First eBay Sale

So I finally sold something on eBay. I’ve been buying stuff for ages, but haven’t ever sold anything.

Since the bikes are costing more money than my wife is probably comfortable with – and – since we are running out of space in our flat, I thought it was about time I got rid of some stuff I hadn’t used in ages.

The first things to go were my old cameras. I had a Nikon F80 SLR film camera (remember those?) and lens combination that cost me around £300 when I bought it new, but that I haven’t used in ages. It’s been sitting packed up in its box on my shelf gathering dust, so it was time to go.

I sold it last night for £80, which is about what I thought I’d get for it. I would like to have made £100, but “C’est la vie”.

I also put my Mamiya medium format camera kit up, but it hasn’t met the reserve price yet, so I’m leaving it up there for now. You can bid on it here if you so desire.

Anyway, the first sale was a nightmare. The buyer wrote me to say he was trying to pay, but the system was blocking his payment. It took me absolutely ages to work out that my default currency on PayPal was still set to USD instead of GBP. Once I changed that, it was ok.

So I emailed him back and asked him to try it again. No dice. It was now trying to charge him VAT (sales tax) but there’s no VAT on this type of sale. So it was back into the depths of the help systems on eBay and PayPal.

I finally found the setting that controls VAT charges and was able to disable it. Email the buyer again and ask him to try again. SUCCESS! WOOHOO!

Sad, I know. Oh well, it should be better next time. Isn’t that what we always tell ourselves?

Tow bar

Well, the tow bar (trailer hitch in US-speak) has finally been installed on the car, so I can go pick up the new trailer when we get back from Yorkshire on Monday.

I know that probably isn’t terribly exciting for most of you, but it is a major step in my getting the TM up and running so I can go do some off-road riding. I’ve had that bike for several months now, but haven’t been able to ride it ‘in anger’ yet, so the prospect of actually being able to get out there is very exciting for me.

Yorkshire

Chris, Aidan and I are all going to see a lady named Emma who lives in Skipton, North Yorkshire.

You can see from the push-pin that it’s pretty far away as far as the UK is concerned.

I’ve only ever been to Leeds ‘up norf’ before, so it should be interesting. I’ll try to take loads of pictures and maybe some video if I get the chance.

New Trailer

Ever since I got a pure off-road bike, I’ve needed a a trailer to tow it around with. I have been bidding for them on eBlag for absolutely ages and haven’t ever managed to get one for a decent price – until now! I had to get some of that last-minute bidding software to do it, but it worked.

So here’s my new trailer.

I’m really excited about it. Not only will I be able to tow the off-road bike, but I’ll be able to tow the Fazer as well. Track day here I come!

Chilly

It was a chilly commute to work this morning. Another 60 miles on the bike in freezing temperatures. If you ever wonder about the polluting effect of cars, ride a motorcycle on a major motorway/interstate when it’s 32F outside then exit onto a smaller road that is hardly used. Even if you stay in full sunlight, you’ll notice how much cooler it gets. That’s because there aren’t hundreds of cars’ exhaust fumes warming the air.