The eBay Life "Score of the Day" is a vintage 1976 Fozzie Bear purchased for a few dollars and sold for .....

 That's it.  In my next life, I'm owning a three-way mirror.  Some of my worst fashion disasters could have been avoided if I'd owned a three-way mirror. It's just too hard to check out your hiney in traditional mirrors.  You never know what's going on back there 'til you're in the dressing room at TJ Maxx and see it for yourself.  By then it's too late.


I'm bringing this up because I recently spent some time in the dressing room at TJ Maxx.  As I've mentioned before, we rarely participate in traditional methods of shopping, but Niko's sister was raving about it, so we hopped in the car to see what all the excitement was about.  

And what's the verdict?  Well, I officially give eBay Life readers permission to shop there.  Lots of deals at TJ Maxx.  Lots of deals.  Believe it or not, some of the prices were comparable to the prices at the local Salvation Army.


While perusing the aisles, I checked out the clothing.  A few months ago, I promised myself I would start dressing better.  No more jeans and hoodies.  I want to be a fashionista.

After browsing a bit, I decided to try on a turtleneck.  I hate turtlenecks, but they seem to be "in" at the moment, and Niko's sister wears them, so they must be cool.  I've also seen a lot of celebrities prancing around Aspen donning puffy white ones.  Then, a few nights ago, I watched The Holiday with Cameron Diaz.  It's one of my absolute favorite Christmas movies.  In The Holiday, Ms. Diaz wore a really nice turtleneck with fitted pants.  She looked awesome.  I wanted to look awesome.

So I picked out a few fuzzy versions and went to the dressing room.  After messing up my bangs and getting the first one over my head, I came to the realization that I'm not Cameron Diaz. I didn't look awesome.  I looked ridiculous.   

I felt like an Oompa-Loompa -- an Oompa-Loompa drowning in cashmere.  Seriously.  How do people see when wearing turtlenecks? Or breathe, for that matter? Oh well.  At least I know never to try one on ever again.  That's one activity I can check off my "to do" list.


Something I did notice while in the dressing room was that the subliminal message method of advertising so popular in the '80s seems to have gone by the wayside.  Now stores just tell customers what they want them to do.  Check out this sign:

It was actually bolted to the back of the dressing room door.


Another interesting item I saw at TJ Maxx was a Lacoste watch.  The original retail price was almost $200.  At TJ Maxx it was less than $65!  It was cool -- at least I felt cool wearing it.  I felt very 1983.  In the old days, Lacoste was also known as Izod.  (According to Wikipedia, Lacoste became a separate brand in 1993.)  I remember the cool kids at school wearing the shirts with the little green alligators on them.  Of course, there was no way my parents were going to buy me cool clothes, but I think I probably had a Kmart version or two.  Kinda like dolphin shorts.  I think I had a few Kmart versions of those, too.

But it was the '80s, and there weren't many kids whose parents could afford to buy the good stuff (not to mention the fact that we lived almost two hours from the nearest mall) so not owning a real pair of anything wasn't that big of a deal.  In fact, most people in our town were living The eBay Life -- they just didn't know it. 

My best friend's mom, for example, would buy little Izod-esque alligators at the fabric shop and sew them onto her daughter's generic-brand shirts.  Very smart.  The eBay Life - 80's Edition.


So anyway, take a peek at the watch ........

  
When I got home, I decided to do a bit of research on this brand.  Wow!  I'll be on the lookout for Lacoste watches from now on. They are hot!  According to Terapeak, the average sale price for a Lacoste is almost $100, and some of them sell for up to $300!  Hmmm.  Vintage Izod shirts are going for up to $50.  Very interesting.....

So as you can tell, my life is pretty busy right now.  Trying on turtlenecks, shopping at TJ Maxx, improving my appearance -- the stress is really getting to me.


Now before I get back to wrapping presents, I present to you the famous "Score of the Day."


About a year ago, Niko and I found a 1976 Fozzie Bear at a yard sale.  It cost us a couple bucks.  I did some research on it, and it was worth almost $40.  I listed it but nothing happened.  Months went by, and it didn't sell.  Luckily, I have a store, and Fozzie was only costing me 5 cents per month.  In August, I decided to end the listing and try again.  A few days ago, someone emailed me to ask whether or not he still had his original tag.  (I thought that was interesting.)  I told her that the tag was still attached and added pictures of it to the listing.  Yesterday it finally sold for.......... 

$34.99!!!

See, sometimes it pays to wait.  Quite a few of these bears have sold for a lot less.   

Have a great week....and don't forget:  If you need shoes, check out my eBay stores, Blue Frog Shoes.  For eBay selling tips and tricks, read The eBay Life every week!  To follow me on Twitter or become my Facebook friend, clink on the links to the right of this post! 

Merry Christmas!