's actually fairly short. 

My family comes from Northern Italy. We were farmers there, and it's in our genes as a lot of us have super green thumbs. Well, the house I grew up on had a half acre in the back that my grandfather had painstakingly mulched and turned the sand into rich, fertile dark soil by hard work and sheer force of will.

I don't really remember much again, all I can recall is the oldest kid suggesting we play farmers and move the hay from one pile to another, spreading it somewhere. I think there was a pile in the compost, and we moved it to cover some of the garden. 

Some time later my mother is yelling again. Apparently that was wrong and I was in trouble, although no one had ever told me not to do it. The neighbor kids were sent home - smirking, by the way -- and I was dragged over and over the emotional coals again until I was in tears.

I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. It was the first time I had done this action. Why did I have to be called a bad child for that? Why was it suggested I should have magically "known better"?

Mud Babies (child abuse 1)

I will try to preface all of these with saying that as I write them I am 42 years old, I am mentally scarred so badly I do not work outside the home or leave it unless I am with my husband. 

How you are raised will mess you up. Abuse will leave scars on a child for life, and may stunt them as they grow older. Don't do this to your kids. Listen to your kids. If they say, "That hurts me, it's not helping", please take it into consideration. Don't simply say you know what's "best" for them, because my family told me all my life they did what was "best" for me.

_


One day when I was young I went off to play with the neighbors. I can't recall how young I was, but you can take a guess if you know what our game was: making dirt pies.

Actually, it was more like sand pies. We lived close to the beach so dirt in most of the yards wasn't rich soil, it was sandy. 

Well, we went to their backyard and turned on the hose and played. Their mother could see out out their kitchen window, and she was keeping an eye on us and smiling. Their father walked around the side at one point to leave for something work related, and he also smiled and waved cheerfully at us four kids playing happily.

Then my mother saw me.

Screaming like a horror queen she ordered me to come home right now. I knew that tone - I was in trouble. I would be in far, far worse trouble if I didn't do what she said, so I immediately went to her side. She took hold of my ear in a firm grip and pulled me in, speaking loudly in a shaming voice. I don't remember what she said but I do remember she insisted on saying I was playing "mud babies", over and over again.

It hurt.

I was at the age where I didn't want to ne a "baby". She knew this, so grinding on and on about how childish I was being she yanked me inside. The neighbor kids just stared with wide eyes.

I do recall trying to reason with her. As young as I was I was far more mature in my mind than I should have been, and I reasoned that both the other adults had seen us playing and smiled. Why was I in trouble? I didn't know I had done anything wrong! 

Long story short, they were "wild Indians" and "filthy" and "I should have known better".

I heard "mud babies" the rest of the night as she humiliated me with it as my grandfather and stepfather came home, each time being subjected to the torture although I had already promised never to do "that" again. 

There's many a Rugrats episode where the babies make mud pies. It makes my stomach hurt when I see them.

Buyers, please do not do this!

Why yes, thank you. I believe I will reply.

Here, though. Not on eBay. Because what I did on eBay was block you for having the audacity to tell me this. Because let me get this straight; you wanted this item enough to contact me when it's been off sale for a week or so. You're one of the watchers on it (this item is one of my most watched on the site). And if so, you probably have seen where I had it for $35 and free ship before.

Yep, I was that much of an ass. :3 I raised the cost when no one bought it but everyone wanted it.

And now, for the facts - if you do think it's worth $35, then screw you. IT'S ON FREE SHIPPING. That means I have to pay $8-10 to ship out of the price listed and pay eBay and Paypal fees to boot. So I will probably not get $35 when I charge $45!

I like how they ask if it sold, though - then tell me it's too high a price. IF IT SOLD, IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T.

Also wik, price is variable for items, especially ones that are vintage and hard to find. Just go find another if you think mine is too expensive - oh wait, IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME to find another, and even then it will likely be the same cost or more.

