A-holes should have to wear a sign.

I've been teased a couple of times this season by the prospect of going to the Rose Bowl. I don't mean UT getting there - I mean ME getting there to see UT play. It seemed one of those fantasy activities that only my friends with lots of money get to do. I don't begrudge them the experience. In fact, I live vicariously through them when they go to such things. But little me, working my little job, livin' in my little house - what right would I have to dream of such things?

Then my parents dropped the bomb that they were considering going - me invited! We have a family friend who leaves near Pasadena, and we could stay with him, and he'd get us to the stadium and give us pointers on flights, so on and so forth. Why, all we had to do was get tickets!

No small feat, that - especially since there would be 3 of us, and we'd like to sit together. But I found some. They were pricey, but not completely out of line. We could do it! But we'd have to move fast! Fast, I say! Like the wind!! Just say to hit the "Buy" key, and they're ours! Just say it! SAY IT!!!!

But they didn't say it. It was a lot of money, and they...I don't know...had to think about it? Or...I don't know. But they didn't say it. Then there was talk that the friend in California might be able to swing tickets. Is that it? Is the plan to wait on him? Because that's a long-shot, people. And by the time he tells us it's a bust, it'll be too late for us to get any anywhere else unless we plan on taking out second mortgages. I feel my tension level rising. My anxiety - it's starting to eat at me. So, I ask myself what the realistic chances are that this will all work out. They're not good, Charlie Brown. Let's come back down to earth, Chuck.

So, I let it go. I tell the folks that should they decide they want me to buy some tics online, tell me and I'll find some. Give me a limit on price, and I'll make it happen if I can. But until they tell me to pull the trigger, I'm out. I'm not going to obsess about it. And secretly, I decide we're not going and relieve myself of the anxiety.

Then it happens. My mom - she emails me today and asks about some tickets she sees on eBay. Oh God! They're ready to do it! We're not going to wait on California Man! We're going to buy some! Well, I've done eBay for years. Let me take care of this! I answer her questions, then hop on eBay, and low and behold, there is a deal there - a great deal. A really great deal. A REALLY great deal! I call my Mom to see if it's okay for me to pull the trigger. THEY'RE NOT HOME!!! For Pete's sake, you're retired!! WHERE ARE YOU????

Well, I decide the deal is too good to pass up, and I'm not waiting. There's a price listed in the explanation section that's essentially a buy-it-now price, though there's no "Buy It Now" button. I email the seller, ask how we can do the transaction without the "Buy It Now" button. She says if I agree to buy the tics now, the price is what's listed, and just send her my eBay info an she'll invoice me via eBay. I do, and she sends another message that she's now sending the invoice me and to contact her when I get it. She has no payment info from me, you understand - just contact info, and 90 feedbacks (all good), so I'm not worried she's scamming. So, I hit refresh every two seconds in anticipation of the glorious invoice! Only...the auction has now exceeded the price we agreed to...and she never sends the invoice. I eventually email her to ask if I should assume she's backed out. Nothing. I no longer exist. You should roast in the fiery pit of hell.

You know, I get that you want to get all that you can on eBay when you sell. I get that. I've been a seller. But don't put a buy-it-now price on the listing, then refuse to honor it when the auction ends up being more successful. That's the risk you take when you list a price that someone can take up-front. EBay is always a risk. Sometimes you make a bundle. Sometimes somebody gets something for a penny and you get fleeced. It's the risk of the open market. But you should always honor your agreements. That's all. Just do what you agree to do (words to live by).