Let's go shopping!

Or better yet, let's offer a price for an item we won't get for two weeks, if we get it at all. Man, those two weeks of waiting, hoping the seller on the opposite side of the planet hasn't just ripped us off, will be so worth the $2.13 we saved on that Ninja Turtles DVD!

For some reason, some people consider this superior to flea markets and garage sales. Sure, you're more likely to find something specific and obscure you're looking for, but in order to immediately find the same item at a similar price, you'd have to do something ridiculously drastic, like straining your fingers to type the words www.half.com, and I wouldn't want to put your precious fingers to that much work.

Honestly, half.com is superior to ebay in every conceivable way. You see an item you like, organized by quality of product, you purchase it and they send it to you.

Of course you can't get gift items, decorations and toys through half.com, but gift items are easily found at the store, decorations often break when mailed, and toys for adults is just sad.

Okay, I admit it, I recently picked up some Battlebots toys over Ebay, and it's sad, pathetic and I was ashamed to be a part of the transaction. Let's just move on to the competition.

MAX VERSUS THE INTERNET PART 2: Ebay

For this event, under the supervision of the judge, I'm going to select three items that I recently purchased at a flea market and see if I can find the same items in the recent finished Ebay American auctions for less money. To be fair, since I had to drive to the auction, I'm going to waive up to a $4 shipping and handling charge (anything higher is ridiculous, and they're just adding to their profits).

If I could have gotten the items for the same price or cheaper right around the corner, then the point goes to me. If I could have honestly saved money through Ebay, the point goes to them. Winner is best out of three....

Half.com doesn't count, because I have no beef with them. After reading this gloriously epic blog, I suggest shopping there and saving some money.

FIGHT!

My choices are:

Castlevania Lament of Innocence (PS2, Good condition, disc only): $3

WWF: Betrayal (Color Gameboy): $8

Star Wars Monopoly, Pokemon Monopoly, and Atmosfear (Bundle): $10


I picked up the Castlevania PS2 game for a mere pittance because it had no instructions and was in a generic case. There didn't appear to be any damage on the CD and the guy only wanted $3. The game itself was generic, repetitive and boring, but it was worth giving a try. I later brought it to a game store as a trade-in, and got $4 for it, giving me a dollar for playing it. That seemed about right.

EBAY: Best offer: Final selling price: $2.75, with a shipping cost of $5.55. Net price: $4.30

POINT FOR MAX, WHO WAS TECHNICALLY PAID TO PLAY THIS GAME.

Hoody-hoo! That poor sucker actually had to pay thirty cents to play Lament of Innocence.

My condolences to his family.

Next up...a little background information. Even people that follow video games and wrestling are probably shrugging and scratching their heads after I mentioned WWF: Betrayal. This game was buried by the WWF almost as deeply as Atari buried ET.

This game is nothing short of horrible. First, it's not a wrestling game. It's actually a WWF themed fighting game, similar to Final Fight, only without the depth and charm. You play as one of four WWF wrestlers: Stone Cold, Undertaker (calm down, it's the lame 'Biker' version and he's no taller than any of the other characters), Triple H and the Rock. To give them credit, the characters actually look different and unique, but that's the only thing unique about them. All they do is punch, kick, dropkick and do their finisher. Repeat this about a thousand times and you have the game. Leaders? The other three characters.

This game was swept off the shelves and into the garbage so fast it took me forever to find a copy, and it cost eight bucks, mostly because it's kind of rare. I revel in their shameful game in the same way I love MST3K movies. This is the kind of game you heckle in a group. I don't believe I'll be able to resell it. Let's see if Ebay can prove me wrong...

EBAY: Best offer: Final selling price: only comes up once recently, and was never sold!

Judges?

HOW MUCH COULD YOU HAVE PURCHASED IT FOR ON EBAY?

...$6.99, with $5.00 shipping. Net price: $7.99...aw man...they beat me by a penny.

POINT FOR EBAY! ALTHOUGH ANYONE WHO BOUGHT THIS GAME IS TECHNICALLY A LOSER.

Dang! I better avoid another 'Paul Bunyan' like defeat, because it's time for the final round!

Now, for this one I paid a flat $10 for three cool games, but finding them together will be impossible, so instead the Judge has instructed me to find each of the games independently, allowing up to $6 shipping for each (shipping boardgames is admittedly more difficult, and this seems to be the average), and give the total of the best prices for each.

Star Wars Monopoly: the name of the game says it all. Vinny liked it so much, I let him keep it.

Pokemon Monopoly: like the original only you can steal property with doubles. Very good.

Atmosfear: The Gate Keeper instructs you to lose half your keys and play this awesome game!

Ebay?

Star Wars Monopoly: $1.04, with $8.00 shipping

Pokemon Monopoly: $4.99, with $5.95 shipping

Atmosfear: $3.24, with $8.00 shipping


Grand total...





Wait for it...





$13.27!


MAX, YOU MAY BEGIN YOUR VICTORY DANCE.


Left to right! Right to left! Everybody's singin', jumping around!

Back and forth, with the mass!

Melody is coming from Capoeira!



MAX: 2, INTERNET: 0



Next up: Google Image search. Will my power trip continue? Stay tuned....