This is the time to buy stocks. The market is a few points positive this morning as it was yesterday. It's possible that the free fall has completed, but now we wait and see if all those panic sellers are right to think a deep recession is up next. There will be a slowdown, but I am not sure it will be an actual recession or last beyond summer.
I'm doing my part at self-isolation and not visiting the local grocery as often as I am wont to do. This morning I started to make some rye bread, for example. It's never been really great when I tried it before but I have a new recipe and am hoping for the best. It's terribly complicated and time consuming. I now understand why local shops are hesitant to make their own.
You're not going to believe this story, but sometimes I just have to sit back and laugh at myself for being gullible. We are not in danger of running out of toilet paper, but its presence in the stores is minimal to non-existent. This made me wonder if I could buy some online in my favorite haunts. Last weekend I did a search in every place imaginable and came back empty handed. I thought it odd that EVERYBODY would be out of stock; half the places I looked would put me on a waiting list if I wanted to go that route. But then, somewhere about page 5 of the Google search I found a shop on E-Bay that was selling some. I thought this was amazing and ordered a supply immediately. It wasn't just plain ol' toilet paper either. It was the 3-ply gushy stuff I like to buy in a 4 roll pack. The price was high but I thought I was buying 4 packages of 4 rolls each for $40. Fair enough when it's it short supply.
Turns out I did business with this same seller in the past. He knew about me even though I forgot about him. He thanked me for my order and said the TP was shipped and on it's way. Hooray for me.
When the package arrived it came in what looked like a used garbage bag. The O'Fallon post office attached a note telling me the package arrived at their office damaged. They scanned it to see if it was broken, but, you know. What can break in a bag of toilet paper? It was in one of those mylar envelopes and there were marks all over it like it fell off the truck into a puddle of mud - which is probably what happened. Otherwise it all looked good when I opened it except for being slightly crushed. But wait. This is only one package of four rolls. I was expecting three more. I looked for an explanatory note from the seller but none was present. Hmm.
So I went on line to see what it is I actually ordered. It turns out I didn't read the description correctly. One package of four rolls was indeed $41, or $10.25 per roll. And, of course, this seller does not accept returns. I guess I was too hasty when I placed the order because all the signs of a scam were there in plain sight. I fell for it. So, being the nice guy that I am, I sent a message to the seller. All such messages must go through the E-Bay process so that they have a permanent record of what all is going on. I told the seller how disappointed I was with the obvious unethical pricing (it was a Buy-It-Now thing, not an auction), and that I also took full responsibility for being an idiot. I also mentioned the note from the post office. It didn't take long for him to respond. He sympathized with my damaged goods and offered a partial refund to make things better. My reply was as congenial as I could force myself to be and told him I'd accept any refund he felt would bring the price down to the fair market value. His last reply was to send me back to the purchase console and request a refund. He could not initiate such a thing from his end.
There was no option to get a refund, but there was a way to return goods. I chose that and was told immediately that this seller does not accept returns, but that E-Bay will forward the request anyway and hope we can settle it among ourselves. If not, they will get involved after a week of honest effort. As of this writing I am waiting to see what the refund will amount to.
This isn't over yet, but I believe E-Bay will pressure this guy to do something if he doesn't volunteer to do it himself. I guess I can't blame the seller for my gullibility, but as a businessman he is crossing the line by taking advantage of people when the chips are down. Up to this point he has been very understanding, but I'm not sure how far his sympathies extend. I have read where places such as Amazon have suspended seller accounts for doing exactly what this guy is doing. I've not read about similar policies at E-Bay, but they did say they would get involved if I'm not perfectly happy.
The moral of this story is not an admonition to read the fine print. Read the fricken headlines. That's what I didn't do correctly.