Saturday, August 21, 2010

Honda CA 125 Rebel

If you like cruiser style bikes, then this is for you. Nice low seat, if you are a bitvertically challenged! Engine that goes on forever. Great learner legal bike, bit of a head turner. Honda reliability and cheap spares.

The New Royal Mail Pricing August 21st 2006

As many of you are probably aware the way that postage is calculated will be changing on 21st August 2006. At the moment this will only apply to postage within the UK. The price of postage will no longer just be calculated based on the weight of the letter or parcel but will now be based on the weight, dimensions and thickness of the item. This sounds complicated but is not really.


There will be 3 types of postage item - a letter, a large letter and a packet. A letter has to weigh below 100g be less than 5mm thick and smaller than 240 x 165mm. A large letter needs to weigh below 750g, be less than 25mm thick and measure less than 353 x 250mm. A Parcel is anything either heavier than 750g or larger than the large letter dimensions. Within the letter size there is just one postage price. Within the other sizes there are different postage rates determined by weight. All prices are also split into first class and second class as usual. Most of our items will fit into the category of packet and that is likely to be the case for most eBay items I would guess. From looking at the prices it seems that our prices will be changing slightly and mostly increasing by a small amount especially for the lighter / smaller items. However, this will depend on how many items are purchased and their sizes and weights.


The prices are as follows:



Everyone should get a template through their letterbox so that they can measure their post to find out which category it fits into. There will also be plastic templates at post offices (my local one already has them). You may notice from the table that second class is now increasing up to 1kg rather than being limited to 750g.


Airmail, Surface mail, International Signed For, Airsure, Special Delivery and Parcel post are not affected by the changes and their prices will remain the same.


Burnout is one of the best games for the PSP

Despite some of the tracks being impossibly difficult, along with GTA this is a must have for the PSP. The graphics are fantastic, and the tracks are novel. It can get repetitive and tedious when trying for a gold medal on the same track but this has everything a good racing game should, including some great cars. There is also a crash event to add a different dimention to the game. Multiplayer is very enjoyable and easy to use. Highly recommended.

Nike Trainers

If you are buying off ebay consider the following:


1. Is it real?


2. Does the seller have any proof? IE Genuine photo and not a copied one!!!


3. Search other similar listings and make sure you are not getting ripped off.


4. Do not buy if you are not too sure.


5. Check it out with the seller before you buy.


6. How long has the seller been a ebay member.


Hope you found my guide helpful.


Johnnyclayton

Recovering Your Lost Secure Digital Memory Card Images

I think all of us at some time or other can remember when we used roll film instead of Secure Digital Memory Cards, and the feeling of horror when we inadvertantly opened and saw that the roll film had not been rewound, or fully rewound back into the canister, and those images having been exposed to the light were lost forever. Even with using digital memory cards images can be lost but perhaps not forever as with roll film cameras.


Possibly, you may have accidently deleted a wanted photo from your memory card whilst it was still in your camera. Image loss can also happen if you eject your memory card from your camera before the camera has finished writing to the card. If your camera batteries are low on power and run out of charge during the cards capturing process can also result in image loss. Which ever way that your photo's or images manage to get lost, the anoyance is always the same.


But now Lexar might be able to help and ease your anger and regain or recover your photo's and images that you thought were gone forever with Image Rescue.



When a file is deleted from your memory card, the "File Allocation Table" which is the cards FAT file is only updated to indicate that cards memory where the deleted image file address was is now ready to receive a new image. A good annalogy I read once explained this very well.


Think of the FAT file as a Table Of Contents of a book. If you delete a chapter from the Table Of Contents, it is not the same as actually completely removing the pages from the book itself. Like a Table Of Contents, the FAT file is where your memory card keeps a record of all the files on the card and where they are located.



Most corruption to memory card data happens to the FAT file and not to your photo's or images, isn't that good news.


If a card becomes unreadable because the FAT file has become corrupted you may think that you have lost your photo and image data, but your images are likely to be still there in their location on the memory card's chip. You are only resetting the cards FAT file even when you reformat your card. So it is extreemly likely that your photo's and images are still on the card even if you accidently reformat the card.


Do you want to recover and rescue those photo's and images? Well here is the key. The key is to remove your memory card from your camera before you shoot any more images on that card. If you were to shoot more images then your camera might overwrite the new image on top of an image that you wanted to recover, should that happen it would make the image unrecoverable.



Lexar's Image Rescue software was designed to help to recover lost images, it works with with any memory card. The software analyzes your cards memory locations and determines the location of your photo and image data. As soon as Image Rescue has identified the photo and image data it then start work to reassemble your images which it will then insert them into a reserved folder on your computer.


You will see a simple an intuitive screen after you have inserted your memory card into your card reader and launched the Image Rescue software. To recover your images just click on the "Image Recovery" button, from the drop down menu choose your card and click the "Recover Images". Isn't that simle! Image and photo recovery is not guaranteed but it does give you a very reasonable chance to find those lost images.


Image Rescue has a number of useful actions and other features. One of which allows you to securely reformat your memory card which not only resets the FAT table but erases all the data in the cards memory.


Do ebay actually care about sellers? We'll see....

Well here is the situation,


I have been on ebay for over 5 years now and selling strong for the past 2 years, as a business for the past year. Never before have I been scammed by someone but bam!! one day a bidder buys 47 copies of the same product and doesnt respond to emails or the invoice.


My next step is to email ebay about the problem.


I go through ebays extremly confusing and totally useless 'Contact Us' system and tell them my problem.


'I have had a bidder buy 47 Copies of the same Digtial Product from me in an obvious ploy to get me out of business, I managed to stop the sales at 47 by ending the item (this could have gone on to 1000 copies). I want the sales removed from my account because they are not legitimate (I mean come on? Do you really think thats right?)'.


So what do ebay respond with?


Email the bidder and see what they say.... DID YOU ACTUALLY READ MY EMAIL?


What is it with huge corporations and standard email templates?


So I sent ebay a second email explaining why I want them removed and the fact that these purchases have sent my fees up by 76.00 which I am just not willing to pay.


Now I know that I wont have to with the report a non payment feature but that means I have to do 47 seperate disputes all one by one.


So here I am waiting for a response from ebay about my problem and I am asking myself.....


DO EBAY ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SELLERS?


Maybe it was ebay that did this just to get the Interest on my fees before they reimburse me?


Is ebay really a safe place to trade anymore?


I urge sellers to watch this space because it seems all to often that we get into these situations and ebay dont do anything.


Ebay- WITHOUT SELLERS YOU WOULDNT HAVE A JOB! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER.



Keep this report in mind as I will be updating it regularly with this problem....



UPDATE


Well ebay care enough to 'Look Into' the problem but still have not cancelled the ebay account of the scammer or reimbursed me a penny. Instead they ask me to complete the Dispute console and to change my settings to only allow certain bidders through.


Whilst this is a viable option to stop bidders with no feedback it will stop some people from buying from our store which shouldnt be the case. Its Ebays Problem and they just dont seem to do anything about these scams.


FINAL UPDATE


Well I give ebay some credit, the guys account was cancelled in under 2 days!! and he had no feedback at all. I Thought I was going to have a harder time than that!


Well the only thing that still annoyed me was that I still have to complete all those diputes to claim back my fees which Ebay can surely sort out for me on there end.


Well on reflection ebay have done the right thing but it took some determined words from me before doing anything at all.


So here is my note to anyone in that position. Email ebay and be forcefull with what you say, dont be abusive or detramantal but just say what you think they should be doing and hopefully they will look into the problem a bit deeper. You may have to do a little but of work to claim some fees back but its better than not getting the response you were looking for in the first place.


Thankyou ebay for listening and I hope you will listen to others with their problems. Oh and thanks to all who voted!!

How to be safe on eBay!

There are loads of guides out there like this one, "how to be safe on ebay", but most of them tell you the same stuff...


...use paypal, only use 100% feedback sellers and dont post anything abroad....


...well bits of this are true, but ebay has evolved to become THE biggest auction site on the net, and these simple basic ruloes/tips arent really valid now (at the strat, yeh, but now, no!)


1.Many sellers have 99% feedback and even some who have 96% feedback can still be bloody brilliant...you must look at the actual amount of feedback as well as the percentage score, because if someone has sold 10 things and they all went well he has 100% positive...where-as if soeone sold 10,000 things and some went wrong (which is highly likely with royal mail and new ebayers making mistakes etc) then he will not have 100% positive, but will be sound..


2. Payment methods...there are loads available and most people say "use paypal only its the best" -well thats because ebay own paypal and ensure that it has the advantages on their auction site (funny that) but there are many other payment options that are just as good, and just as safe. The 2nd best one being NoChex! -This is exactly like paypal and works easily and quickly. They also have protection schemes like paypal but because tehy are a smaller company they are more people/user orintated...here-as paypal do not care when you get problems (trust me, when you get problems with them you will see that they couldnt care less!)


Another great payment method is postal orders! They are fully traceable because of their unique id's on them all and they can be sent via recorded post (even more traceable) and the seller can cash them the saem day (like gtting cash really) and the item canbe on its way to you instantly. This is a personal favourite, obviously the e-payments are better, but nothing beats good old post.


Then finally there is cheque, this is safe but takes ages to clear...and make sure it clears, do not take the buyers word for it that the cheque will clear, you must wait. If you send the game and it doesnt clear you are screwed.


3. Who are good sellers/buyers? -get to know them!!


Simply enail them a question and see if they reply with a decent answer for you about an item, this is the first soign that they care about the item(s) and the sale. If you want to find out more about a buyer then request their information. If someone has bought from you then you can go to the help section and request their information and you will be sent the information they entered when they registered...if it comes back invalid or is actuall ynot a real entry and is numbers etc then dont send the item....inform ebay that the "buyers information is wrong/invalid" and they will excuse you of posting the item.


FINALLY A NOTE ABOUT PAYPAL.....


regardless of how safe everyon says it is it actually isnt. There is no protection on your account, so anyone can hack into it and paypal dont care -they hold you responsible for it. Nochex have a clever system where if you enter your password wrong when trying to log in (or anyone does) then you are emailed to say that there was an attempt to log into your account. PayPal is safe in general, but even if you are dealing with people that are verified they can actually not b the account holder....so please ensure you check the following:


Name of the person on ebay acount and the paypal account and see if they are using a different name in correspondance...also look for email addresses and other details that may not be matching.