Also also wik, according to the "variable" idea, there will be someone that pays the price I have listed. It may not be right away, but someone will. It always happens. I just bought a vintage soap for $20. People were watching it, obviously thinking it was "too expensive", but it's one I loved from my childhood and I'll always snag it if I see it. So I jumped in and used BIN where they wouldn't. The same thing will happen to my dragon.

Oh, and... the best part? I don't want to sell him. Not really. I just need extra money and less collectibles. But if all I get are idiots who want expensive things for free, at some point I take the items back.

*edit: holy shit, LOL. I went and checked again - MINE IS THE CHEAPEST ONE ON THE SITE. It's in good condition - there's only one better with the card still attached -- and it's the cheapest. They're all like $50 plus shipping, I'm dying laughing right now at this sad sack of bullshit that thought they could lie to me and I wouldn't know what I was selling. I should raise my price again.

:3

Eaurghhh (or, eBay's Best Offer BS)

I'm an eBay seller. I use it to garage sale my stuff that I don't want anymore or can't use, so I usually list low. So let me say I completely understand how low ball offers suck. I, however, as a buyer, will make an offer that would be good for me. Not too crappy, but with room for some going back and forth.

I offered $10 less on an item, was declined... but the best part? Asshole seller replied with counteroffer that was the BIN price. They said, "if you can get it cheaper anywhere let me know".

Bitch please.

Your gift tin item came with the WRONG items inside. Yes, there was an added item, but there weren't the right items inside.

I declined and replied back with 'I could get it with the right items inside'.

No way in hell am I buying from a snippy piece of shit like that. That's terrible, I wouldn't talk to a customer like that - especially if they gave a decent offer. Yes, the item was low. Yes, it was free shipping. BUT YOU HAD MAKE AN OFFER ENABLED. PEOPLE WILL MAKE OFFERS! I didn't offer way less, they could have even gave me a single dollar off and I might have accepted.

Geez.

D56 Pencils and Topper Lots for Sale!

Myep

Garage sales again, since we REALLY need to pay the bills, so I'm losing money but that's your gain. I just need these things out and some cash to pay stuff with!

There's an old lot of vintage (old = vintage, of course, where's my brain at lately) toppers, including a Lisa Frank easter egg and more, here: {{CLICK FOR PENCIL TOPPERS LOT}}

Aaaannnnnd...

A D56 lot of pencils with toppers, all awesome and vintage, unsharpened - Pound Puppies, DISNEY'S Gargoyles, Applause, Russ and more, here - {{CLICK HERE FOR D56 PENCIL LOT}}

What NOT to do as an eBay Buyer (1)

Lesson #1: if a seller does not have the "make an offer" button on their listing, DO NOT MESSAGE THEM TO MAKE AN OFFER.


I'm selling Japan/DokiDoki Crate mix boxes right now on eBay, with some extra items thrown in from Asia/the 80's. They're mix boxes, lots, meaning you do not get to pick what you receive. You can tell me if you like or dislike certain things in general, and I'll try to accommodate, but it's not a "pick what you get" listing.

I even have this detailed in my listings (in bright red to make sure folks see it) as such:
I do not barter or split auctions!

This means what it means: I don't accept offers if the listing doesn't have that button, nor do I sell "part of" one auction for "less". Okay. Now that's out of the way, on to one of the many messages I received about this popular listing.

Message #1: Hi, buy any chance can you do $25.00 for the listing? I will buy right away! Thanks🙂

I ignored this and did not reply, as I'm losing money on these anyway to sell this low and paying the shipping completely out of pocket. It's an actual bargain at the cost. (I updated my listing eventually to add info about this and ask that people kindly do not ask for lower prices as I'm damn near being harassed by a lot of kids). The next PM came as follows:

Message #2: Hi, if I buy this could I have all this stuff, Pokémon Purple plush, hello kitty stamp, loom the loop, some sort of candy, both hoppe charms, somiko garshi stickers, sushi sticky notes, washi tape, breadu squishy, rillakumma squishy and the slipper squishy. Thanks! Let me know if you don't I have the stuff I want in the box. Thanks

I blocked the buyer from bidding on my auctions. Many buyers are shocked this happens to them. I will try to explain why this happened from my (the seller's) point of view.

