A New Definition of Buyer Beware

"Who's Suzie?"

My wife Katrina had been acting strangely ever since I had returned home from my Native American cultural class, not to mention the weird phone call I received just before I left, full of little pauses instead of our usual fast-paced communication. Now that I was home she had been pretty much ignoring me completely, then comes this strange question. Katrina was calm but I could tell there was something under her skin as she chopped up the vegetables for the night's dinner.

"I don't know anyone named Suzie." I replied. "Well come to think of it, there's my old friend Peter's wife Suzie."

My wife remained calm, " Do you want to tell me anything?" she replied. "There is nothing to tell Kat."

Katrina was heating up; her trademark rosy cheeks had evolved to boiling teapot. Still however, no steam or whistle had been emitted from her pretty spout.

She looked at me thoughtfully, "Well, I looked at your cell phone today. It seems you've been sending text messages to a woman named Suzie. I've read around thirty of her texts in the archive; they're all like "I love you heaps" and "Thinking of you right now". Who is she Tom?" A strange feeling overcame me. Katrina seemed absolutely sure that I was guilty of something. Accused yet innocent, her eyes spoke of the obvious evidence that was piled against me. The thing is, we were really having serious relationship problems at the time, with many arguments and rarely seeing eye-to-eye.

Katrina was on the brink of tears and I simply didn't know what she was talking about. Looking down I could see the cell phone gripped tightly in her hands. Funny, I hadn't thought about the fact that I own two phones and she was holding the one that I rarely use. A few months back I bought it off eBay as it is extremely small and I don't want to have to carry my big expensive "computer" phone on me when I am riding my mountain bike. It was actually my second 'extra' phone as my wife had killed the first when she had put it through the washing machine.

"Are you talking about that phone Kat? Give me a look at it." She handed the phone over reluctantly, as if it were evidence in a murder trial. I looked at the messages and sure enough there were a whole bunch from someone named Suzie. Some of the messages were quite raunchy indeed. Straight away I started to search for the dates of the archived messages, as they would surely prove my innocence. "Look Kat, the dates of these messages were several months ago. I've only had the phone for a couple months. They are obviously someone else's."

Her look of disbelief was starting to rattle me. It is a really horrible feeling when somebody you love so much doesn't have trust in you. I then searched and found the receipt from eBay for when I bought the phone. After showing the date on the form to her I could tell she was starting to see that I was telling the truth, but the wall of disbelief still hung over, clouds covering her bright face.

Finally I decided to search for the guy who sold me the phone. If this didn't prove my case nothing would save me from eternally sleeping in the doghouse. Using the email address he had used in the sale proved fruitless as my message kept coming back 'Return to sender.' Let me tell you I was really beginning to panic! Then, bang! The sound of the gun rang in my ears...just joking. It didn't get that serious! No, the bang was the sound of the flash of inspiration that suddenly entered my mind. I went back on the Internet and eBay and searched for the guy's name. I found it with a different email address, as he must have changed his Internet Service provider. A huge feeling of calmness rushed over me like the first wave at the beach when you have been in the heat all day.

Next I sent him a message asking him about the archived messages to 'Suzie' and asked him to 'Carbon Copy' (Cc) his response to my wife's email address so she would see that it was authentic.

The man then replied with a message that said he was very embarrassed about not deleting the messages on the cell phone. All right, pay dirt! He also went on to say that his wife was named Suzie and gave her address so Kat could then contact her if necessary. He seemed especially nervous about the content of the messages and said that he hoped nothing too x-rated was there as he and his wife often used risqué language to keep their relationship's fire 'stoked up!

O.K. So there's my story. My main message to you from the whole experience is that if you are buying or selling a product on eBay, make sure you clean up any unwanted information. It can really cause problems! Let me also tell you that now I am back searching on eBay as my new phone has also been sent on a mission back to the creator as it too has been on the 'Quest for the spin cycle'!

*This story is based on a true story of someone (not the author) with names changed.

Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: 'The web-hosting company for humans.' M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

---

Get Yourself A Piece of The eBay Pie

Ebay is without a doubt the greatest internet marketing phenomenon... Read More

eBay Listing Service : Make Managing Your Auctions Easy

Do you want to have a lot of auctions going... Read More

Five Tested Ways To Find The Perfect Drop Shipper

You've heard about it many times in recent months. Being... Read More

Dropship Your Way To Ebusiness Success

Q: I would like to start my own eBay business,... Read More

Taking Paypal on eBay

Accepting Paypal as a payment method might increase your selling... Read More

Selling on eBay - Have You Found the Magic Formula Yet?

Selling on eBay can be very profitable and a great... Read More

Start Your Own Business: Sell Things on eBay

The popularity of online auction site eBay has been legendary.... Read More

Boosting Your EBay Auction Profits: Just Add Audio

According to a recent report, adding audio to your eBay... Read More

Search... Search... Search Your Way To eBay Cash!

One of the most valuable things in life is the... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay & Keep Your Shirt

Have you ever been delighted after a huge sale on... Read More

Selling Effectively on Ebay Motors

Remember back when selling online was a new experience? Dealers... Read More

Dropship Your Way to Success

Many people know they would like to start an Internet... Read More

Finding Products to Sell on eBay

Do you know how many people in US are earning... Read More

8 Collectible Dolls That Sell Well on eBay

From the beginning, eBay's primary growth came from the collectibles... Read More

When You Need Extra Cash Ebay Fits the Bill

We all have items in our closets and stuffed in... Read More

The Down Side Of Using Dropshippers In The Ebay Auction Arena!

Ok, let me just say right up front that I... Read More

Drop Shipping Increases Profits

You would like to increase your income by selling other... Read More

Selling on Ebay-Get Started in 7 Easy Steps

Ebay auctions are definitely the easiest and fastest way to... Read More

5 Secrets for Increasing Auction Profits

1. Include your ebay seller name, store, and website information... Read More

Seven Steps to eBay Selling Success

More and more people try their luck at selling on... Read More

The 3 Minute Auction and Minute Auction Explained

Am I the only person who doesn't know what a... Read More

Online Auctions: 10 Secrets You Should Know Before Bidding At An Online Auction

You may have heard about ebay and other online auctions.You... Read More

E-bay Auctions: Sell Better, Spend Less Tip #1

Just about everyone alive today has heard of E Bay.com,... Read More

The Webs Best Online Auction Sites

The best online auction links for buyers and sellers are... Read More

Easy Money on Ebay?

Ebay was only two years old when I discovered it.A... Read More

Online Auctions Business

Online auction sites are a great way to find a... Read More

How To Make Money Online : Sell On eBay

Selling on eBay can be very profitable, and is a... Read More

An eBay Computer Purchase

An eBay purchase that turned sour.A story of fraud, deceit,... Read More

EBay: No Way?Yes Way (Ten Seller Themes)

Hearing that there are more than 1.2 million registered eBay... Read More

Multiple Income Streams on eBay within 30 Minutes!

POWERSELL Status, the secrets revealed.If like thousands of people you... Read More

How To Sell Internationally On eBay Without Risk

Many people just getting started on eBay have reservations when... Read More

How to Market with Niche Auction Sites

Online auctions are big business. But they can be big... Read More

eBay Consignments: The Giant Opportunity Hiding on eBay (Part I)

More and more, people are becoming aware that they have... Read More