If they are in a country such as nigeria, or anywhere in africa do not send it. even if they are verified, as many many people operate scams where you send the item and then they claim you never sent it, so paypal refund the, Just like that....thats why paypal is stupid, they dont listen.


I hope my ramblings and my tips/points have made some sense to you and you find this guide helpful.

eBay, PayPal and mobile phones...

I have been scammed on eBay twice only in my near 3 years using this auction website.


On both occasions, the auctions seemed entirely genuine; the vendors offered PayPal as a vehicle for payment and as a buyer I assumed that PayPal would act in my best interests, i.e. vigorously pursue the miscreant and recover my misappropriated monies.


Unfortunately despite the mega multi millions of currencies being earned by PayPal every minute of everydaythey are apparently reluctant to follow conventional channels in the conduct of a fraud investigation. There is an evident reticence to notify the law enforcement agencies established and funded via the burdening bludgeon of personal taxation to take care of the perpetrators of such misdemeanours. Why should this be so?


It would be my contention that eBay fear disclosing the mechanisms of PayPal to such a regulatory body, at least on two likely grounds; (1) exposure of the workings of PayPal would attract ridicule and derision and (2) the unwelcome and uncomfortable questions relating to safety measures and the incredible generation of profit receivedby PayPal.


Fraud is defined as, 'obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception', it is regrettable that a very small percentage of eBay's users see genuine long-term users of this site a, 'fair game', and furthermore that the area of mobile sales is, 'open season'.


Look carefully for the warning signs; feedback percentages/comments, transactions completed, changes of trading identity, newish members selling current or brand new mobile phone models cheaply. Compare prices with long-established and honourable eBayers; if a questionable disparity is noted then DO NOT TRANSACT business.


My error of judgement has just cost me 160. Do not let this happen to you.


Regards, Mat


spaceboy1969


p.s. looseends1992, Matthew Ayree watch your back chum... My associates are gonna get ya!


Spread betting - what you need to know on ebay

See My World


This guide is the first iteration of my guide to spread betting information that is available on ebay and what YOU the consumer need to consider before deciding to part with your hard earned cash upon making that purchase. Spread betting is also sometimes referred to as spread trading, and there is a newer product related to spread betting is binary betting. This is NOT a guide to spread betting or binary betting or an introduction to spread betting. If you require more information on what spread betting is, please email me from my ebay shop.


There is currently a variety of spread betting books, documents (ebook and hard cover), spread betting spreadsheets, spread betting software and trading systems available on ebay that can be categorised according to their desired audiences. This is a very quick overview of what is available to help you make a more informed choice about what is right for you. I am doing this because I have a genuine desire to raise the level of service on ebay, to help people develop their own skills. (The old 'catch a man to fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime'). I am doing this as an established professional in my field - a director of a niche IT consulting firm and at the same time, a professional stock trader working for a leading market maker. I am doing this because I want to make a difference having survived a life threatening illness 3 years ago.


I cannot emphasise the importance of developing your own approaches and mechanisms in trading that are adapted to your own personal objectives and some of the best systems available can be used to do exactly that. I currently see 3 broad categories of information related to spread betting on ebay, not strictly speaking, they are:



    Generic ebooks :: intro's documentation and "Make money from spread betting" between 99p and 5.99, sometimes the information sold is freely available on the internet if you do a simple google search for spread betting. They are usually offerred as part of a wider ebook libray from an ebayer. Save your money if you have the time to search and research yourself, or if you dont worry about spending that kind of money go ahead and buy.
    Other peoples documents, books and spread betting systems. Between 6-10. These systems can be useful but may not have the necessary support from the ebay seller. Some of them are offerred as Camarilla Equation or Swing signals, again these are available freely on the internet but come repackaged in a handy to use tool and accompanying document.
    Seller designed, owned and supported systems or spreadsheets or software scripts,Roughly 10-100 . These are for the more serious spread better that are considering to use spread betting seriously to add to their existing income or continue using it as their sole source of income. Some automated systems come packaged in an excel spreadsheet through which you will be required to manually enter end of day data and the spread sheet will calculate the maving average convergence / divergence and give the resulting UP or DOWN signal (you can buy and sell a stock or index without owning it). Some (for example the 'F2358B-Binary Power', binary system) come as detailed system documentation and accompanying software and data feed with a course on spread betting that enable you to use the technical indicators to predict the course of a trend or trading range.
    Tradestation or eSignal plugins.

Always ask yourself these questions before considering purchasing ANY spread betting information:



Does the seller use the system themselves and are they available to support you via email after purchase? Beware of people that have downloaded or obtained old systems and courses from 2, 3 or 4 years ago that may no longer be making money. Also look at the returns and seriously question WHERE such courses, training documentation came from. These systems are availble cheaply or offerred as bonuses to existing items and are often lifted from the Internet, or file sharing tools such as Kazaa. They are oferred cheaply or as bonuses more often than not because they no longer make money.
Does the seller just resell or offer many links to FREE ebooks on scams of how to make money on ebay? Yes? BE CAREFUL OF SPYWARE, Viruses and other malicious software contained in .exe files. Ebooks SHOULD ONLY BE DISTRIBUTED IN PDF format!
Does the seller publish actual results of the system? Does the seller offer a method of trade and entry and exit criteria? Some systems are based purely on moving averages to help define whether then trend is UP or DOWN and therefore which direction to buy or sell a stock, index or currency. Getting the signal and direction is only half the skill required in trading. The rest is derived from money management, approach, discipline and knowing when to get out of a trade.

As a final note I would recommend you search for google for spread betting and day trading information - there is a great deal of information available. Secondly, join an agency such as finspreads and enrol in their free spread betting 6 week tutorial programme ( I did 2 years ago, and it worked for me!). Thirdly, there are many good systems available on ebay but just make sure that there's email support to get you on track.


If you have any questions please contact myself, Mark Wall (ebay-id :: fibonacci-trader).


Guide Version 0.1


Modern Books of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe for Collectors

The history of printing in Zimbabwe is little more than a century old: the first newspaper was printed in 1892, while the first book was not printed in the country until the Times Printing Works set up its workshop in 1897. This guide will give a brief overview of the more collectable books seen on the market and on eBay.


A curious aspect of Rhodesiana (Rhodesian and Zimbabwean collectables) is that the most sought-after items are almost always those from the last 15 years of the country's existence, from the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 to the nation's independence under majority rule in 1980 as Zimbabwe. During this period there were strict currency restrictions, preventing Rhodesian citizens from exporting money out of the country or from taking money with them when they emigrated - from 1975 emigrants could take with them only Rh$1000 (about US$1200) per family. A local industry grew up creating high-value souvenir items for investment - sets of military medals; sets of gold and silver medallions; UDI souvenirs made in precious metals and in limited editions. Books were invariably produced in two forms: a normal retail hardback edition, and a special collectors' edition: badged, bound in leather (in the case of Contact, by John Lovett, in elephant hide), autographed and bearing special tipped-in pages, and offered in a luxurious slip-case.


The sad truth is that, until the Internet created fresh interest in Rhodesiana, most of these investment items proved a very poor investment. Many of them now sell for barely more than their original cost, once you factor in 30 years' inflation.


However, books have consistently performed well and remain items of strong interest. My top tips for modern Rhodesian/Zimbabwean books are as follows (all prices are mid-2006):



Contact, John Lovett, Galaxie Books, 1977. This elephant-hide-bound edition set new standards for luxurious presentation and deservedly remains popular. The Collectors' Edition was limited to just 115 individually numbered copies, of which 15 were given to the Rhodesian National Archives, politicians and senior servicemen, and 100 offered for sale. The volumecomes in a silk-lined slipcase and is handsomely bound in Rhodesian elephant hide, with heavy, polished brass title plate and edgings, and a high-relief badge of the coat of arms of Rhodesia, struck in brass, on the outer front cover. The Collectors' Edition is identical to the normal 1977 first edition except for two additional pages bound in, and protected with tissue paper covers. The first page bears an explanatory note and the Galaxie imprimatur, and certifies the copy number. The second page bears the original autographs of ten prominent Rhodesians:

John Wrathall, President of RhodesiaIan Douglas Smith, Prime Minister of RhodesiaClifford Dupont, the first President of RhodesiaB. H. 'Jack' Mussett, Minister of Internal AffairsRoger Hawkins, Minister of Combined OperationsLt Gen Peter Walls, Commander, Combined OperationsAir Marshal M. J. 'Mick' McLaren, Deputy Commander, Combined OperationsP. Sherren, Commissioner of the BSAPLt Gen John Hickman, Commander of the ArmyAir Marshal F. W. Mussell, Commander of the Air Force


Normal copies of Contact sell typically for between 50 and 80. The Collectors' Edition can change hands for up to 1000 at a book dealers'; perhaps 20% less on eBay.



  • Contact II, Paul Moorcraft, Sygma Books 1979. Much harder to find than Contact, and written by the esteemed historian Paul Moorcraft, this volume is particularly sought because it contains a nominal roll giving many - but not all - of the later Rhodesian honours and decorations. In Very Fine condition this work typically sells for 80 to 100. The Collectors' Edition is similar in format to the Collectors' Edition of Contact I, and typically sells on eBay for between 300 and 700, but may be seen offered by book dealers for much higher prices. With both Contact and Contact II a good tip is to look through to see if any pages have been autographed - this was pretty common practice, and a nice autograph from a highly-decorated soldier can add 15% to the selling value.
  • Encyclopaedia Rhodesia, Peter Bridger, Margaret House et al (eds), College Press 1973. Practically impossible to find in decent condition. In VG condition typically 30-45.
  • Chimurenga! The War in Rhodesia 1965-1980, Paul Moorcraft
  • Shipping overseas from the UK.

