eBay, I Love You!

Why?

• Price - I call myself a "bottom fishing swooper" on eBay.  What this means is that I troll among the lowest priced items from my search (I always list them in Lowest plus Shipping order) and then dive in at the last 5 seconds with my bid.  I feel that I have gotten some really good bargains on clothes, footwear, and accessories that I really like.
• Accessibility - I live 65 miles from the closest McDonald's let alone good clothing stores.  With eBay, I can search, look, and get a shopping fix 24 hours a day without leaving my ranch and driving a couple of hours possibly in a blinding snowstorm. 
• Quantity - As of right now while I am typing this, there are 6,367,822 items listed under Women's Clothing.  I usually only look at US Only (because shipping from outside the country can take so long), so that bumps me down to 5,233,475 items.  Wah!  That is still a helluva a big store.  There are 1.9 million shoes.  Even for me, that may be more than enough.  
• Variety - Because of the millions of items, you can find it all.  Whatever style you're into, price point, color, pattern, vintage, modern, pre-owned or new with tags, it will eventually show up for sale on eBay.  Case in point:  a while ago, one of my dogs, Bear, chewed up the right shoe of a beloved pair of brown Skecher oxfords.  I had bought the original pair on eBay and started looking for a replacement pair.  The first pair was a pretty old style, so it took a few months, but sure enough one day up popped the same pair in my size and I snagged them in an auction.  If anyone is interested in a left brown oxford Skecher shoe size 10, please contact me.  I just happen to have one extra now.
• Exposure to Different Brands - I love being able to see items from all over the world.  I love discovering new brands that I have never seen before.  And I love being exposed to high-end designers and couture brands that I would never see in the discount stores where I normally shop.  For some reason the Ross Stores that I go to doesn't ever have these overstocked babies on clearance:   

Christian Loubouitin  Venus Orlato Leopard Bootie

• You Can Get the Measurements -I know that trying on clothes is my best bet at getting something that fits and looks good, but of course with on-line shopping that is not possible.  But the nice thing about eBay over other on-line stores is that you can get the garment's measurements.  Say I'm buying a blazer at J. Crew.  A size will be listed and that's about it.  We all know that sizes vary from brand to brand, so unless I'm familiar with how that specific size fits me, it can be a hit or miss.    If it's a miss, I end up sending it back and I have to up pay the postage both ways.  On eBay, if the measurements are not listed in the description, I can email the Seller and ask for them.  So if I am buying a blazer off of eBay, I can know the shoulders, bust, waist, and arm length before I decide to buy it.  I've never had any nasty surprises and I've had a lot of success in fitting clothes this way.  
• Great People - Well.....there was this one time when I did have an unpleasant surprise, but that leads me to the next positive for shopping on eBay.  Back when I first started buying clothes on eBay, and I was still figuring out my measurements and what measurements to ask for, I bought a really cool Unbranded jacket from a Seller in Hollywood, CA.  The jacket came and when I went to try it on, I could just barely squeeze into it and there was no way to close the front.  I was sad because I really liked this jacket and the Seller did not accept returns.  I had already left positive feedback, but I did contact her to let her know that the bust measurement on the listing was incorrect and too small.  Now she didn't have to take the jacket back because I had already rated my shopping experience as positive, but she really worked with me and I ended up only paying for one way of the shipping.  The point of my story is that in my experience with almost 200 transactions on eBay, the people engaged in commerce on the site are by and far kind, ethical and really trying to provide good service.  Most of the Sellers are very motivated to keep there 100% satisfied rating and will try to keep their Buyers happy.    
• I Can Find Talls - This positive thing kind of goes under my "Get the Measurements" bit, but I'm so happy about it that it deserves its own section.  I am 5'10" and have a flat butt and slim hips so it can be very difficult to find jeans and pants that fit and are long enough in most regular stores.  Since getting the fit right can be a pretty tricky, what I do on eBay is search for brands and styles that I know from earlier purchases will work for me.  For instance, I love Victoria Secret's Hipster jeans.  On eBay, I have a Saved Search for them that I run periodically.  It goes out and pulls up all of that brand jeans with "hipster" in the description.  And since the search includes the inseam length, I get only the long jeans I want (crave).  I bought a pair of black twill VS Hipster pants off of eBay a few weeks ago for half the price on VS's website and they are the best fitting pants I own right now.    
• I'm Buying from Americans - Most of the clothes, shoes, and accessories that I buy are probably made overseas.  This is pretty much a fact of life for the American consumer now a days. But I do feel better by purchasing items from USA Only Buyers that I am putting a little money into the coffers of the American middleman or woman.
• I'm Being Green - a lot of the clothes I am buying are used.  Not necessarily "vintage", but just plain used.  So in my small way I am recycling clothes that could possibly end up in a landfill instead of finding a good loving home in my tidy closet.