(no subject)
I got an alert from ThriftBooks that an item on my wish list is in-stock. I get these alerts semi-regularly because my wish list is made up as much of books I want to remember to buy later as it is books that aren't available. This one, though, I have been waiting a long time for-- it's The Complete Allspark Almanac, a compilation of several books released about Transformers Animated, all presented as a mix of in-universe interviews, journal entries, etc and out of universe behind the scenes information. All the books are long out of print and the prices on the secondhand market, when you can even find them, are... not great.
Unfortunately, the same can be said for this new listing. The price isn't nearly as outrageous, mind, but still. Not only is it almost seventy bucks, its condition is merely acceptable. As much as I'd like to think this indicates that the book has been annotated by its previous owner(s), which I do think would be a fun way to experience it, I'm not prepared to gamble big money on that. Heck, that's almost thirty dollars more than it originally cost at retail!
While I was resigning myself to the disappointment, my Coupert app piped up to show me similar products elsewhere for cheaper. Well, okay! There were only two other listings but one on a site for new and used comics caught my eye-- twenty bucks, it was! No indication of the condition, which was concerning, but I quick search showed that the company had nothing but good reviews. And, hey, even if it was in merely "acceptable" condition, at least it was only twenty bucks.
This all went down while I was on a fifteen minute break, otherwise I probably would've given the matter more thought. But I let myself get caught up in that time crunch and made the purchase! And I was feeling fairly pleased with it... until I realized I had just bought The Allspark Almanac; the first of the series, not the compendium. Coupert had shown me listings for similar products and I hadn't noticed because of the similar titles.
Alas :/
In less face-palm-inducing news, I went ahead and cut the car off of that Arcee toy I bought instead of waiting to get a pin remover. It occurred to me that it would've been a major pain to try to remove the pin, what with the way the toy is shaped, and it's not like I need that pin or that hinge for anything. It turns out we don't have any magic erasers to clean the paint off like I intended but my mom was planning to pick some up tomorrow anyway, so I'll be able to get her cleaned and ready for the next steps soon!
Unfortunately, the same can be said for this new listing. The price isn't nearly as outrageous, mind, but still. Not only is it almost seventy bucks, its condition is merely acceptable. As much as I'd like to think this indicates that the book has been annotated by its previous owner(s), which I do think would be a fun way to experience it, I'm not prepared to gamble big money on that. Heck, that's almost thirty dollars more than it originally cost at retail!
While I was resigning myself to the disappointment, my Coupert app piped up to show me similar products elsewhere for cheaper. Well, okay! There were only two other listings but one on a site for new and used comics caught my eye-- twenty bucks, it was! No indication of the condition, which was concerning, but I quick search showed that the company had nothing but good reviews. And, hey, even if it was in merely "acceptable" condition, at least it was only twenty bucks.
This all went down while I was on a fifteen minute break, otherwise I probably would've given the matter more thought. But I let myself get caught up in that time crunch and made the purchase! And I was feeling fairly pleased with it... until I realized I had just bought The Allspark Almanac; the first of the series, not the compendium. Coupert had shown me listings for similar products and I hadn't noticed because of the similar titles.
Alas :/
In less face-palm-inducing news, I went ahead and cut the car off of that Arcee toy I bought instead of waiting to get a pin remover. It occurred to me that it would've been a major pain to try to remove the pin, what with the way the toy is shaped, and it's not like I need that pin or that hinge for anything. It turns out we don't have any magic erasers to clean the paint off like I intended but my mom was planning to pick some up tomorrow anyway, so I'll be able to get her cleaned and ready for the next steps soon!