This buyer:

1 - ignored my very bold, red-colored statement of "I do not barter", which tells me they cannot read or pay attention to details

2 - ignored the general idea about the auction "a lot" of "mystery" things, some of which are depicted in the photos but I clearly explained that the photos were NOT the only things available

3 - asked me to cheapen a deal that is already listed at too cheap for me to make my money back on a lot of these things

4 - misspelled a ton of things, appearing illiterate, in their haste to demand what they wanted

5 - demanded I do what they want, when I have what they want

6 - asked for all the most expensive things they saw in the photos (again, I have lots more that's not pictured)

These warning flags tell me that they most likely will not understand the nature of the listing, and it may lead to them screaming they want their "money back", to screw me out of everything. It has the feeling of a too-young teenager that is demanding while thinking that adding a "thank you" makes it okay to insult me. I need money to pay bills. I will not make money off of these; I need to clear space in my home, and I thought it would be fun and make others happy.

When you sell for a long enough amount of years, you get a cold feeling about the buyers that will cause trouble the moment they contact you. This one had "I'm going to screw you over" written all over them - even if I had caved in and given them even more money's worth of items in their box.

Cultural Appropriation & Halloween

*sigh*

Okay, so on my Google news cards today was a story about Halloween, so I clicked it. The article poo-pooed the "leftist" society* that is screaming that kids that aren't Hawaiian can't be Moana for Halloween because it's - you guessed it -- "cultural appropriation". It's stealing from their culture and it's the worst thing ever.

Oh, and that's NOT the rant, folks, ha! Of course! Because, while I believe this is bullshit PC crap (she's a freaking Disney Princess character for god's sake, let the little girls look up to her and want to be her for Halloween)... the article turned sour. It started off just fine, as I despise people that get too politically correct. There's a thing as taking stuff too far, and if a white girl wants to be a Samoan Princess, then you all should be thrilled that the little white girl WANTS to be her, because she doesn't see that the character has any difference to her. It's how we want society to move - as a whole, not seeing colors, sexual orientation, gender, etc., as anything that separates us. We are all human.

So I'm thinking, 'okay, huh. This seems to be something I agree with...'

The asshole writer says that if he wants to dress up as Harvey Weinstein it's okay.

[ *insert facepalm image here* ]

I mean, I'll defend your desire to do as you wish to the death, sir. Don't get me wrong. But there's a difference between wanting to dressing as someone you look up to although your culture is different and dressing as someone who has destroyed the lives of countless people while remaining of the thought that their lives do not matter.

Dressing up as him to make him look bad, ie., a social commentary on how much of a monster he is... eh. That's a different story. But I think this moron meant actually going as the man who is unrepentant about the terrible things he did.

Again, if you want to be an asshole, that's up to you. But I would hope that whatever party you go to the folks have the common decency that you seem to lack, and boo the shit out of you.




* wik: honestly, the way we split ourselves up is ridiculous, there's not just "black" and "white", "left" and "right" people - and that's the basic problem, and for another rant

* also wik: by the way, I'm dressing up as a sea cow for Halloween! Hooray!

Screw you, movies (Kingsmen spoiler)

...and sometimes books.

But this is about movies. My husband was so psyched for this Kingsmen movie he was watching - so psyched that he didn't finish it so we could watch it together. I had my misgivings, but he said he asked someone and the dog in it didn't die.

I SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THE "DOES THE DOG DIE" site.

The dog does not die, but in another room this bitch has a STANDARD POODLE as her companion, and she freaking pulls the trigger! Yes, it was loaded with blanks, but I don't care. I'm upset, and I'm predisposed to absolutely hate women anyway, so this makes me absolutely upset and FROTHING AT THE MOUTH WITH RAGE - I want her character to die a terrible, messy, slow death.

