I've been looking to buy a plush Domo-kun for some time with little luck; they're hard to find in the States (there were 6" plushes at Urban Outfitters a few summers ago, but it was never available on their website and, like Hot Topic, it's not a store I'd go in if I can avoid it) and I'm too cheap to spend $30 or more for an 8" plush on eBay when they're 1500 yen (~USD$12) in Tokyo. I did find a 12" Domo-kun plush for $28 from a store in California, but it lacks the nubbly texture as seen in the shorts...

So I'm buying some nubbly fake fur and making my own darn Domo-kun and currently estimate material costs to be around $15 for a 16" Domo-kun. If anyone else wants me to make them one, drop me a line in a few weeks and we'll talk.

...

I'm going to quit buying on eBay unless I'm absolutely sure to be online at the end of any auction. Sniping has become the purchase strategy of so many it's pointless to bid early unless you're using Buy It Now. The winner will inevitably not bid until the last 2 minutes of the auction, so regardless of how ridiculous your maximum bid is, they'll sit there and bid up until they get it. On the bright side, I've caused someone to pay $14 for two Playskool dollhouse figurines worth $3 and someone else to pay $20 for a book worth $5. If I had a little bit of a cushion -- guess it's time to sell more of my random crap, eh? -- to play with, this could become a really amusing pastime. Muahahaha... I like the idea of making people pay through the nose for sniping.