Umbrella Days

My aunt and uncle gave me a $25 gift certificate to Musicland for Christmas, so I ordered the fourth season of The Shield on DVD. I figured I'd drop $17 from my own pocket on the set, watch it once, then turn around to recover the cash on eBay. I sold it last week; and after seven bids, the auction closed at $40.

You can buy it brand-new from Amazon for $38.99 (free shipping).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: EBay can be dangerous. Supply and demand is inherently competitive, but auctions pour gasoline on the fire — and eBay allows people to bid on any item they can imagine while wearing their pajamas, using a credit card. That's a catwalk. It's retail suicide.

It's a testosterone problem. Buying takes a back seat to winning — which is fine, as long as you don't mind paying for the experience.