    The UK Royal Mail / Post Office are having a major overhaul of their postal services on 21st August 2006. In the UK this will change the way letters and packages are sent, as posting will be based on weight AND size, as oppose to just weight. This will mean that large items (i.e.the majority ofitems bought and sold on Ebay) will be subject to new postal charges. Whilst this probably won't cause too many headaches within the UK, the real problems start when you want to send items to other countries.


    Over the past few years, I have sent many items, large and small, to Ebay buyers in other countries. As a general rule, if the item was below 2 Kg it could be sent as a small package and prices would be fairly reasonable. Go over the 2 Kg and it could add another 20-30 on the price of posting. OK, so you package the item in bubble wrap (light), package it securely, and send. No problem. However......


    From the 21st August, packages will be based on size as well as weight. If your package has a combined (L W B) size of more than 90cm you will have to go for the parcel (as oppose to the small package) option = much more expensive. What this basically means is that a buyer outside the UK will have to pay alot more money forpostal charges, than they have been doing up until now.


    Example :- I recentlysent a pilots helmet to France. The combined size of the package was over 90 cm, in fact since measuring it the size was actually approximately 92cm, but the weight was under 2Kg so it was fairly cheap to send(note, this was before 21st August). 4 days later, it arrived back at my house with a note saying it was oversized and could not be sent (2cms oversize!!!!). I went back to the Post Office and was told it would cost 3 times as much to send as it had to go as a parcel instead of a small package (due to the new sizing restrictions).As I had the payment from my buyer, I was obliged to send the helmet, so I repackaged it in a smaller box (under 90cm)and sent it. No problem, buyer got the goods, positive feedback all round. As the rather too eager postal workers had started the new system early (i.e. before 21st August) I was able to claim for the 1st set of postal charges, so wasn't out of pocket. However, the point of my ramblingsis that after the specified date, if you want to send an item outside the UK, at a reasonablepostage cost to the buyer,make sure it is under 2 Kg and less than a combined size of90cm. If not, the buyer will be paying a significant amount of money onpostal charges (which may mean fewer people bid on you item).


    To sum up, I am no longer going to be able to offer larger items for sale outside the UK. Unless I can send an item as a small package, there is no way you can expect a buyer to spend many s on postage. Be warned, and make sure buyers overseas are aware of the new size restrictions. They could well end up thinking they've got a bargain, only to find out they are paying ALOT ofpostage charges. General rule, keep it light and package it as small as possible.

    Diamond - Brief Technical

    Diamond - Technical

    PETIT BATEAU ITEMS TO BUY NOW IN A SHOP - BUT HOW?!

    I wanted to write a review on Ebay shops as largely due to recent changes instigated by Ebay (August 2006), they are not easy to understand or find. This is just a basic guide but hopefully its a good start.


    In the UK, there are a number of listing formats:-


    1. Auction listings = biding ends at a particular time and it can be on Ebay for a max. 10 days - this is what you normally see on Ebay


    2.BUT IT NOW (BIN)listings = the item can end at ANY time and it can be on Ebay for a max. 10 days. Items are a set price - there is no bidding involved.


    3. BUY IT NOW (BIN) listings in an Ebay shop = the item can end at ANY time and it can be on Ebay for an unlimited time. Items are a set price - there is no bidding involved


    4. BUY IT NOW (BIN) listings on Ebay Express which is a separate website due to be launched by Ebay in Autumn 2006. This will only contain BIN items (no auctions) by registered business sellers. Listings are like items in the shop BUT you have to be a registered business seller to sell on Ebay Express.


    For people who sell quite afew items an Ebay shop hasa number advantages not least:


    - the fees are much, much cheaper than an ordinary BIN listing for 10 days on Ebay


    - more than 1 item of the same style, size etc can be listed so if you want to buy 10 of the same thing if they are available then you can


    - it can listed for 30 days, 90 days or relisted automatically if not sold so much easier for the seller to manage and less time spent listing items


    - Lots of customers like to buy multiple items in one go at fixed prices - they don't want to wait til an auction ends so this style suits them



    Although sellers pay a monthly fee to Ebay to 'own' an Ebay shop, new changes mean that if there are a lot of listings under a category already(eg under PETIT BATEAU), then you will NOT see shop items. Try it and see. Its very annoying! This could mean you are missing out on some GREAT bargains as the sellers will be using the shop for the reasons above.


    There is a button at the very end of the auction listings to allow you to see 'SHOP ITEMS' but the best way is if the seller has an auctionlisting as well as shops ones (and they mostly do), thenclick on theauction listing and click on the sellers shop (the RED DOOR logo) or the Shop Categories on the left hand side of the listing (hopefully the seller has created some!).


    You will be AMAZED at what you will see in shops that you will NOT see if you od a general search. I cannot stress how much easier it is for a seller to list in a shop rather than Ebay auctions, so make sure you check them out. They will often have special offers as well (eg cheap items or buy 6 get 1 FREE).


    "Gold" Coins Which Are Not Gold - Including German

    Beware Gold Coins on eBay Which are Not Gold


    Beware of buying 'gold' coins on eBay which are not gold, just gold-plated, particularly German coins from German dealers.


    We sell a limited range of items on eBay, less than 4% of our turnover,
    but many of the items we offer are gold. As a result, we happen to
    notice a lot of the other gold coins listed by other people on eBay. We
    have been astounded at the high percentage of items falsely,
    misleadingly and fraudulently described as gold, which are clearly only
    gold plated.


    Fools GoldA few months ago, every time we searched the
    "Coins" category for "Gold", it seemed as though half the listings were
    for cold-plated coins being fraudulently passed off as gold. Over a
    period of a few week, we sent a number of reports to eBay "Safety
    Center", we also placed a few of the items on "Watch This Item".
    Nothing seemed to happen. We got the distinct impression that eBay
    never took any action, as none of the listings we reported ever got
    removed, and we noticed the same sellers week in week out, offering the
    same crap.
    When we looked today, we had mixed feelings. We were quite pleased to
    see that the percentage of false listings appeared to b much lower than
    previously, and we did not recognise any of the eBay user IDs. It is
    likely that eBay have had enough complaints about these people, and
    have eventually stopped them or closed their accounts, or perhaps this
    was done by the equivalent of our Trading Standards in the relevant
    country. On the other hand, there were still quite a few active dealers
    offering the same stuff. Perhaps these are "wannabees", who have seen
    the original listings, and decided that they would like to join in,
    perhaps they are some of the previous dealers trading under a changed
    or new identity. We reported a couple more today to see what happens,
    if anything.




    Gold One Mark, Two Marks, Five Marks, 1, 2, 3, 10 ReichspfennigMany of the "fools gold" items are one or more or the above coins, all of which are only base metal.





    Gold One Euro, Two EurosThe other type of "fools gold" coins are 2 and 1 coins which have been gold plated.




    German Dealers
    Of the eBay members currently offering similar items, we noticed at least German dealers.
    One of these had 141 items listed, a feedback of 307 (99.4% positive).Another
    had 197 current listings, a feedback of 2,977 (99.9% positive), with
    all sold item numbers shown as "Private", so not available for viewing.
    There are a number of reasons this can be done, one is so that
    crusaders cannot easily contact the buyer to advise him he has been
    conned.
    Yet another one of these had 116 items out of 159 listed, a feedback of 2,543 (99.7% positive).The
    day after we wrote this guide, we noticed another dealer, in the UK
    this time, with 26 similar items, described as gold in the title, and
    only saying gold plated in the listing description, feedback 444 (98.9%
    positive)




    Canadian Dealer
    We found one Canadian dealer, offering just 12 out of 459 items, with a
    feedback of 3,124 (98.9% positive). We did not check any of his other
    items.




    OthersWe did notice a few other offerings of similar items,
    but in many cases, the seller had only one "gold" item listed, so we
    have ignored them.


    Quality?It
    is extremely likely that the gold plating on these items is very thin,
    and of poor quality, so that it will easily wear off. We do not notice
    any of the sellers offering any kind of quality guarantee.




    Gold Plated in Small PrintSome but by no means all of these
    listings have the description gold-plated (or similar in German), shown
    somewhere in the small print of the listing. None of them stated so
    clearly in the item title. We firmly believe this is misleading, and
    therefore is intended to defraud any potential customer. Many also had
    the word "Gold" in the heading surrounded by an asterisk at each side.
    We guess that this is an attempt at a dodgy legal get-out, and they
    would argue that the asterisks indicate that the word is not intended
    to be taken literally. This is a typical Barnum and Bailey move.




    Prices

    How to look rich

    For years and years, the elite, the a-list celebrities and so on have had the items the normal man or waman on the street would like, but couldn't afford. Until E-bay came along, they were simply a distant dream. Nowadays though, it is easy to have the same labels... to carry the IT bag, to wear the right clothes and be made up in the best in cosmetics. I am an ordinary person but carry the best in designer bags, wear designer clothes... heck even my hair is tied up with Louis Vuitton hair cubes I bought off ebay... I even write with a mont blanc pen.


    A lot of people seem to think that just because something is a replica too, that is it worthless... but does it create the right look. Of course lots of the items on ebay get bid up to rates almost as much as if you bought the item in a shop... unless you know where to look. For example, don't assume just because you can spell that others can, if you run a search for Louis Vuitton for example, then try running a search for Louise Vuitton, Luis Vuitton, Louis Vitton, Louis Vutton, etc etc... guaranteed that some of the items will have been listed with such mistakes making them harder to search for and therefore recieve less bids. Also it is important to be up to date on what is in fashion (and genuine) and what isn't.


    No go shop and look like an a-lister!

    DKNY - BE DELICIOUS (MEN) - FRAGRANCE INFORMATION

    As I'm often asked to describe fragrances, I thought I'd compile some guides to assist when considering purchasing a particular fragrance. Choosing a fragrance is a matter of personal choice and preference but I hope these guides are useful


    DKNY - BE DELICIOUS (FOR MEN)


    Design House - Donna KaranYear Introduced - 2004Fragrance Notes - Crisp, wet greens, modern woods and green appleRecommended Use - Casual


    A fruity fragrance from New York, a city ripe with possibilities. A fragrance masculine to its very core, mixing raw sensuality with a fresh clean burst of energy. A fragrance for the new modern man, dynamic and uplifting, but sensual and full of promises. DKNY Be Delicious for Men evokes the raw lushness of nature with the powerful sophistication of the big city, with crisp, wet greens, modern woods, green apples and intoxicating coffee. Presented in a sleek glass and metal apple shaped bottle which contours to the palm of the hand.


