I'm still around, but it feels like I've been something of a ghost this past decade. I don't really write articles about collecting anymore, partly because there is so much more information out there now, and partly because it feels like there's been enough degradation of trust in what once felt like our collecting community. Enrico Ricciardi, anyone? Eyal Katz? I don't want to help people like that create convincing forgeries, so I deliberately avoid publishing too many details about rare items.

Another part of it is my refusal to use any social media platforms. I simply don't trust them, and there are people in my past I prefer to keep there. Not you guys. Okay maybe like four of you guys. So it feels like the world has moved on without me, and I'm mostly okay with that, although it does make it more difficult to move items. But I still get emails from people who remember me, and I still get occasional offers to buy my stuff, or have me buy their stuff - I've got a box of nice Infocom greys waiting to be catalogued and listed. But the Shoppe feels like it's stagnating.

There's also Bonanza, which I've been using to move a lot of my cousin's console game collection and some of my own non-Shoppe stuff, but honestly Bonanza has become increasingly enshittified in the past six months. They used to be free to list, charging only a fee when items sold, but recently they introduced listing fees, and paid memberships to circumvent the listing fees. And it feels like it was planned, but right around that time both their website operation and their customer support went completely down the crapper. Some site functions temporarily stopped working, and answers from support were obviously AI-written, to the point where sometimes it would answer a completely different question from what was asked.

My numerous attempts to contact the CEO (his name is Quincy Faison) have resulted only in him disconnecting his Bonanza phone number. Or maybe he just blocked me specifically. The number is/was 206-385-6196, if anyone wants to try it. So I've been pestering him through his other companies - venture capitalists always have other companies. Yep, same old C.E. I'm like war; I never change.

Except in this case. Because of the recent Bonanza issues, I'm doing something no one, including myself, thought I'd never do again. I'm giving eBay another try.

I know. Take a sec, wipe the spewed coffee off your screen.

The way I see it, it's been 20 years since they screwed up my account, and even though I never really change, that's enough time for a company to deshittify. I've already bought a few things through them, things I couldn't find anywhere else, or for cheaper than I could get elsewhere. Not vintage computer games, those prices are insane now, and I'm still drawing the line at bidding on auctions. But as a seller, the level of exposure you get on eBay is simply incomparable to any other site. (Looking squarely at you, Bonanza. Quincy.)

My first set of test listings have already received more views and watches than on Bonanza. The final value fees are slightly higher - I say "slightly" because Bonanza/Quincy jacked those up too - and you get a certain number of free concurrent listings on eBay. It has simply become the most practical solution. So if you ever BuyItNow (I'm still not ready to do auctions as a seller either) and see YOIS as the return address, don't have a heart attack. It's me, it's real, it's not a prank, I've forgiven and am ready to move forward.

Well, about some things. Enrico Ricciardi and Eyal Katz, no. They actively worked to ruin our hobby, and still have not admitted to their actions. No forgiveness there.

But if they ever do apologize... Who knows? I'll give 'em another 20 years. I'm not going anywhere.