When you say that you save money on eBay, is that from buying things listed as "new"?

Never.

I buy used stuff on eBay at a fraction of the price it cost new. I don't mind that someone else has used it before me. I mean, how worn-out is a Wilson Jones 3-hole model 314 "Hummer" paper punch likely to be?

Ummmm... bad example. I had to go to the hardware store and purchase a spring to replace a broken one. I had to make a drift to drive the punch out of the punch holder, then take a round file to repair the damage caused by driving it out, and then carefully file the spread-out end of the punch that caused the damage so I could reassemble it with the new spring.

But... I got a 3-hole punch that you can't buy new any more (I bought a new one back in 1980 and it cost nearly $70 back then, would no doubt cost twice that now) and my total expense for hole punch, shipping, and spring was $33 plus about 40 minutes of my time.

So was it it good deal? A lot of people would say no -- they expect to buy something on eBay and always have it be perfect. These people would resent having to overhaul the three-hole punch. On the other hand, I expect to have to work on stuff I buy on eBay.

It's all a matter of how you look at the world.

tanstaafl.