The Frenchness of this posting is quickly established by reminding Salut! readers that while the founder of eBay may have been an Iranian-American computer programmer by the name of Pierre Omidyar, the first name was no fluke since he was born in France.
That - the founding of eBay, not the birth of Pierre - was as long ago as 1995. It has taken me until now to join the eBay generation.
Others I know have been buying and selling there for years. They know the names of other sites that perform similar functions, and some use them, too.
I managed to get to grips belatedly with Paypal. I even opened an eBay account but actually using it was something I managed to keep putting off. That state of entrepreneurial virginity has now come to an end.
As of a couple of days ago, I am officially an eBay seller. Or, rather, a would-be seller.
The item in question hardly matters but is, indeed, the silver German beast you see in the photograph. I've had it since it was part of the Telegraph's reward to me for not going to the Mail for a lot more money.
While still a company car, it suffered an unfortunate mishap when the engine died - a coroner would call it misadventure or even unlawful killing, since the reason for its demise was that I had neglected to put the oil cap back on after checking the level at the start of a drive to Honfleur. We made it to somewhere south of Boulogne, quite a way south if I remember correctly, before the inevitable consequences of this foolishness became apparent.
Somehow I got away with it at work despite being open about what had happened. The services director was so pleased with the deal he got for a reconditioned, new or replacement engine - I was never entirely sure which - that he completely forgot to hand out the fully deserved rebuke or recommend that I should never again be entrusted with a company car.
But the upshot is that while the car is now 15 years old and has 193,000 miles - or an even more impressive 310,603km - on the clock, a fair chunk of that time and distance occurred before the Oil Cap Episode. The motor has accordingly endured much less punishment than the age and mileage suggest - and no oil cap has been left off since the faux pas of long ago.
I bought the car from the DT in 2000, took it with me to Paris in 2004 and again to the south of France three years later. Great car that it is, the lack of air conditioning makes it unsuitable for living by the Med, unless you treat the windows as la clim - and the arrival of the little Clio makes it surplus to requirements.
So go it must, though rampant ageism in the car trade has robbed it of any serious value. I wanted £700 and was advised by an eBay know-all to put it up with a reserve price of £500.
And guess what? It works. I have already had a bid. Now it would offend eBay etiquette to reveal more about the bidder's identity, but he or she appears on the site as r***e (608). And r***e (608) doesn't mess around, storming the saleroom with a firm offer ... all of 99p.
My new-found familiarity with eBay had not prepared me for this. Should I fight any temptation to tell r***e (608) I wouldn't dream of taking a penny less than a pound and be chuffed that someone has shown an interest and set the ball rolling? Or should I resign myself to the feeling that since no one has yet gone that extra penny, eBay is unlikely to prove the ideal shop window for the poor old fraulein?
Time, and just a few days at that, will tell. Only at the end of this process will I be able to let Pierre know whether the bright idea that made him a billionaire has also made me £700, or just a little under, better off.
And if it does fetch my asking price, I will even consider a cut-price bid from Pierre for one of the swish new Salut! mugs you see here ...
.. and can own for yourself for the scandalously low price of £9.50, post free to UK addresses, if you follow the instructions that will appeal - correction, they will appear, though I suppose they may appeal - in the next posting at Salut!
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