It's almost perfect, but I think the dining table could use a tiny flower arrangement otherwise I wouldn't change a thing!! It looks so homey & ready to move in! Good luck on your showing! I would put orange/yellow & tad of blue for centerpiece-don't know if top of chapstick container would work or not, i'm thinking the fabric type flowers they use on wedding cake tops etc. Have fun at showing!1 Jan

kburks, thanks for sharing the info on Decorators Chest - if you order, let us know how it goes! It reminded me of www.lampsplus.com. They carry many of the same items, have good sales, and offer free shipping on many of their selections. We have ordered quite a few things from them, and are happy to say we have been very pleased with our purchases. They pack their items very well (sometimes, too much!) and nothing has arrived broken or damaged. As far as Kirklands goes, it depends on where your store is. The closest one to us is the one in Biloxi, MS and it is horrible. It doesn't even feel like a Kirklands when you enter....

nosoccermom, that's kind of a tough one. If the item is unique and you can't buy it elsewhere, you could try contacting the seller and asking for a Buy It Now price. (You're sure it's not that they are just relisting an identical item, right?) Hard to know how they will react but I don't see what it could hurt. I would write the request carefully so they can't really tell if you're accusing them of shill bidding or not; if they think you are going to report them, they'll probably just block you immediately and move on. How is the rest of their feedback? Sometimes you can look at the detailed feedback other buyers have left to figure out if the seller is above board, or not well behaved. If they react negatively (or if you find bad things in their feedback) and you decide it's a lost cause, then I'd probably contact eBay and report the practice. As far as I know eBay still does not look kindly on this practice at all. However, I don't think there is really a way to force the seller to act like he should (to make sure you can buy the item.)

This thread is hysterical and so timely now that the holidays will soon be upon us. Fortunately I haven't received too many hideous gifts...at least not from friends or relatives who live near me. My aunt across country will never know I never used the afghan she made me for my wedding 25 years ago. However I'm too sentimental to give it away because I know how much work went into it so it sits in a box in the back of my linen closet. My husband can't understand why I keep it and once jokingly said "Some day we'll be old enough for it" Ouch. Really depends on what it is, some things end up like the afghan, others go to an out of the way shelf or cabinet for a short time. Some will get returned especially if they came with a gift receipt. If it's from someone like my sister we're OK with saying hate it take it back. And I'm OK with straight to the Goodwill. Never burned or displayed any gift when the giver came to visit. Every year a few girlfriends and I take turns hosting a holiday lunch. We do a small secret Santa gift exchange and the last few years we added a "pink elephant" gag gift exchange. A strange, funny or hideous item that can be new, old regifted, you name it. Usually wrapped beautifully on the outside and a horror on the inside. You get the change to steal before opening and after and it's become a hightlight of our gathering. Usually I choose by the wrap and walk away with a beautiful gift bag or box I'll definitly use again, but sometime it's true that one person's trash is another's treasure because I can't believe some of the crap the girls have coveted!