holding the economy's hand

I'm 31 and I'm still a novice collector. I may have bought my first rhinestone when I was six but somehow, that doesn't matter. I'm still green. Regardless of what you're collecting there is always someone older, someone that has more stuff, more knowledge and often a haughtier attitude about the situation. Don't let these people get you down . I still run across dealers that don't take me seriously. I couldn't possibly know what I'm talking about, I'm "too young." This kind of thinking is stupid -- and agravating so i made it a personal rule to never buy anything from someone that is rude to me. This was happening a lot in my early twenties, so I turned to Ebay. It should come as no surprise that there are rude and crazy people on Ebay too, but at least you can't see them roll their eyes at you.

One of my favorite tactics is to search for lots on Ebay. Sometimes this goes well, sometimes this does not. It takes paitence and a good eye. My eye has been off as of late. I bought a lot of bracelets, spent 50 bucks and came away with 40 hard plastic bangles I can resell for 10 bucks if I'm lucky at best or dishonest (like the seller i bought them from) at worst. There are sellers out there that will tempt you with Bakelite in the listing, claim they haven't tested anything in the lot when they know full well that there is no Bake in the lot. They simply wish to jack up their winning bid. This is unfortunate, but it is what it is... I've learned to avoid this, and buy lots such as this one here. Why? It's simple and straightforward. No teasers, just -- here it is, take it or leave it.

It's the yellow and orange striped bracelet I'm curious about. I'll check back in when it arrives.