When Ebay and Animal Crossing collide! – Article

Most of us have some sort of experience with online auction house “eBay”, some of us have experience with Nintendo GameCube / DS / Wii game “Animal Crossing”. Anyone with both notice any crossover? Well our guest writer Elizabeth certainly has and she’s here with an insightful and intriguing glimpse into the world of “Crossing the eBay animal”.

We often hear people saying that life imitates art, but how often do we have concrete examples particularly in the gamingverse?

Let me take you on a journey where the fantasy / reality worlds collide or should I say blur completely into one another. It’s a “wild world” out there in eBay land!

Think about this: You get home from a long day of doing random chores for absolute animals, you then realize you need to get to the post office before it closes. So off you go – parcels and notes in hand. On returning, you check your mail, read crap letters that don’t usually make any sense, open your parcels and put those special little purchases you’ve made into a place in your lounge room only to realize that either, a) it doesn’t look good there, or b) it doesn’t go with anything else you own.

After moving it around 10 times you decide you can either: re-sell it, knowing it will sell for half of what you originally paid for it or chuck it in the basement, forget about it for a while and in 2 months when you see it again, go “wow!” – “forgot I had one of those!”, put it back in your lounge and then remember exactly why you put it in the basement in the first place!

This seems to be quite the repetitive pattern for you. Repetitive but you just can’t stop yourself, every day the same routine. As we are all essentially animals, this is what we do, collect things for our nest, see something frivolous and have to have it, then change our minds about it and get more frivolity!

So, am I talking about trading on eBay or playing Animal crossing?? You be the judge. I say in a parallel universe they are one in the same. Who’s with me?

Let us consider more examples of eBay / Animal Crossing crossovers…

You buy some purple pansies and on planting them realize that they look suspiciously like white cosmos. Anybody who has ever bought anything off eBay knows what I’m talking about!!

eBay: Searching 7,396 listings of one of a kind wallpaper.
Animal Crossing: Wandering around in the woods for hours in search of Wendell to get your one of a kind wallpaper.

eBay: Writing a detailed letter with all relative information included, just to receive questions back about the very information listed in the letter! eg: ‘Are there any CD’s in this CD box set?’
Animal Crossing: Taking time to write a detailed letter to your fellow townsfolk only for them to write back saying that they don’t know what you’re saying!

eBay: I love how everything on eBay is rare!
Animal Crossing: When Gulliver gives you a “rare” item and on wandering around “Funkytown” you go into other residents houses and see the very same rare item!

eBay: Find items useful to you that other people were going to throw in the rubbish.
Animal Crossing: Go to the local rubbish dump and voila! An umbrella or 4 ball shirt or writing paper and on the odd occasion, a piece of furniture.

eBay: Listing an item. 7 days later we have a winner….. then 8 days, where’s the money? …9 days, 10, 11, 37. you bid you pay jerk!
Animal Crossing: Getting a handkerchief from Chevere to give back to Baabara only to find when you track Chevere down she has given it to Rizzo, who lent it to Hambo who lent it to Bluebear. After three complete laps of Funkytown and 3 hours later, you give the handkerchief back to Baabara who rewards you with….wait for it………after all that work you just know it’s gonna be good…….4 sheets of writing paper! Ahhhh………after all that! where’s my stylish piece of furniture Baabara you jerk.

eBay: One of a kind or rare. These titles are splashed around all too willy nilly for my liking.
Animal Crossing: After purchasing a rare painting from Crazy Redd for a super inflated price, you kindly donate your masterpiece to the museum just to find out that it’s a fake!

eBay: Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. We all know this famous line from Forrest Gump but it fully applies here. A nice friendly eBayer that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! And then, your very next sale or purchase you get the eBayer from hell!
Animal Crossing: The post office. Go in here during the day and you will be greeted by Pelly, she’s sweet and lovely and only too ready to help you with whatever you need. Go in here at night and you get Phyllis, embittered by life’s experiences, she’s at odds with the world and she’s not shy about it! So close the door on your way out, you interrupted her soaps!!