This will now torture me for years.

I own poodles!

I have always owned poodles!

They're my special babies!

That couldn't have touched me more.

So frack you, movies.

This movie gets a negative score from me for doing that scene. There is no reason for it. It's like a "hey, kill your baby" scene. A huge trigger for me, an even huger that it was the dogs I always own that I CONSIDER MY CHILDREN.

The worst part is the asshole character is all like, "at least the girl had balls". No, idiot, no she didn't. The dog was not a threat, someone just told her to do it. It's a yes-sir-military mindset, and I didn't think spies were supposed to have that.

Also, frack spy movies. I MIGHT have went along with this one - I always disliked all of them I've seen -- but you know what? This sucks, too.

Toreba Crane Machine App

Hey, I haven't posted here in ages!

That isn't to say I haven't been pissed - a part of being The Angry Nekomata is constantly being pissed, like Bruce Banner says in that one movie -- I just haven't been pissed enough to post.

Until now.

If you are considering trying the hot new craze "Toreba", please read this first! 

I love crane machines. That's what this is all about, by the way, those prize machines with the claw where you can win a stuffed animal or some kind of prize. I used to live on the shore, and I'd regularly empty those MFers enough to ask the guys and gals behind the arcade counters for bags to carry all my loot in. I'm the gal others would ask "Here - please take my money and win me that for me/my husband/kid, etc" .

No problem. I can do that. I would always walk away before the machine was empty, because I felt bad if I emptied one. Don't get me wrong. But that's how good I am. So when my husband found out there's this app where you play these machines in Japan on your phone, in real time, and actually win plushes and stuff - wtf?! Of course he let me know.

I hesitated (I have big problems with buying too much online and on apps) but eventually gave it a try. $35.98 later, I have absolutely nothing to show for my efforts. I gave up and bought one of the biggest plushes I wanted (for less than that, by the way). And that's the lesson here. Unless you can be content with the "free" tries or earning TP (the cash used to try your go at a crane/fishing/lotto machine) by completing offers - DO NOT INSTALL THE APP.

Just go to this website: The Otaku Mode (yeah, I do have a referral link, but hey, we both get more stuff if you sign up and it's free. Also, I'm not doing this just to promote this site. Honest.) The site sells the exact same shit (and more) you'd ever want from Japan. Candies, snacks, anime/manga, kawaii plushies and squishies, more. You can see it's cheaper, even with the shipping from Japan, to buy from there. Most of the prizes are around $5 or so USD - but they'll take you hundreds to win. It's damn near impossible, trust me.

But - yeah, yeah, I couldn't win a single thing. I compensated for lag, trust me. Because the game lags like crazy. The camera also blacks out sometimes (really fun, let me tell you).

The point is, I actually got the claws wrapped 100% perfect a large number of times (because that's how I win all the time here, duh) but guess what? They're too weak. It's rigged. Did you know in the States there's inspectors that go to the arcades and test the strength of the claws? They have to grip a certain percentage or it's illegal. I'm not so sure about Japan.

The other way to win is either pure chance (ping pong lottery/fishing game) or waiting. Because, you see, others know that you'll spend $100 edging that plushie down the ramp... and when you either rage quit or run out of money, they dash in and poke! One push shoves it down. So if you're good at being a douche, by all means you can try this. Or just plug away at it, poking it, until it falls in. But that also will cost far too much than just buying the damn thing!

Thanks, but I lost again

Yeah, I submitted a ton of these. I won't ever again, due to obvious reasons (democracy my ass), but while they're up, why not take a peek and maybe vote? :)

Vote link:
https://www.squishable.com/opensquishp/opensquish_meat_224415/

Voting over, thank you!

Yep, I'm at it  I lost again.

I submitted a lot of these, and am hoping one makes it! So please, if you like original, interesting stuffed animals, consider voting for my "Grumplestump" today? I'd appreciate it!

