CHESSNOID

We are in mid August which to me means Christmas is right around the corner. That means cold weather, rain possible snow, and 24 hour Christmas music. Yes, I know we still have to get through Labor day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, but trust me that Christmas will be here before you know it, and we will be in the year 2008.

Right now, I see a $289 Compaq desktop with17 inch monitor after rebates at circuit city and a $349 Acer laptop after rebate at compusa. Both are great prices, but these prices have been available for the last 6 weeks. The very best computer deal for the week I see is a $199 slim line HP computer at office depot. I am still hoping computers drop down to $100. That way everyone can have one all over the world.Maybe the economy is that bad that demand can’t keep up with supply, thus the price drops.I know the xbox 360 had some type of price drop last week. Whatever it was, I still think they are overpriced. I remember when they first came out last November people were waiting outside in line for the store to open up. My former co-worker pre-ordered his. At the time, these systems were going for $1,200-$2,000 on Ebay. I told him to sell it and just buy it when the next shipment came out. He wasn’t money motivated so he kept it. He is a video game addict, so I guess it was money well spent for him. I wonder if I was a kid in today’s time if I would feel the same way.

My eBay auctions are doing better than they have the last 3 weeks. I sold a buy it now already, and I have 3 auctions ending later today that already have bids with perfect feedback bidders. Those are the kind of customers I like. Hopefully all 7 auctions get bids. My eBay goal is to eventually have 25 auctions every week. It is easier to just sell the same stuff by re-listing it. The only challenge is having the proper inventory to do that. Right now most of my comics are in storage in another city and I haven’t made it a priority to pick it up yet.

I am constantly looking at condos for sale in orange county and Seattle. I see major price drops on both houses and condos not selling. It is nice to see the days on the market (dom) figures, so I can personally gauge how long it takes sellers to drop the sales price. There are some nice condos in Irvine that I really like called Avenue One that have both resales and new builder sales. The condos I like in this mid-rise are the 2 story condos with lofts on the 2nd floor. They look really nice but are still too pricey for me. They are only on the 4th floor and don’t really have good views, but I really like the floorplan. The other condos I like are in Seattle, and there are quite a few of them. The condos I particulary like are the high rise condo buildings that go up to 30 stories. I am hoping to buy something in the next 12-18 months. I don’t know when the bottom will hit and I doubt if I will buy at the lowest price, but I definitely want to get a place that I can live in for a long time even if it is just a vacation home now. The federal reserve may keep the rates low since the subprime market is melting right now. That might help me in the near future. For now, I will keep perusing the internet for good deals.

I am anxious to see what this week will bring in the stock market. I am surprised to see it drop after July. I was anticipating a summer rally that was going to last into the new year. I guess with all the bad press the housing market is getting, everyone is spooked and many investors are just sitting on the sideline waiting for something good or bad to happen to determine which way the market is going. So far it looks bad, but only time will tell. I still haven’t sold any stocks yet, but I kind of wish I had 2 weeks ago, just so I could re-buy everything I would have sold now at the lower prices. Just wishful thinking.

As far as the job market goes, I think if you are not in the real estate business or real estate related businesses, things still should be going good for you. My friend mentioned that a mutual friend from a previous job was possibly getting laid off and that the company had laid ff some other employees already. I googled the company for any news of that, but only found complaints about its 99% interest rate. That may be why Gary Coleman is laughing insanely in the last commercial they advertised. (Watcha talking about Willis!)

Lastly, I just want to thank my wife for helping me with this blog. I was really clueless as far as setting it up. I wanted to do it for awhile and was inspired by all the blogs I read. I have successfully posted everyday since I started and keep learning all the time. It is my way of giving back to the community. I am hoping you get something out of reading my daily musings. If not inspiration, then hopefully entertainment. Even if you get a chuckle from reading this stuff, it is worth it.