Depending on whether you are a glass half full...or half empty...kind of person...you will view the following in one of two ways...as an indication that eBay unleashes the worst of humanity (and should therefore be avoided at all costs)...or that, as Chet Baker tried to tell us, the silver (or should that be gold) lining does, on occasion, exist.

I've never been an eBay fan. Some people have great luck...finding bargains the same way that Superman leaped over small buildings...with ease. I, on the other hand, always seem to find the dodgy...the questionable...or the seller who's trying to work some kind of an angle.

This time...on the lookout for a specific piece of vintage jewelry...Google led me to the bay. I made an offer (slightly lower than their asking price)...was amazed when it was accepted...and swiftly paid via PayPal (I've worked in retail, and hate it when people say they'll buy something and then take forever to actually hand over the cash). I fell asleep mumbling that "maybe eBay wasn't so bad after all"...and woke next day to an email informing me that "whoops...sorry...we sold the bracelet to someone else."

The sunny portion of this dark little shopping cloud came when I ventured into the World Market to pick up a jar of Branston Pickle and spotted this...