Just browsing today’s TV listings on The Times website. Made me chuckle anyway!

I have just been informed via email from ebay that a watch I had listed for sale (for the past couple of weeks) has been delisted because it’s a counterfeit – or the listing violates their counterfeit policy. This has been determined, so the information states, by AI.

The watch is not a fake (Indeed, in my time watch collecting I’ve never once seen this model faked!), the listing description was clear and honest. There were numerous photos. It was a Seiko 7A28-7040 JDM in case anyone’s interested. Nice watch and I’ve bought and maintained quite a few over the years. Now and again I sell one.

So, after a chat with one of ebay’s agents, I’ve started an appeal. But what can you say to an ebay adjudicator? (rhetorical). I know more about this specific model than anyone at ebay, and probably as much as anyone else outside of Seiko. I’ve stripped and rebuilt a lot of these and know them inside out.

In all my years on ebay I’ve never had such a thing happen. I have 100% feedback too.

I think it’ll be my last listing there whatever they decide. It used to be a reasonable place to buy and sell, but it’s going to the dogs imo (and I thought that even before this current issue).

My shed has a small intruder alarm (internally) on the door. Keypad operated and makes one heck of an ear piercing din when it goes off. Seriously loud.

The other day I was leaving the shed and, in a senior moment, for the first time completely messed up the arming sequence. I could tell it wasn’t going to arm properly so I tried to disarm it and start again. Well, that was a big mistake. I messed it up. The alarm then decided to do its own thing with my right ear about a foot away.

Jeez it hurt. I’m pressing buttons like crazy and the damn thing would not stop. Eventually I pressed the palm of my hand over the little speaker to get some aural respite while I collected what was left of my thoughts. I was trapped like this for some five minutes trying to figure out my next move. I didn’t want to rip the alarm off the wall and destroy it (it’s been a good little device), so I decided to rip the wiring out of the door reed switch, unclip the alarm body from the wall and then get to a screwdriver to remove the batteries and silence it. Man, I’ve never faffed about so much in my life, but eventually I got to the kitchen and the small tool kit under the sink and got the thing silenced.

Three days later and my right ear still feels weird, though the imprint of the speaker has thankfully disappeared from my palm!

New reed magnet ordered, soldering iron at the ready, and it’ll be fixed. Recommisioning will be done wearing my gardening equipment ear defenders!

Vanguard are about to charge £4 pm fees for managing balances less than £32K.

So I’ve started the process of taking my money out, as £4 pm will definitely destroy any future market gains (I might add, I have nowhere near 32K invested).

I’m also going to have to figure a way to protect my daughter’s SIPP with them, once again not a huge amount in there. Will probably switch it into cash (for which there are no fees) and then look for another provider.

I really hope this backfires on Vanguard. It’s been fun and moderately profitable ‘playing’ with small amounts on the market. But now it’s the big investors that will remain untouched, while the smaller ones are scalped.