    Postage Packing Shipping Insurance Charges What's Fair?

    Postage Packing Shipping Costs - Fair or Excessive?What is a fair
    amount for postage, packing, shipping and insurance, if offered? In this
    article, we will use the term shipping to include postage, packing and all
    relevant costs.

    Should You Gave Negative Feedback For Excessive Postage?
    If the seller
    failed to state postage charges, and then "rips you off" for postage, then yes,
    but don't be hasty. Do bear in mind that packing materials cost money, and its
    takes time (time = money) to pack things carefully. It also takes time and fuel
    to travel to the post office. VAT registered businesses also have to account for
    VAT on postage (so they need to add it to the basic costs). We believe it is
    fair for sellers to recoup labour costs in their shipping charges. Ten minutes
    equates to about 1 at UK minimum wage rates!

    What to do About Rip-Off Shipping Charges
    Charging excess shipping
    charges is against eBay policy (this is because it helps the seller to avoid
    eBay selling fees). If you think a seller asks excessive shipping costs, you
    should report them to eBay, who may do nothing, but may suspend their account.
    warn them, or ban them, depending on whether the offence gets repeated and other
    factors. If shipping costs are clearly stated, it is illogical to give negative
    feedback, as you could clearly see for yourself before you bought, giving
    negative feedback under these circumstances is really giving yourself an "idiot"
    vote. The other thing you could do about excessive shipping charges is simply
    avoid buying from that particular seller. If everybody did the same there would
    be no excessive shipping charges.

    None eBay Item Shipping Charges
    One way of looking at shipping
    charges, and whether they are fair would be to look at the sellers standard
    charges for directly bought items from their website or store as opposed to via
    eBay. If these charges are the same as via eBay, then at least you can see that
    they are not using them to avoid eBay fees. Of course, this does not guarantee
    they are fair. One example we could cite here is Dell Computers. In the UK, Dell
    charge about 50 shipping on a computer system compared with about 12 to 15
    for many of their their competitors. Whether you consider it unfair depends on
    you own viewpoint and ethics, Without doubt, the reason they do this is to make
    their own prices look more competitive, but recoup the difference, perhaps more,
    on the shipping costs. As a matter of interest, you may like to note that our
    company charge exactly the same to eBay customers as to non-eBay customers. We
    try not only to be fair, but also be transparent.

    Increased Costs - Particularly for International Shipping
    Because of
    the international nature of eBay, it is unreasonable for all sellers to know the
    cost of shipping all their products to anywhere in the world, by all the
    different services available. If the vendor of the item you are thinking of
    bidding on does not state shipping costs to your location, then the smart thing
    to do is to ask him BEFORE you place your bid, rather than bitching about it
    afterwards or giving negative feedback. Some sellers state that their shipping
    costs will be fair and reasonable, or will be at cost price. In this case, you
    could find the cost of sending a similar item to him, and you would not even
    need to ask, although shipping costs are not always the same in both directions.
    (We have a French customer who tells us it costs him more to post within France
    than we charge for international shipping).

    Two Examples From Personal Experience

    Our First Ever Negative Feedback We have probably sold over 10,000
    items via eBay. Of these, some people forget to leave feedback or can't be
    bothered, but we received over 6,000 positives, and under 50 negatives. The very
    first negative we received was from a private individual who also deals in coins
    via eBay. Despite not being VAT registered he charges a very similar amount to
    us for non-insured shipping within the UK. His reason for the negative? We
    suspect it was probably jealousy or stupidity, but he stated: "CHARGED 2.00
    P

    DUMMY PHONES

    THIS SELLER dprbirch IS SELLING DUMMY MOBILE PHONES BUT PUTTING IT IN VERY SMALL PRINT. PEOPLE ARE BIDDING ALOT OF MONEY FOR A DUMMY PHONE NOT A REAL PHONE. DO NOT BID ON ANY OF HIS ITEMS!

    fraud on E/Bay UK

    I have seen a serial fraudster selling on E/Bay U.K.Every 2 weeks or so for the last year he auctions the same brand new items for rediculously cheap BUY NOW prices. All his sale items are pristine hi-fi items and he steals the pictures off previously sold items. I have collected positive proof of this fact. He is getting biders but i can not warn them as he hides the bidders I.D.I have given up trying to bring this to E/Bays attention. They really do not give a hoot, even with a serial fraudster who keeps on going and is obviously ripping buyers off on a regular basis.Why did spokesman for E/Bay U.K. say on british T.V's BBC 1 Wachdog program that they take fraud seriously. They most obviously do not, is my oppinion.

    Royal Mail Pricing In Proportion Postage Guide

    Royal Mail Pricing In Proportion Postage GuideFrom the 21st of August 2006, there will be some major changes to how Royal Mail will price your post. The current system only uses weight for pricing mail but the new system will take into account size as well as weight.Royal Mail claims that this is a fairer way to price post and will result in a more efficient use of the UK postal system. Although some things will cost more to send, over 80% of mail will either cost the same or be cheaper.Royal Mail will be sending out a pricing guide to every address in the UK that will include more details.

    Fullxtv not working on any cams ie Blue Zeta

    As from24 july Fullxtv is not working on any cams ie Blue Zeta.


    The Company stopped broadcasting. So be warned I was caught out!!


    Recorded Delivery means nothing to paypal

    I write in response to an ebayer's advice that one should always use recorded delivery to send goods paid for with paypal, that this will protect us during chargeback dispute.


    I wish that was true, the truth is NOTHING protects a seller from paypal chargeback. I sold a phone for 150 pounds on ebay, 2 months down the road, the buyer said he did not own a paypal account (or somethin like that). Paypal asked me all sorts of questions regarding my business and a proof of postage, I sent them a copy of Royal mail recorded delivery slip and a tracking number (which shows date of delivery) but this was not enough for paypal.


    Paypal went ahead to reverse the payment, throwing my account into -ve, of course i refused to pay initially, Paypal went further to freeze my wife's paypal account with over 300 pounds housekeeping money in it.


    In the end I had to pay the 150 pounds with some penalties before they reopened my wife's account. of course, we have both stopped using paypal and will advise anyone we know to think twice.


    The best part of paypal is only when it works, God help you if you have any problems, you will be "helped" by different case worker each time you reply to their email, only that paypal caseworkers dont read your file, he/she will just give you a template answer exactly as the last case worker. you will be going round and round in circle.


    In my own experience with paypal, the bad guys won (the thief who took my phone and paypal who took my money to reward him again)

    Baby Seats

    If you are buying off ebay consider the following:


    1. Is it real?


    2. Does the seller have any proof? IE Genuine photo and not a copied one!!!


    3. Search other similar listings and make sure you are not getting ripped off.


    4. Do not buy if you are not too sure.


    5. Check it out with the seller before you buy.


    6. How long has the seller been a ebay member.


    Hope you found my guide helpful.


    Johnnyclayton

    DON'T SELL REAL TORTOISESHELL

    Please see Ebays policy on tortoiseshell - you are only allowed to sell fake tortoiseshell. Go into Ebay policies and enter tortoiseshell and you will be taken to the appropriate link.

    DEMISTA BATHROOM MIRROR DEMISTER PAD

    What a great item you go into the bathroom for a shave turn the hot tap on and your mirror fogs up then you start to wipe it so you can see your face but now you have got shaving foam all over it so you know you or your loved one is going to have to clean it. this take a lot of time and effort to get it mark free. well not with a demister pad.


    the pad is self adhesive and sticks to the rear side of the mirror then connected to a transformer. your mirror always stays at a constant temperature preventing the mirror from ever fogging up hense no more cleaning away the foggy surface.

    Newcastle Strip

    If you are buying off ebay consider the following:


    1. Is it real?


    2. Does the seller have any proof? IE Genuine photo and not a copied one!!!


    3. Search other similar listings and make sure you are not getting ripped off.


    4. Do not buy if you are not too sure.


    5. Check it out with the seller before you buy.


    6. How long has the seller been a ebay member.


    Hope you found my guide helpful.


    Johnnyclayton


    Goodluck and thanks and enjoy the new season

    Quinny speeedy SX

    I was delighted with my Quinny Speedy SX, until such times as my baby reached the age of about 6 - 7 months......the nosey stage, and i found it to be useless. The backrest is adjustable, but will not adjust that muchto let yourbaby sit upright, thus to my little boys frustration. We took it back to the pram centre thinking there was a fault, to be told that is the way they are designed. We now have to use a bungee rope at the back of the backrest attached to the handles to allow him to sit up and look around. We also purchased the changing bag, which when you place over the handles, can allow the pram to tip. The only good thing i can say is that it is very manoeuvrable, and the wheels can clip off to help fit in the car. I am now having to sell it and find something that will let him sit upright, so we can shop without the screams.A friend i met through my ante-natal classes also had the same problem, but has already purchased another pram ...... and her little boy is delighted

    Guuci Watch

    If you are buying off ebay consider the following:


    1. Is it real?


    2. Does the seller have any proof? IE Genuine photo and not a copied one!!!


    3. Search other similar listings and make sure you are not getting ripped off.


    4. Do not buy if you are not too sure.


    5. Check it out with the seller before you buy.


    6. How long has the seller been a ebay member.


    Hope you found my guide helpful.


    Johnnyclayton

    SPY BUG DETECTOR HIDDEN CAMERA/VIDEO/AUDIO/CCTV 6.0 Ghz

    Avoid being the target of unwanted wireless peeping or tapping to protect your privacy or information from being disclosed secretly. This new High Frequency Detector can detect wireless digital and analog signals up to 6 GHz. Stop disturbance of cellular phone communication within desired control area.

    Wireless signals used in hidden spy cameras and other wireless eavesdropping surveillance equipment can now be detected. Now you can scan for high range hidden wireless signals that may be present in your home or office. Keep you business and family matters safe from unwanted viewers or listeners.

