Fairness, Equity ... and eBay

My husband gets a lot of sympathy (from others LOL) for putting up with my Pooh addiction. What all of his fan club supporters don't realize is he, too, has ... interests.  He is a self-professed Constitutional scholar and he has a fascination with all things Presidential and Constitutional.

Yes, I have a Pooh mug (or two), but guess what HE has?

 

And I may have Pooh shirts (and slippers, and bags, and wallets ...) but he isn't innocent. He has a shirt, a tie. 

Yes, I have a Pooh curio cabinet, but guess what's on one of the shelves

And my Pooh artwork is offset by his Presidential artwork.

Further, his Presidential Pez Dispenser collection 

actually surpasses my Pooh Pez collection.

(Can we pause for a moment and just reflect upon the fact that there is, indeed, a Presidential Pez collection, and that we actually own all the ones released to date?)

And I have a Pooh book or two, but ...

(And this is but a small representation of the Presidential / Founding Fathers books he has). 

He also has a framed copy of the Constitution on the wall of his study, 

as well as a Pocket Constitution he carries with him. I'd take a picture of it, but he's got it with him, in his briefcase, because you never know when you'll need to whip out the Constitution.  

Of course, he has the Pocket Constitution app on his phone ... and his homepage on his iPad? SCOTUS Blog. And the background on his phone? The Constitution.

And the Beanie Babies ...

So, for everyone who thinks, "Oh, poor Larry ...", it's not as inequitable as you might think.

Anyway, as part of his Bucket List, we are going to tour all the Presidential Libraries / Museums. We have a Presidential Passport which we dutifully get stamped at each location, but that's not enough of a souvenir.

We also get a Presidential Bobblehead from each location we visit.

(And again, can we pause for a moment and just reflect upon the fact that there are, indeed, Presidential Bobbleheads?)

So far, we have Bush 41

Bush 43

Eisenhower

and Truman

He has also visited Carter's library, but that was a) without me and b) before he knew about Presidential Bobbleheads, so we will have to go back, together, and get Mr Carter's Bobblehead.

Last weekend, we went to LBJ's library / museum. We stopped in the gift shop but (horrors!) they didn't have any LBJ Bobbleheads. They told us the manufacturer didn't produce an LBJ Bobblehead. I got home and emailed the manufacturer, only to be told:

At this time, regrettably, we do not have an LBJ bobblehead.  He is probably going to be next on the list for production.  However, that will not happen in 2014.  Possibly next year.  I will keep your message on file in my LBJ folder, and will follow back up with you once we have a prototype available for this item.  

(She has an LBJ folder??)

Anyway, I wasn't going to let that stop my Bobblehead quest -- my husband wants an LBJ Bobblehead, and an LBJ Bobblehead he'll have.

I went on eBay. I have never in my life gone on eBay. I signed up, searched for LBJ Bobblehead and, surprisingly, found one!  It's vintage (from 1964 -- same year I was born -- so now I'm vintage??) and was intended to be mounted on a dashboard. 

I placed a bid.

Seller rejected my bid and blocked me. 

Seriously??  My first time EVER on eBay and I've committed such a faux-pas that my bid was rejected and I was blocked??

I emailed the seller who told me he didn't accept bids from new eBay bidders as they "never" follow through with payment. 

My initial instinct was to tell him where to go and how to get there, but -- surprisingly LOL -- there weren't a lot of other LBJ Bobbleheads on which I could bid.

I swallowed my pride, assured Paranoid Seller that, yes I am new to eBay but I am a legitimate bidder and I'd welcome the opportunity to bid.

He unblocked me, I re-bid ... and I won!  I immediately paid, and he sent me a nice note of apology.

He shipped the 1964 Vintage Car-Mounted LBJ Bobblehead and it arrived today.

My Beloved is thrilled, the collection is intact, plans are being made for our next Presidential trip, and I'm no longer an eBay virgin.

And guess what?  eBay has a TON of Pooh stuff. 

I'd call this a win-win.