Fighting it out on eBay

You know why I hate bidding on-line especially on auction sites like eBay? I always lose, that's why. I can see the item I wanted slip out of my reach moments after I bidded or see its price rise disappointingly high. Or worse of all, when I thought I got it, some stupid bidder usually snipes it a few seconds before the auction closes. But sometimes, the seller would put the "Buy it now" option on the item where I can buy it off without any competitive bidding but I have to be careful and calculate to see if the price is reasonable or not. And not only that, I would have to contact them to ask if they ship to Malaysia. So much hassle.

That is why, when I wanted an item badly, I will get Nexus to fight for me on eBay and he usually wins. But unfortunately he is here in KL this week, its not a good thing to bother him. Anyway, there was this item which I wanted last week and since there was not much bidding, I decided to put mine as the seller is willing to ship it here. However, days later, about three other bidders were "fighting" it out and I was doubting my chances. Anwyay, after weighing my chances, I decided to see what happens when it is about to close. And so, on Monday morning, with about ten minutes to go before it ends, all the fighting has stopped (I guess it must be bed-time over there) and I decided to bid a bit more. And at the same time the feelings of self-doubt and the "Do I really want this thing?" came on very strong. (Must be the enemy's midichlorians at work). I bid about 1USD at a time for the last 10 seconds and before I know it, I won!

Woohoo!

Woohoo!

Yeah!

But seriously, there is a problem too. I noticed that while I was sitting down and only clicking the mouse, my hearbeat was actually quite fast. And when I actualy won, I was almost at the point of my heart trying to jump out or pass out from not breathing at all. My Boss asked what happened and I needed to tell him to give me a few minutes to calm down first. Guess I am getting old, either that or this is what it feels like to single-handedly win an auction for the first time.

This is the sign I get at 11:02 on Monday. But since today is
Tuesday, I have yet to hear from the seller eventhough I have
sent him an E-Mail asking for the postage costs. I am
starting to get worried already.

Package from China!

At about 1030 this morning, my package from China has arrived, fresh from the factory. And I think the whole process took about 2 weeks, from sending the TT to the package arriving at my doorstep.

As far as I can remember:
08102008 - Send TT to the manufacturer
15102008 - QC Label passed
21102008 - Package arrived

Some of you would have thought that I was nuts to get them all the way from China whereas I can get them from other sources. I agreed too but after searching all over the place in Pasar Road, RS Catalogues, Farnell, etc., the only solution left is to scour the Internet. And I do not mean eBays, or other companies. The moment I Googled my requirement, AliBaba came up and I decided to try them.

Mind you, not every Chinese contacts have what I wanted even though they're making loads of LED on almost any kind. And when I do find the ones I wanted, I have to filter out the minimum 10,000 pieces requirement as well. I mean, I just wanted a few, not the rest of the 9,9998. The Alibaba site is a Global Trade site and you can, most of the time, find what you're looking for. And you can even chat with some of them and most have a video presentation of their companies. This is, I guess, how trading would be dealt with in the near future. Its faster and cheaper than flying over there and meeting them face to face, wine and dine, etc. With just a few mouse clicks, the deal is done. But most of the time, like any Internet transaction, its best to go face-2-face or find the most reliable. Its difficult because although you cannot see them but you'll just have to trust them. Thank goodness my purchase is micro-size compared to real business deals.

But if you're looking for this company, you can E-Mail me for details, OK?

Bundled in the DHL pack are styrofoam wrappings to protect the
two static sensitive plastic bags which contains 500 LEDs each

These are the 2*5*7 (or 2mm by 5mm by 7mm) no-flange,
clear lens, three-legged, bi-colour LED.

One one side is the Yellow LED

While the other is Blue. Nice or not? You do not see this
very often because bi-colour LEDs are more common
with red/green combination or yellow/green but never
yellow/blue which is rare or expensive