    High Frequency Detector has 3 LED's. When a cellular phone or peeping camera is detected, the LED will light from level 1 to level 2 to level 3, and the beeping sound will change from slow to rapid indicating the strength of the detected signal.

    The High Frequency Detector has VIBRATION warning mode, just set the switch to silent. Silently scanning your environment will allow you to discreetly scan without your eavesdroppers knowing. A great tool for helping you to provide disinformation to your eavesdroppers. Use the included earphone to detect discreetly.

    Specifically Designed For Easy Use, Which Does Not Require Complicated Installation or Any Professional Knowledge.

    Hospitals, Medical Centers or Intensive Care Units That Forbid Cellular Usage.

    Office, Factory, Cinemas, Theaters, Concerts, Museums or Art Galleries That Forbid Video Body Bugs.

    Military or Government Premises That Cellular or Wireless Camera Recording Is Forbidden.

    Offices, Restaurants or Any Commercial Premises That Would Like To Shun Away Cellular or RF Disturbances.

    Find The Best Signal Location For Wireless CCTV Placement.

    Detect Peeping Cameras In Shopping Mall Toilets, School Toilets, Locker Rooms and Fitting Booths, Club House and Hotel Rooms etc.

    This detecter will detect signals in the ranges 50mhz-6ghz! That's microwave frequencies my friends!

    This unique high frequency scanner is used to detect peeping cameras, tapping, cellular phones and other radio frequency devices that may be hidden in your home or office.

    I paid 59.99 for mine on ebay! They can retail for up to 200 but are comparable in functionality

    How to Make a Wired Corsage

    Welcome to Flower Hour


    In this guide, we show you how to make this beautifulwired corsage and elegant fresh napkin ring. In real life, step by step pictures, we show basic wiring techniques, how to wrap with stem tape and share some tips from the professional arrangers.



    Once you've learnt these simple techniques, you will be able to apply them to all sorts of floral decorating work, making both formal and informal pieces. If you've never done wired work before, this guide is for you - and it's really not difficult.


    The format of the guide is too limited to post all the step by step photographs, so please click on the link below to read the full guide in our ebay shop pages


    How to Make a Wired Corsage


    Flower Hour supports andprovides free content, makes and guides - we think it makes our shop a nicer place to browse and promotes creativity. We hope you agree, and have fun trying out the ideas.


    Paypal Buyer Protection ?

    Ibought a dvd a few months ago,

    BRITNEY SPEARS IN CONTROL - FRAGRANCE INFORMATION

    As I'm often asked to describe fragrances, I thought I'd compile some guides to assist when considering purchasing a particular fragrance. Choosing a fragrance is a matter of personal choice and preference but I hope these guides are useful


    BRITNEY SPEARS - CURIOUS IN CONTROL


    Design House - Britney SpearsYear Introduced - 2006Fragrance Notes - Loquat fruit, Midnight Orchid, Creme Brulee, Black Vanilla Bean

    Liz Earle Brightening Treatment

    This is a skin pick-me-up which works best when your skin is feeling particularly dull.


    It differs slightly from regular face masks, as the application time is only 2 minutes, as opposed to 5 minutes plus with others.


    It contains pure Aloe Vera and a blend of essential oils. You use only one pump, and apply onto a cleansed face.


    As with any face mask, do not use near the eyes or on sensitive parts of the skin.


    This product helps to get rid of open pores around the nose and face, it can also be used as a shaving cream. It leaves your skin looking so bright and refreshed.


    Once applied it makes your skin tingle slightly - no worries - it is just the naturally active formula getting to work deep into your skin.


    As an occassional product, Brightening Treatment has a good result, but around 10abottle, it is quite expensive. But you do only need to use it when you skin is looking really dull.


    It truely is like a facial in a bottle.

    Always Confirm Buyers Postal Address BEFORE posting!

    I have made the most horrible discovery - I have found that there are a few deceitful ebay buyers around just recently! I have been conned by ebayers who have a particular postage address showing up on their information when they pay for an item, then after you post the item they claim that you have posted it to the wrong address! When checking back to my copy of the invoice, which is the only thing you can really go by as it doesn't get updated with their new details, you find that you were correct at that time. You begin to doubt your sanity though, when you check with their Paypal payment and find that a new address is showing.


    I believe that this is a big black hole where unscrupulous ebay buyers can attempt to con you out of a postage refund! If, like me, you refund the postageto try to saveyour good reputation as a seller,you will find yourself out of pocket, and you may not get any feedback at all, either good or bad! You will just feel disappointed and cheated!


    I now add to my item listing that I will require an email/message confirming the address to which I should post the item - then keep it safe as Ebay and PayPal will do nothing to help you in this situation. I have been out of pocket due to this and have been left feeling very let down by both PayPal and Ebay, and it is spoiling my enjoyment of what was a great interest to be involved in.


    Two ebayers in particular have gotten away with this with me - one in the United States and one in England. One 'bought' a pair of Dianese motorcycle boots and one 'bought' a quiltng lamp. Sellers beware! The one in the United States claimed a full refund from me, even after I assured them that Royal Mail had told me they had been trying to locate the item as it had been sent by International Datapost. There seems to be no protection!


    Please, don't you get caught out too!

    blinking nes / cleaning nes cartridges and consoles

    How to clean your nes cartridges


    Collect all the necessary supplies - cotton but, rubbing alcohol, and the dirty cartridge (s).Dip one of the fuzzy cotton ends of a cotton bud into the rubbing alcohol.Slowly rub the wet end of cotton bud on the contacts of the game cartridge. Slide it back and forth touching every receptor.Flip the cotton bud over to the dry end then soak up the rubbing alcohol on the contacts of the cartridge.Keep repeating the first four steps until the cotton bud comes out clean. Cleaning Cartridges If the NES still doesn't work, the contacts inside the machine may be dirty.
    This method could be used to clean most other cartridges aswell

    How to clean your nes console

    Take off the six screws on the bottom of your NES. Remove the lid so you can see the "guts" of your Nintendo.Remove the metal shield protecting the innards.You will now be able to see the black part where the cartridge slides into the machine. At the back of it you will see the gold coloured receivers for the cartridge. Get a soft bristled toothbrush, that you don't care about, and dip it in rubbing alcohol.Slowly poke the bristles into the slots where the cartridge is inserted and carefully scrub.Reassemble your NES and let the contacts dry off before you use the system

    Scammers I got Scammed take note

    Having read a page advertised regarding being scammed I thought I would let you know I got scammed for a lot of money.


    I purchased a woodchipper off ebay for 1200 via paypal using a credit card for my protection. The payment didnt go through the first time due to it saying the credit card was refused. So I tried again and the payment went through.


    The woodchipper was being shipped over seas from america and the company explained that it would take up to eight weeks.


    Meanwhile had a credit card statement to explain the payment had gone through twice. Rung up paypal they said to get in conbtact with company this didnt work. Eventually the one payment was refunded.


    I arranged for local pickup rather than delivery I emailed and emailed there was no contact.


    In the end I opened up a dispute with ebay after many phone calls to paypal they explained they could not be held responsible as it had gone past a certain amount of days. Eventually they refunded the payment.


    I rung my credit card company to tell them fraudsters had taken the money do not allow any payments to come from the credit card.


    I recieved next statement they allowed a payment 1200 out of the account.


    Back to square one couldnt get any contact with company credit card company said it has gone over six months they cant do anything although it was there fault.


    I have to pay 1200 for goods I have never recieved. The company was selling mini scooteres aswell but both accounts they were running off have been closed down. I will name and shame the company is


    KPX MOTORS.


    Take Tips


    Always check feedback this company did have bad feedback but I didnt care I am much more aware now.


    I will never buy from abroad especially if they say they have to ship the item when you have paid sounds very dody.


    Always beware of items looking too cheap are there any bids is the price realistic could the item be stolen?


    If you have any doubts dont bother to buy trust your instincts.


    Hope this has helped the more peolpe that create their own space regarding scammers and their experiences the more we can be aware and stop this on ebay.


    Friday, August 6, 2010

    Making money from endlers

    If you are going make a living from Endlers there are a few rules I have picked up from endler forums. These rules might just help you on your way to a million.



    :#1 Obtain the original stock from a registered Endlers r us breeder. Swampriver aquatics would be a good choice. It

    Beware of COMPUTING-123

    This guy sells cheap hard drives and we actually got a few users to buy from him and test it out.All DEAD-ON-ARRIVAL.Under the his EBAY Trading rules, Sold as untested is a way he get round things and thus we find this guy actually have been selling loads of drives that are dead.What makes it worse, is that the drives are from OEM machines, thus with no repercussion to any RMA whatsoever even when the drive is still within warranty.So, I do ask ...if it's worth the hassle of getting a lemon?Just be aware

    ANOTHER PAYPAL PROBLEM (CON)

    I bought an item which cost me 40.. plus 10 p

    I BOUGHT A MEMORY FOAM BED [ I THINK ]

    Hi, I bought a Memory Foam Bed ?Well i think i did? How can you tell? It had no labels or tags on it, I have one already and this one don't feel the same to the touch, when we unpacked it the smell was sickening of chemicals, it made my eyes water and gave my wife a cough, we laid it flat in the other bedroom and opened the windows, a week later it still smells the same, we havn't been able to use it yet, how long will it take to clear?

    Big Brother 7 Who Goes You Decide Bedding Duvet Set

    A lot of people are out there to rip you off because you like big brother and the items you see in the house adding 10 or more on the official price. So im going to tell you how to get those lovely famous items.


    for the swirl bedding go to google key in who goes you decide thats the name of the bedding or click the link i have provided


    you may see some very familiar products... many of the items that can be seen in one of the most popular shows on TV.


    You can buy the very same bedlinen as seen on the show, As well as glassware, chandeliers and many more items that will all give your house that "as seen on TV" look!


    Original design bedding, available in single 20 and double 30


    Print cushions, available in black / pink and black / turquoise, from 8 to 10 each.


