going once, going twice.

Sold. Tonight on "The Office," Steve Carrell's character sold his condo on eBay. (Brilliant episode, by the way.) Today, I had a number of interactions with the world's largest flea market. I sold a bundle of software to some guy in Texas and bought a Ben Sherman track jacket for $10. Yesterday I bought a Ping 3-wood for $80 to go with my fancy new driver. What can I say?

I'm addicted to eBay.

Things I have bought:
-Countless Ben Sherman shirts and jeans
-Family Guy DVDs
-An acoustic guitar

Things I have sold:
-My acoustic bass
-Digital cameras
-A first-generation MP3 player
-My old Sega Genesis

I was an early adopter. When Paige and I got married, we had a ton of duplicate CDs. So I listed a ton of them on Half.com, making several hundred dollars in the process. Nobody was happier than me when eBay acquired Half.com, bringing a huge selection of music and movies to the table.

eBay is based, fundamentally, on trust. And while Paypal is the validator for most transactions, the eBay community lives and dies on the ratings of individual buyers and sellers. It's the perfect retail storm, connecting millions of buyers with millions of sellers.

Sure, I've been burned a few times. But overall it's been a positive experience, both on the buyer side and the seller side. Now if only I could buy a few new trees for our front yard. Or a gardening service. Now that would be sweet.