Vote here: http://tinyurl.com/h282lsp
Or direct!: https://www.squishable.com/opensquishp/opensquish_stump_219340/

This is the little guy right here :)

Voting is over! Tadpole!

Voting is over the 13th, thanks to all who voted! A new design will be up that day :)

Please show me some of that awesome support I received last time - although last time I didn't win, I got a HUGE number of votes!

(I love you all, squee)

This time it's a tadpole design, super simple - and who doesn't love baby frogs?!

http://tinyurl.com/gt73amg 
(tinyurl)

https://www.squishable.com/opensquishp/opensquish_tadpole_276099/ 
(Squishables URL)

eBay Seller Scam: Shipping a Wrong (Cheaper) Item

I've mentioned this before on my blog as this has happened to me before. But this scam is cropping up through American sellers now, not just Chinese ones - and there seems to be zero mention of this online -- so I felt the need to publish another post.

The scam is simple.

1.) You purchase item worth a decent amount of money
2.) Sellers ships item with tracking number to you
3.) You receive item that is a sticker or something cheap, worth pennies
4.) Seller claims "item arrived" because it had tracking

eBay will normally not favor you, the buyer, since the seller can prove they did ship something. 

Especially if the seller is a "powerseller", seeing as they favor them as they net eBay tons of money. You won't even be able to leave negative on a powerseller right away because eBay protects them. You have to wait a certain amount of time.

Anyway!

If you buy something, be aware of the shape and size, even weight, of the package it arrives in. If the item seems off, too light of flat when it should be bulky, DO NOT OPEN IT. Your best bet is to take photos just as it is and then return for your money back, if possible - by showing pictures and trying to reason there is "no way" a ceramic figure would be mailed flat in a thin mailer for two stamps, for instance.

I might recommend a video if possible, of you opening the package if you feel you must. Show both your addresses and show that it is sealed in it, of course, before opening. Keep this handy when you file a claim.

We have to fight these disreputable pieces of shit, because if folks keep getting ripped off they'll just think they have it made. We can make them pay - and if worse comes to worse, remember to leave that negative feedback!

(Voting is Over) Thank you!

Myep - it's voting time! My Blue Budgie (parakeet) is up for votes at Squishable.Com! Click the pic if you want to vote and help make it a stuffed animal. I'm actually up against the staff artwork (heh), who did tests against their own designs to see what would, um, win easier. So hey! Not going to win probably... but we'll try!

Click the larger thumbnail on the bottom for larger image, if you'd like to see the description before jumping to the site. And thanks for voting, everyone who supports me! I'm grateful and thrilled that folks would like my art enough. If it's not good, feel free to let me know what you would change, so I can make better designs in the future!

(I don't have Facebook, so can't go on there like Squishables always suggests. LOL).

Thanks to all who voted for me.
I really appreciate it! Got a lot of votes for a first design, and that makes me happy. Unfortunately, the site pre-picked a blue budgie their staff member designed - exactly the color as mine -- ummmmm... and I don't recall ever seeing it up for vote at all. Weird. It's just there.

Well, as my first experience, it sucked, and I will not be giving them any more free designs. I do have a lot of designs that will still be up for voting, and I have mixed emotions about that. Should I hope to "win"? It's not really winning - the people that win are the staff, since they get free work done for a pittance. I need the money badly, but the last designer on the team that emailed me had issues. There was no "hey, maybe you could do it this way" or "we feel this might need a change". It was more "DO IT LIKE THIS, STUPID. NOW."

Ugh. I went to college for art too, you know guys. I just wasn't lucky enough to land a cush job.

eBay seller issue

seller: dsager455

Just remember, eBay sellers, stuff goes both ways! Take this scenario, for example...

I bought a rare squishable from someone on eBay. I paid immediately, and yet a week later, when the item was supposed to actually be there, it still hadn't shipped yet. I PM'd the seller.