    Chandelier 20 also available in clear/crystal effect


    Pack of 4 black glassware 8 available in cocktail, flute and wine glass

    Honda x11

    Until 1998 the Honda Blackbird was one of the fastest bikes in the world, then Honda tried something different with the Blackbird frame, engine and running gear. They created the x11. They retuned the engine, gave it 5 gears instead of 6, an increase in bottom end torque and a {some call ugly}street bike look. I have owned an x11 for two years,whenI bought itI knew very little about it, butbeing a Hondathe x11 wassomething different.Since thenI have loved every mile of the 10000I have ridden it. The power delivery is awesome right the way up to its top speed of 160mph. Having about 140hp and 85lb of torque this is one mean motorcycle. At lower speeds and around the town its stable even with a pillion, the seat{800mm} and riding position is good for me{5'5"}Reliablity is without question, if you like alot of thottle a rear tyre will last you 3000 miles,I prefer Dunlop 207 Sportmax,chain and sprockets, for me, one season. The handling for a bike weighing 222kg{standard}is very good, once your moving you will feel confident on every corner. My mates have ridden mine and found it a very enjoyable experience. Built only from 1999 to 2002 if u can find one expect to pay between 2000 and 3500 depending on age, miles and condition. Most aftermarket goodies are not hard to find, stock parts are mostly Blackbird. I do my own service and mechanics soI can't speak dealer prices. Take a test ride and see.

    Cambridge diets aren't under the guidance of Dietitians

    Hi


    I just wanted to stress a point made in a guide to cambridge dietsI read here, it states that you undertake the diet under the guidance of a 'Cambridge Dietitian'. This is not true.


    Both the terms 'Dietitian' and Dietician' are Internationally legally protected titles and falsely claiming to be oneis a prosecutable offence. A Dietitian will have undertaken a degree course and post graduate training. They also continually develop their skills under a managed professional development scheme and undertake training annually to ensure that their skills are up to date. To practice they are registered members of the Health Professional councils (HPC) and are represented by the British Dietetic Association (BDA).


    A cambridge counsellor is a self employed 'agent' selling a product supplied by a direct selling company. The two should not be confused.


    If you want qualified professional dietary advice you can be reffered to a Dietitian via your GP or you can see one privately.Thanks


    Dave


    Car Multimedia Glossary

    Everyone wants in car multimedia these days, whether it's DVD, MP3, or TV you too can have it in your car! Get up to speed on all the terms with this guide fromIn-Car-Stuff .Active Matrix Display: A type of display where the image is refreshed frequently for a higher resolution. The most common type of active matrix display is TFT.Aspect Ratio: The ratio between the width and height of a screen. Usually either standard (4:3) or widescreen (16:9)Composite Video: A video signal carried on a single RCA conector in which the brightness and color portions of the signal are combined. Dashboard Bracket: An adjustable bracket that can be stuck or screwed onto a dashboard or centre console on which a screen can be mounted.DIN: The standard size of most car stereo units.Dolby Digital: An output providing 5.1 channel surround sound. Requires a Dolby 5.1 Amplifier or sound processor.Double DIN: The size of most double height car stereo units, often seen on Japanses import vehicles.Diversity Antenna: In order to get the best possible signal in a moving vehicle a diversity antenna is required. There are usually either 2 or 4 seperate antennas and the system chooses between the signal coming from each antenna so as to get the best possible reception.DVD Player: A DVD player plays DVD movies and often VCD, SVCD, CD, and MP3 (on CD or DVD) as well.FM Modulator: A device that allows you to tune your car radio into the audio signal from a DVD player or TV tuner etc. Can be either hard wired or wireless.Headphone Transmitter: Some screens have a built in infra red headphone transmitter for use with infra red headphones. The audio output of your DVD player is connected to the screen which transmits the signal via infra red.Headrest Screen: A screen that comes with a plastic shell for fitting into the rear of a headrest. A hole is cut in the headrest and the plastic shell fitted, the screen then clips into the shell.Ignition Memory: See Resume.In Dash Screen: A screen that fits into a standard DIN or double DIN car radio slot. Some in dash screens are designed to completely replace your existing car radio whilst others are intended to be used alongside it.Infra Red Remote Control: A wireless remote control for changing video inputs, adjusting volume, playing, stopping, fast forwarding DVDs etc. Just like your TV at home.ISO Connector: A standardised connector for connection of car stereos.Line Input/Line Output: A low level audio signal for connection between components or from or to an amplifier. Usually using RCA Connectors.LCD: Liquid Crystal Display, the technology used for flat-panel displays that works by shining light through pixel cells.Luminance: The brightness of a picture.Mirror Image: The ability to flip the image horizontally, usefull when using a reversing camera that doesn't have a mirror image output.Monitor: In a car monitors can be mounted on top of the dashboard, in the dashboard, in the back of a headrest, or on the roof. Multiregion: A DVD player that can play DVDs from any region/country.NTSC: The 525 line television standard used in North America, Canada, Japan, South Korea and some other countries.OSD: On Screen Display, allows easy adjustment of settings by displaying the current setting on screen and allowing selection from menus using a remote control or buttons on the screen.PAL: The 576 line television standard used in the UK and large parts of the world.Phono Connector: See RCA ConnectorPixel: A single point in an image, you see a complete image when multiple pixels are put together.Play Position Memory: See Resume.Resume: A feature of a DVD player that will remember where you were up to in a film when the player is turned off so that you can carry on from the same place next time.RCA Connector: Also referred to as a phono connector the RCA connector is a type of electrical connector which is commonly used in the audio/video market. The connector consists of a central male connector, surrounded by a ring.Rear View Mirror Screen: A rear view mirror with a built in screen behind a special mirror. When the screen is off the mirror works exactly as any other mirror. Turn the screen on and the image appears through the mirror. Ideal for reversing cameras.Resolution: The quality of an image measured in pixels. A higher resolution offers a clearer pictureRoof Mount Screen: A drop down screen that is fitted to the headlining of the car so that it is viewable from the rear seat.Sun Visor Screen: A complete replacement sun visor with a built in screen.TFT Screen: A type of LCD screen that uses thin film transistor (TFT) technology. Each pixel is controlled from 1 to 4 transistors, giving the best resolution of all flat-panel displays. TV Tuner: A TV tuner receives television broadcasts. Two types are available, an analogue tuner to receive the standard 5 terrestrial channels or a digital tuner to receive the Freeview channels.Video Splitter: A device to split a single video system into several outputs for connection to multiple screens.Copyright 2006In-Car-Stuff

    KTM 625 SMC LC4

    i have just swapped from a 2000 GSX1300R Hayabusa to a 2005 KTM 625 SMC LC4 with 1,200 miles on it and after riding it a while i still smile every time i get on it, its not a long distance bike but if smiles is what your after you won't go far wrong..



    Having now done some 500miles on my bike i still love it to bits, the service is cheap comp to my GSXR but it screws tyres like i drink water!! if you ride it hard it will do a tyre in under 500 miles!!!


    but you will smile so much you will get flyes in ya teeth! and jaw ache lol.



    in a word if you want FUN then you can't go far wrong, if you want style you can't go far wrong if you want to ride all day....... pick something else!!!! but for you will love it!!

    SUZUKI DRZ 400

    Ive had my bike for a month now and the grin hasnt left my face,ime 45 yrs old but cant wait to get out on her for an hour on the road and track,not fast but plenty of low down grunt to get you out of trouble,bikes weight is well balanced,electric start and shes of the button first time,gears are a bit clanky but they are positive,disc front and rear,easy to maintain with quick release panels for filter etc,after 30mins on the road your bum gets sore so its no good for long distances,Get one, go out for a bit of road and a bit of green laning or on the dirt and yooou will love it,have fun Del

    ILLEGAL COPY DVD's

    If you see the statement ( If you are not 100% sure what you are buying contact the seller before purchasing ) or words to that effectin the listing of anyCD's / DVD's you can be 100% sure you will be buying an illeagal copy that has been Burned/Copied onto a standard20p blank discthat you can get from your local supermarket if you do find that you haveinadvertentlybought an illeagal disc dont forget to mention it in the feedback that you leave so others are made aware of what that seller is selling and dont make the same mistake.


    you might think it issaving yousome money buying a copied dvd but when your disney dvd cuts to a hardcore porn film after five minutes of your kidsviewingit is it worth the three pound difference you might of saved ?


    The Complete Jude Deveraux Book List

    Jude Deveraux was born Jude White. She wrote her first book in 1976, and she was a teacher before becoming a writer. Her books feature strong heroines and are mostly historical romance.


    If you would like to search, please use "Cntrl" "F"...



    I spend hours compiling and checking each of my guides before publication. It is my goal to be one of the top 25 reviewers in Australia. If you do find this guide helpful in any way, please recognise my hard work by voting yes. I appreciate every helpful vote I receive.



    Series Books

    Velvet Series (Medieval) (Montgomery/Taggert Family)The Black Lyon - Earl Renulf De Warbrooke

    Reversing the tranaction? My 34,000 ebay debt story

    Have you ever sold something ridiculous for 1,000,000 on ebay? I did. And boy did I pay for that stunt.


    My first idea was to put a piece of paper that I claimed had been 'touched by God' on ebay. After me and my friends got bored of finding this hilarious, we thought it might be even funnier if my friend made a bestchance offer of 1million for it, and I accept it. So we did, and for the first 5 minutes we were killing ourselves laughing. I'd just made a sale of 1million pounds on ebay!!!


    Then I checked my seller's account, and... oh dear. Where had that debt of 17,000 come from?! Then it dawned on me - ebay's cut of the 1million. Oops. Hadn't thought of that minor technicality, had I. Panic obviously followed, then more panic, then a solution finding session. Ahh! It was easy! All I had to do was tell ebay that the buyer had refused to pay, and we had decided to call off the sale, and ebay would repay my 17,000. Phew! Situation over.


    So 3 days later, I FINALLY got the email telling me my debt had been revoked, and a link leading me onto victory. I read through the details (like you're meant to) and came to the end of the explanation of what had been done, where the line which will haunt me sat waiting.


    'If the transaction has been resolved between you and the seller, please click here to reserve the transaction'.


    Sounds simple enough to me! If I click here, it's definitely all completely finished. Thank the lawd! So I clicked it.


    What followed this was a very confusing period of 'what the HECK has just happened'. Suddenly I owed... '34,000'. Surely there had been some mistake? They must have added another 17,000 rather than take it away! Maybe?!... I emailed ebay to point out their fault in this matter, and forgot about it.