eBay: The auction is drawing to a close, the item is nearly yours….and somehow…..with less than a minute to go….bang! You’ve been outbid! Hurry, don’t let it get away……frantically clicking away (click click) …confirm bid?? What?? Are you kidding me?? I’ve been bidding for 7 f**king days, of course I want it, no confirmation needed….I’m of sound mind and bank account, but in that second click of the mouse….it comes up…Sorry! You didn’t win this time. Awwww… that sucks! I really really needed that Anchorman inflatable beach ball.
Animal Crossing: Walking around “Funkytown”, pulling out weeds and seeing a shadow on the ground. What could that be? Kira asks herself. She looks up and there it is! A beautifully wrapped present, hanging from a balloon. Ooooohhh…It looks so pretty! I wonder what’s inside? No matter, I want that S.O.B. The chase is on! Here I am, stalking an item, waiting for it to get stuck in a tree or something. Floating….drifting……Ohhhh it’s mine, I can almost smell it! It starts drifting downwards and I’m up the top so I can’t get down. Run! (click click) run, get those chubby little legs moving Kira!! I get down there just in time to watch MY present on a balloon float over the stone wall, into the next town! Just like my beachball, there it goes! You suck, present on a balloon, teasing me like that, how do you sleep at night??

eBay: Ever been bidding on an item just for the seller to pull it?? It’s cruel, you think you’re seeing things. Hmmmmm……where did she go? Where are you dream date Barbie doll from 1983, you were here just a minute ago. I was the highest bidder, I didn’t imagine it, she was nearly mine, all mine!!
Animal Crossing: Ever wandered around between midnight and 4 am? Even “Funkytown” can look spooky, and then he appears, it’s whisp the ghost, he’s there then poof!! He’s gone! OK, I’m aware that I’m grasping at straws with this one.

So off you go! Hit that search button for Greatest American Hero shot glasses, every home should have one, $5.83 U.S. Hmmm… seems reasonable but just look across a little further…. Awwww… $47.50 U.S. for postage of the above mentioned shot glass. Shame on you anonymous eBay person!! Needless to say, I didn’t get my shot glass. Animals!!!! (No offence residents of Funkytown!)

7 Responses to “When Ebay and Animal Crossing collide! – Article”

1. LeftofSender says:

   December 12, 2008 at 2:57 pm

   Ha! Nice one.
   My personal favourite was the letter thing, that is so true. I have written to both ACWW residents and ebay users and yeah, they’re both sh_t at responses.
   O-o
2. Elizabeth. says:

   December 12, 2008 at 4:55 pm

   WOW! what amazing insight! Your guest writer is truely gifted! Elizabeth.
3. Weezer says:

   December 12, 2008 at 10:23 pm

   I hate the Redd guy he has ripped me off so many times, just like that guy on ebay I bought that watch from when it was “silver” in quotations, which meant tin with some silver looking color over it!!!!!
   I’m still sore on it 2 years later. Good article though.
4. Bri says:

   December 13, 2008 at 9:13 am

   I would never have put those things together. Now it is pointed out it is pretty obvious. I liked the wallpaper thing and the rare thing, that is ROFL funny.
   Thanks Lgamers for another one of a kind article.
5. Becky says:

   December 15, 2008 at 12:07 pm

   Ha, this is pretty cool. Never really thought about it like this before, but that’s pretty insightful. I agree with a lot that’s in this. Thanks again for an interesting read.
6. Amanda says:

   December 29, 2008 at 11:54 pm

   i love this article! i am at work and i am actually laughing out loud. not often that happens when at work…
   i especially like the use of rubbish items that people “need”, i think the best example is Anchorman inflatable beach ball. very very funny.
   Good job! ^_^
7. Rachel Lynn H. says:

   January 29, 2009 at 11:49 am

   Yes, I do say Animal Crossing and Ebay are one and the same! I was scammed by Redd, and had to deal with the present balloons, and the animals didn’t understand my “Thank you” letters that I wrote to them, the Pelly/Phyllis situation. I agree with the photo manipulation you made about Tom Nook. Because it’s so true. Thank you, Elizabeth, for this original article!