I'm not one to use eBay all that often, and when I do, I prefer the "Buy it Now" option. But, here is an item I bid on...and won. This makes the fifth item I've purchased through eBay, second by bidding.

• Panasonic DMR-ES40VS VCR/DVD Combo Player/Recorder

We have been looking to get one of these for some time, now. The biggest reason is so that we could back up our old and failing VHS tapes to DVD. Of course, most of our store-bought VHS tapes will probably not transfer, but we will be able to catalogue everything we've recorded ourselves from TV, then also record from TV to DVD, then also record from our video camera to DVD. All-in-all, its nice to have shopping for one of these behind us.

Next such purchase on the list would be a widescreen HDTV, but that is something down the road (later than anticipated, actually, barring a huge price drop).