    Until the next day, when I found an email from ebay sitting in my inbox. It told me I did indeed owe this 34,000, and had to pay it by the end of the month. Ooh. Right. Pardon? Email back to ebay: 'WHAT?! HELP!!! I've done something stupid and now you're going to bankrupt me for it!! I want out!!!'.


    So what exactly DID I owe this money for? What had gone wrong? The answer: THAT LINE.'If the transaction has been resolved between you and the seller, please click here to reserve the transaction'.For you see, this line doesn't mean what it first sounds like. What this line means is:'If you and the seller have decided that you actually DO want to go through with the transaction again, click here'.Reserve meaning pay the money again. Makes sense now AFTER I've clicked it.


    To cut a long story short, it took 2 weeks of emailling ebay to convince them that this was all an accident, I didn't HAVE this kind of money, and I was very sorry it had happened, and I'd never do it again! They eventually let me off, saying it was a 'special circumstance'. More like 'special needs'.


    So, morals of this story:


    (1) DO NOT CLICK REVERSE!!! Unless, of course, you actually want to carry on the cancelled transaction! Because you can't unreverse it! (except maybe in my 'special circumstance')(2) DO NOT DO STUPID THINGS WITH MONEY EBAY! This is an auction site, not a playground! I found out the hard way! It might seem funny at the time, but believe me, the aftermath is NOT worth it!(3) Sorry again, ebay!! There's my sucking up for the day done...


    Thanks for reading my story, and... TAKE HEED!


    Mike

    Music Trade and Cigarette Cards Guide (Collectables)

    Music On Cigarette Cardsand Liebig Cards (Collectables)

    I've been collecting and selling early trade cards, cigarette cards and related collectablesfor over twenty years. Before you read this guide please subscribe to my card collecting newsletters for updates on rare cards and tips on buying by Clicking Here, thank you.


    Although cigarette cards were issued on many subjects from the 1870s-1930s, I feel that the popular music of the time was neglected. One of the cigarette card sets to defy the trend was "Dance Band Leaders", issued in 1936 by Lambert

    Dinosaur Trade and Cigarette Cards Guide (Collectable )

    Dinosaur Cigarette Cards

    Misleading jewellery info! 925 silver or plated?

    It always astounds me how misleading jewellery ads are.


    Gold is advertised as '10kt GOLD! GP .... which the actually mean to say 'Gold plated'


    or layered with gold .... gold plated! Duh! White Gold or should we say WGP (white Gold pated) or the best Silver (colored or tone).... hmmm could that be Silver Plated? Yep sure is!


    Sterling silver is 925 - stamped! Without the 925 sign it isn't sterling silver and will tarnish!


    Let's go on to Diamonds - the are described in various ways to promote 'Cubic Zirconium'


    Read ads carefully - Don't be fooled.

    Paypal Fraud

    I lost almost 500 (GBP) in a Paypal Fraud. I sold a camera on Ebay and was asked by the winner if I would ship to the Ukraine. I said if he paid, I would ship anywhere. OK, he paid, and I shipped and then Paypal reversed the transaction as the winning bidder had hacked into and used someone else's paypal account, or so I was told. This left me my camera, flash and lenses plus postage out of pocket. How safe is Paypal's security if this can happen. Of course I closed my account.


    europatrading, xstream, x-stream, x-stream

    Things to bear in mind when dealing with europatrading. Check bike for RUST on frame. Bits fall off due to poor quality bolts and workmanship. At least one positive review for europatrading was written BY THEM, (voto-francais). They also sell under the ebay account of voto-moto.


    They can turn nasty if you leave negative feedback and have been known to withdraw aftersales support, UNLESS you retract.


    They are SLOW in eveything they do, except taking your money. Excuses and LIES are second nature.


    Look around before committing. Good luck.

    Imposters

    I had an item for sale ( a 1 day auction )appear on my account, ( that was not mine !!) and at first it looked like a system quirk because the seller looked genuine with a high number of feedback, I reported it to ebay and requested it be removed, as I did not want to pay the pay-pal and ebay fees on a motorbike worth K5,000 !! This is a scam and has happened several times, always for a high priced item and always a 1 day sale. To stop these people try to check your ebay every day if pos, delete it if you can access it ( after all it is on your account !!) and report it .

    Secret of the 1p Auction with free P

    PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CLICK YES AND RATE THIS GUIDE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, THANKS


    The Secret to1p AuctionsThe Secret to1pAuctions is out . . .


    Let's face it, with 100,000,000 (that's ONE HUNDRED MILLION) members,Ebay is the undisputed King Kong of auction websites and a very popularplace indeed. Why would someone want to fight the search engine wars if theycould just tap into some of that traffic instead?


    Some Basics


    It's common knowledge that one of the measures of your status on Ebay isfeedback. With that many members, a lot of the newer ones are looking forcheap items just so they can build feedback. So the expert sellers are ofcourse glad to oblige them. If they sell enough items, they go on to becomePower Sellers which gives them even more recognition (and more money!!!)As a buyer, this works for you because there are no extra fees. Since thesellers are playing the game, you can be pretty sure of getting good feedbackfrom them. The fact remains, to make any real money on Ebay you need tobecome a seller yourself.


    For a seller to list an item for a penny, Ebay only allow you to sell one at atime. The minimum price for a Multi-Item Auction is 99p and peoplesearching for the lowest price will never see it.As a volume seller, listing items with a minimum listing fee of15p andselling them for a penny doesn't sound too smart, does it? Even if they get100% feedback they would still be losing150 for every 1,000 items sold.Expensive feedback!Consider An Ebay Store


    As a reward for setting up an Ebay Store, Ebay lets you list items for 30 days(instead of 7) and automatically renew them for only 2p an item permonth. The only problem with that is, they don't show up in the normal searchresults so it's hard to get people to notice them.(SHHHHH . . .Here comes the secret)



    The Secret to 1p Auctions


    2.


    Pre-Approved Buyers ONLYEbay allows links on your auction listing as long as the target is another Ebaypage. So you list your item as a normal 7 day 'Buy It Now' auction and requirebuyers to be pre-approved. When they click a button to request it, theyactually get forwarded to your store where you have a thousand of the sameitem in your inventory at the lower listing fee. The 'Buy It Now' item never getssold, so it continues to drive traffic to your store for the whole week!Of course, that's not the only item you have for sale there, is it?


    Running an Ebay Store with Resell Products is so popular for one reason only


    . . . It Makes Easy Money. All you need to do is get enough buyers to visit. Iffor some reason you still don't want to own an Ebay store, I'll show you laterhow to make money from this Report by giving it to those who might.This will still lose money, won't it?


    Unfortunately you're right, you will lose every time one of those penny itemsgoes out the door. But isn't the feedback worth it? (I didn't think so)


    So, what's the answer?


    Really it's quite simple, make sure this Special Report is the item you sell for apenny. Those who want to make money will see the potential and want to sellthe same Report in their own Ebay Store. (You can try an Ebay Store free for30 days!) However, they probably wouldn't want it to include YOUR links,would they?.


    So you offer another item in your Ebay Store that rebrands the links and sendsthe money for all the sales into YOUR PayPal account automatically. Just setup an inventory listing for the upgrade with instant payment and electronicdelivery just like the one-cent Report, then sit back and do nothing but watchthe cash register RING!

    Choosing a sub notebook (ultra portable) computer

    So what is a sub notebook computer?


    From my experience from working with many sub notebooks they all tend to fall into a similar size range, firstly the screen is no larger than 10 inches, and the surrounding bezel (plastic casing), doesn't exceed 11inches. More often than not a sub notebook may lack features such as an internal optical drive (CDROM / DVD etc), and floppy drive this is to help keep the weight and size to a minimum. Ideally a sub notebook has a long battery life, and will often have additional larger batteries to help insure this.


    Who is the intended user?


    Sub notebooks, or ultra portables as they are also known, are designed to be very mobile and portable, as they are light weight and smallthey often don't need a dedicated briefcase styled carrying bag.They're not as powerful as desktop machines, so aren't best designed for playing games on or intensive CAD applications, but are well suited togeneral office work or browsing the internet via yourmobile phone, onboard GPRS modem (e.g. flybook) or using a PCMCIA 3G/GPRS adapter. These types of laptops are designed for thepeople on the movewho need to work whilst on the move, butI've found them also very useful when I'm at Univeristy as a heavylaptop is a pain to carry around lectures and labs.


    What to buy?


    When buying a laptop it is important to check a number of things. Firstly for Windows XP to run, you need a minimum of 128mb of RAM, this can be fine for office work and a bit of web browsing, but to allow extra room for running a lot of programs 256mb is preferable. Screen, always check that the screen is 12" or smaller, otherwise you'll end up lumping around a heavy laptop, it's a good idea to check that the bezel around the screen isn't think, as a 10" screen with an extra 2" of plastic round it won't make the laptop very small. Hard disk size is preference really, but aim for no less than 10gb, otherwise you'll notice the space quickly disappear with photos and work. Batteries, always make sure you can buy replacement batteries at a low price, more often than not a seller won't state how long the battery lasts, if they don't, presume it's very short indeed, batteries can be very expensive so always check replacements are available and how much they cost.



    What is a good sub notebook?


    - The Acer C100 series of tablet sub notebooks are excellent, 10" screen backed up by up to a ghz of centrino power, wifi and bluetooth.


    -Toshiba Libretto series, L1,L2,L3,L5 and upwards... The librettos have very nice screens indeed and replacement batteries aren't too expensive.


    -IBM Thinkpad 240z,240z... PIII 500mhz and 600mhz respectively, maximum of 256mb of RAM, great machine, and don't cost much! (SVQA 10" screen)


    -Panasonic Toughbook CF-M34 - will have some of these in stock soon so will be able to comment about them when I have some.


    -Sharp PC-MM1110 - Very very slim laptop, 1ghz Crusoe with 256mb of ram and comes with a 15gb IPOD SIZE hard disk. They are lovely machines to use and have a XGA 10" screen. Batteries are available for these online. (Beware of the ipod sized hard disk though, slightly more difficult to replace / upgrade)



    To be continued ... (Updated 2/12/06)


    Is paypal the one for me?