The seller told me they had to have "impromptu back surgery" and they'd ship it out immediately. Okay, I was super polite... stuff happens. So I wait. The tracking number is added, and then the next day, it says the item was delivered to an address in the seller's home state.

SIGH

So I PM again. The seller says 'whoops, wrong number, I'll just fix that'.

I THEN WAIT AN ENTIRE DAY

No number.

This sounds fishy as hell, right? So I report them.

Sweet bleeding Jesus, they give the wrong tracking number AGAIN. The one that proves it shipped to the different address. So I comment on that. Then they add the right number - get this, a day later -- WHEN THE PACKAGE IS DUE TO ARRIVE HERE. Ughhh. So, it arrives, and I give positive feedback. Positive! Since it's a weekend, I don't go on eBay, I take those days off. And usually when you give positive feedback everything is okay, ebay cancels the alert thing 'cause it's been delivered.

Also, I didn't go online on my computer (where I'd hafta close the case), I went on my phone for feedback.

Nope. I waited until Sunday and the seller is freaking out, acting like they're gonna be screwed that I'm trying to "fool" them.

*hisses*

It's perfectly okay for him to make ME wait more than a week, to give me all the proper info and crap, but he's flipping shit because it was a weekend and I didn't cancel the case in a couple days? After I gave the bastard positive feedback?!! 

I'm supposed to wait for them, but they can't for me? 

@##$%, way to rep my home state, asshole. I know why they make fun of it all the time in EVERY single other state - you're jerks! UGHHH.

Lying scam bucket seller on eBay

I hate when people try to scam others.

(click for bigger image)!

This "person" on eBay (see how nice I'm being? I didn't call them an @#$ at all) is trying to sell a micro squishable for approximately $40 more than it's worth by lying and saying it's a "big" item. It's really tiny, and you can even see it's a micro in the photos (not the first, of course, they think they can fool people by putting that later on, so you think it's the bigger version if you don't check).

UGHHH

NEW eBay SCAM ALERT

All right, we'll cut to the chase here on this one. I ordered 5 things from a seller in China. They sent me a very tiny, very small package with tracking, that included a spring "hair band" inside (not what I ordered of course, it was just to make it look like something was inside).

Seller profile
The feedback says they do this a lot. Send empty packages or "hairbands" when folks order things worth way more than that.

Twitter link to me calling eBay out (with image)

Item numbers I purchased: 391503042737, 351733894035, 351778965725, 391503042035, 391503042737

This is what they told me when I called them out on it, demanding a refund. Classic, right? Like anyone is going to believe it's a "test" package. I've done business for 20+ years and have never heard of that excuse. The worst problem is, I can't figure out how to report them! eBay doesn't want them gone, obviously, because they make them money. And there is no way to report without going out of my way and calling the company. Which, I know because I've done it before, does nothing to the seller. Augh.

*edit: I followed through on EVERY ONE of the auctions, and eventually they caved & mailed the items to me.

*edit 8/23: AUUUGHHH it happened again! Different seller this time, sent me 2 "party favor" stick-on mustache sets. I ordered 2 "squishies", not that cheap dimestore crap! I'll be reporting and giving bad feedback, of course. Bleah.

You know, China, if these sellers keep doing this, no one is going to buy from anyone from your country. Ever. I mean, sheez, it's already all knock off stuff, and not worth a lot, not made well, etc. Now you're not even going to send the crap, because it's "too expensive"? You're going to send something that's a quarter of a pennies' worth?! Argh.

Stupid Cat Plays Minecraft: Gear VR

So... yeah. First time playing Minecraft via the Gear VR system, and Zoro thought it was so amusing he uploaded a Youtube video on my account. LOL.

Yes, I'm fat, and have a shaved head. I'm also super sick right now with a crazy virus I picked up from going to 2 WWE/NXT events in one week when they visited our area. Ha!

Anyway, "stupid cat plays" for the first time. Enjoy my stupidity.