Delivery day!!!!
I won a fairy last week from Ebay. It was Nene Thomas' "Ivy" NT 107, created in a limited edition (LE) of 1800. This is one of those figs that have become increasingly difficult to find. I won an Ebay auction for one a few months back but, as has become somewhat of a common occurence, Ebay canceled the sale. I believe when this happens its because the seller has had too many complaints from sellers so their account is pulled. Alternatively it could be some other issue. I think Ebay will cancel sales already completed if Paypal tries to do a credit back on an account backed by a bank account instead of a credit card and they find insufficient funds. Anyway, when it has happened in the past its always a little disappointing but overall I figure its a good thing because it helped me to avoid what would likely have been a problem. Non shipment is easy to deal with. Cancel, move on. Having to return is kind of a pita. I have to go to the post office, stand in line, and pay for the return shipment which usually runs me about $10. Like I said, pain.

Anyway, this one was quite a find! As has become my habit for these purchases, I generally only bid on these rare figures if the seller will be able to ship in the original styro box or if they have a fantastic plan for shipping carefully. Then, if I do win the auction, I email the seller and politely make some safe packaging suggestions. This includes the most important rule: a minimum of 3" of tightly compressed packing material on top, bottom and all sides of the figures original box. They always tell me "no problem" and then they never do it. After that, all I can do is hope for the best.

Got home today to find it on the porch. Opened it slowly and voila!!! She's perfect!!! Number 494/1800 is now living safely in my fairy cabinet!!! Yeah!!!