    This Is a follow on to my guide originally written on 'BEWARE USING PAYPAL' also It answer's more questions and gives other warnings we ALL should know!


    Firstly I need to say a massive, huge thankyou to each and everyone of you who voted for me with the paypal guide which to my amazement got me at the top position of Number 1 Guide. Also for everyone who contacted me and shared their stories and all the ones who just sent a message saying 'thankyou' for standing up and speaking out about a multi million pound company that are robbing each and everyone of us, and getting away with it.


    Due to the 'BEWARE USING PAYPAL' guide many people have taken advice and have contacted me asking how do they take paypal off their listings, what should they do as they to have been a victim of Paypal and many more people who have taken action In Preventing themselves of being yet another case of 'FRAUD' or should I say LEGAL FRAUD?! that's what It seems like to thousands of us who just kept quiet and done nothing. I have been inundated with messages seeking advice which I have recently been prevented in responding to any message regarding Paypal. I think all my messages are being monitored as even If someone can't contact me the normal way through Ebay they have gone to a listing that I have had active and clicked on 'Ask seller a question' link however I have tried replying and If the subject is paypal or anything regarding the guide my message Isn't allowed to be sent as I get a security blocked message.


    The stories I've heard have made me dig deeper into Paypal and more and more pieces of the puzzle are now coming to light. Below Is a question that I feel very strongly should be brought to light as I dont want just sellers to think It's just them at risk which I have mainly mentioned In my 'BEWARE USING PAYPAL' guide. I have been stung by Paypal as a Seller and also been stung as a buyer. The seller's opinion/question Is below followed by my response which I strongly recomend everyone on Ebay to read as It answer's many question and explains why Paypal do the certain things that they do and why they do this and what they get by doing it.........................................................


    Q: Re: your Paypal warning guide.Very interesting ,but it summarises with suggestion we should all verify our paypal accounts. Paypal requests verfication for one reason,so that they can access your bank account,they prefer people to pay by bank debit rather than credit card as they save themselves the merchant charges when people pay by creditcard.They disguise this under the reasoning it's safer to trade with Verififed members! So by suggesting we all verify,it makes you sound Pro-Paypal!as you are effectively helping to encourage people to let Paypal debit their banksb rather than their credit cards! 27-May-06


    A: Do you know what the outcome Is of not verifying your account , when requested to do so? Obviously not!


    It's the other way around you have to put a credit card on file not your bank details , as one of the steps for verification. Why do they want your credit card details, you may ask yourself?! When Paypal have people's card details on file and pay for a purchase to their seller with their card, paypal can easily reverse the transaction and money goes back to the credit card known as a chargeback or something similar. This Is what happens when buyer's claim not to have recieved their goods or any sort of complaint on the buyers behalf. Where as If you had no funds in your paypal account they don't have the authority to just go into your bank account and help themselves like they can with your card details.Paypal requests , out of the blue , that you need to complete certain steps to verify your identity/account. This happened to me. I had to complete all the requested steps which were impossible for me to do.They wanted me to put a credit card on file which I didn't own, fax them an original full Driver's license (again I didn't own) and I think there was one other step which was another step which I could not do. Email after email I was told the same thingagain

    Cheap Postage Supplies

    Looking For Cheaper Postage Supplies, Visit the [parcel 2 go] website. As they are the courier service they offer you best prices with free P

    Stolen Medals traded on the open market - beware.

    Update as at Sep 2007 - Got 'em back. 7 years after I had reported them lost/stolen to the RMP at RMB Stonehouse my original medals have been returned. They had been in the Tailor's Shop all along - and despite me checking with the Tailor and reporting my medals last seen on my Blues tunic at the Tailor's shop, the RMP section (250yds from the Tailor!) still couldn't find 'em! No change there then!! It took a chance question from the storeman to a WO1 buddy of mine who was just in the shop getting his medals done, for any action to take place. Truly a case of not what you know, but who you know! Thanks for everyone's concern over my gongs and so nice to see there are still some real bootnecks out there. Stay safe, and as my Dad (ex 41 indep Cdo/Chosin) always used to tell me... keep yer head down, and yer arse tucked in!Good luck to you allRegards, Andy

    Rhodesia 'Bush War' Medals: a guide to naming issues

    In addition to the tens of thousands of general service medals awarded by Rhodesias security forces, Prison Service and Department of Internal Affairs, over 12,000 honours and decorations were awarded between 1970 and October 1981, when the Rhodesian honours system was replaced by that of Zimbabwe. This guide will give some brief points on issues around naming that collectors and dealers may encounter.


    Rhodesian awards ranged from the Grand Cross of Valourawarded just twice in the countrys historyto lesser decorations. These included honours for gallantry, such as the Bronze and Silver Cross of Rhodesia; for meritorious service, for example, different grades of the Legion of Merit; and for long service and good conduct, such as the Exemplary Service Medal.


    Disparity

    While the administration and publication of Rhodesian honours and awards was generally accurately recorded, the naming of awards to black recipients can sometimes cause confusion. To give an example, Kenneth Tovakare Chinyeres Bronze Cross of Rhodesia was awarded in 1970 and gazetted as awarded to Private K. Tovakari. He received his Exemplary Service Medal ten years later, but it was gazetted to 642782 WO2 T. Chinyerewithout knowing Chinyeres full name, no casual observer would ever imagine that these two medals had been awarded to the same person.


    Disparity in naming has several sourcessometimes white clerks simply confused black Rhodesians clan names and given names; transcribed names incorrectly or enlisted an individual under a European name in preference to an African one. Traditional naming systems in southern Africa mean that someone may often be known by different names to different groups of people, and that people may change their names at different stages of their lives.


    In addition, some black people who enlisted in the Rhodesian security forces may have used different names at different times in their career in order to minimise the likelihood that their families might face intimidation from opponents of the white minority government. In many cases awards may be positively identified as belonging to the same person through the recipients service number.


    Award details

    While practically all honours and decorations were published in the Government Gazette, the first concerted effort to collate and publish recipients details was not made until the publication of Contact, by John Lovett, in 1977, which contains an appendix of awards. Contact II, by the historian Paul Moorcraft, published in 1979, brought the list of recipients up to date, and dealers and collectors alike have relied on these books ever since to verify dates and details of Rhodesian medal awards.


    1,700 unpublished medal awards now available

    This brings its own pitfalls: most notably that the published list of recipients ends in late 1979. In fact, the Rhodesianand even Zimbabwean!government awarded an astonishing 1,700 further Rhodesian awards over the following two years.


    The only book containing details of these 1,700 previously unpublished recipientsincluding five Silver Cross winners, three recipients of the Police Decoration for Gallantry and 19 Bronze Cross awardsis The Rhodesia Medal Roll: Honours and Decorations of the Rhodesian Conflict 1970-1981, published by Jeppestown Press and coming out in September 2006 (ISBN 0-9553936-0-4 ). A hefty 300 pages, this authoritative work contains the full list of gazetted decorations from 1970 to the final awards in late 1981. Importantly, it also features an index of last namesinvaluable if you are trying to trace a single recipient. However, it does not include details of General Service Medal awards, which were not gazetted.


    On a related note, there is evidence that a tiny number of top-level Rhodesian gallantry awards may not in every single case have been gazetted, so that the fact that a named example exists but does not appear in a Government Gazette notice does not in every case mean that the medal is a fantasy piece. In this, as usual, let the buyer beware!


    Naming of B.S.A.C. medals

    One further word of warning relates to a hoard of un-issued British South Africa Company medals from the 1890s which were stolen, along with a large number of other military medals, from the National Museums of Zimbabwe at majority rule in 1980. Some of the B.S.A.C. medals were subsequently engraved with genuine names, often of casualties, and they trickled onto the market during the 1980s. Authentication and usually relies on knowledge of the whereabouts of the genuine medal, or close comparison of naming styles with a medal of the same issue known to be genuine.


    Z.M.S.

    For anyone interested in Rhodesian and Zimbabwean medals and military history, the Zimbabwe Medal Society in Harare accepts overseas members and publishes a brilliant Journal packed with information and researchmembership is strongly recommended.

    Sky Gnome

    There appear to be some 'extra' problems with Sky Gnome which buyers on ebay might like to consider. Ihave just bought a Sky gnome from Sky and am sending it back - it will not work - Sky suggest it is because my neighbour's wireless device interferes with it. I live in a flat - something for purchasers toconsider when buying!

    Using 90 and 100 minute CD-R Media (overburning)

    A standard CD-R is capable of recording 80 min of audio or 700MB of data, until recently a new 90-99 min format has been developed utilizing "Overburn"; however because Overburn feature is not standardized feature offered on all CD-R Writers in the market, not all CD Writers can recognize the extra storage space present on the disc.

    To be able to used the extra 10-20 min of extra recording space, you need to have supporting hardware and software and the correct software setting.

    Most CD/DVD Burning software has limited the recording size to protect the burner that does not support 90 minutes burning. Therefore, most software disabled the "Overburning" feature by default.

    In Nero version 5.x or earlier, go to 'Preferences' on the 'File' menu. Change the time figure for the red marker to 90 or 99 minutes to match the discs your going to use.

    Under the 'Expert Settings' enable Overburning, change the time figure to 90 or 99 minutes to match the discs used.

    When you go to burn the disc and the 'Write CD' dialogue box is shown, click on the right-most tab labelled 'Burn'. Make sure that the setting shows 'Disc at Once' not 'Track at Once' (you have to have 'No Multisession' checked). If it won't let you choose 'Disc at Once', try modifying your settings under the Multisession tab.

    Nero version 6 is a little different. When adding data to a compilation, click on the 'More' icon at the bottom of the screen. Select 'Configure' which brings up the 'Preferences' window.

    Under the 'General' tab, change the time figure for the red marker to match the discs being used (e.g. 90 or 99 minutes). Under the 'Expert Features' tab change the maximum disc size to match the discs being used.

    Other popular recording software that allows Overburning are: WinOnCD, CDRWin, Feurio,CDRWIN, Discjuggler, Discsafe, Simdisc