I then suggested that she should get one online.  She had tried looking for one on eBay and this process didn't suit her.  I told her that I would check around a little and give her some Web addresses to check out.  I then added, "hey, maybe you can get a shipping discount."  She commented "no such luck."  I'm wondering when I'll see her again.  Do I have any pending orders from any site that uses USPS?  Is USPS becoming my shipper of choice?  Will Janet buy a VCR online?  Will she ever get more than one day off during the week?  Will I ever offer Janet a cup of coffee?  (Amy and I are not big coffee drinkers but we keep a stash of Starbucks on hand for guests.)  She did mention that her seventeen year old son used to play with Batman stuff when he was younger and she'll see if she can find some of it and bring it over for the boys -- Batman came up in conversation when we were discussing eBay.  Will her son give them up?  Will I offer to deliver to her the VCR on her day off?

Before I detail some alternatives for Janet, I've got to say that the weight plates from MVP.com arrived today.  The UPS delivery person was very nice as he brought the 70 pound package right into our front hallway.  He did appear to be struggling a little; maybe I'm not as out of shape as I think.  When I brought the package down to the basement athletic center, I struggled a bit with it myself as the weight of the package was not evenly distributed and the package was compact.  The packaging was reasonably good.  The weight plates were sitting inside a strap sealed box that was inside the first box that I opened -- good packaging design as you don't want seventy pounds of weights coming undone during transit.  One of the ten pound plates was slightly chipped in one area and I'll think about whether this is a big deal or not (and if I feel it is, then I'll send it back for a replacement).

Now back to Janet's VCR.  Below, I detail a few alternatives for her given a budget of $60-$110.

Merchant - ............Buy.com
Brand and Model - Panasonic PVV4620 (4 HEAD HIFI VCR WITH VCR+ SILVER)
Product Price - ......$139.99 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................$20 off $100+ purchase coupon good through June 30, 2000 
.............................(when linking through http://www.deal-finder.com/coupon/1083.html) 
Net  price - ...........$109.99
Comments - ..........Item is "on order" and not in stock at this time.

Merchant - ............Buy.com
Brand and Model - Panasonic PVV4520 (4 HEAD HIFI VCR WITH VCR+)
Product Price - ......$119.99 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................$20 off $100+ purchase coupon good through June 30, 2000 
.............................(when linking through http://www.deal-finder.com/coupon/1083.html) 
Net  price - ...........$99.99
Comments - ..........Item is "on order" and not in stock at this time.

Merchant - ............Buy.com
Brand and Model - JVC HRVP58U (4 HEAD HIFI VCR WITH FLYING ERASE HEADS)
Product Price - ......$119.99 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................$20 off $100+ purchase coupon good through June 30, 2000 
.............................(when linking through http://www.deal-finder.com/coupon/1083.html) 
Net  price - ...........$99.99
Comments - ..........Item is "on order" and not in stock at this time.

Merchant - ............Mercata
Brand and Model - Panasonic PVV4540 (4-Head Hi-fi Stereo VCR w/VCR Plus+)
Product Price - ......$127.69 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................20% off up to $100 for new customers 
Net  price - ...........$102.15
Comments - ..........This Powerbuy will close on June 24 at 10:00pm PDT.

Merchant - ............Mercata
Brand and Model - Panasonic PVV4620 (4-Head Hi-fi Stereo VCR w/VCR Plus+)
Product Price - ......$139.87 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................20% off up to $100 for new customers 
Net  price - ...........$111.90
Comments - ..........This Powerbuy will close on June 25 at 10:00pm PDT.

Merchant - ............Mercata
Brand and Model - Sharp VCH993U (4-Head Hi-fi VCR)
Product Price - ......$98.58 
Shipping fee - ........$0.00 
Deal - ...................20% off up to $100 for new customers 
Net  price - ...........$78.86
Comments - ..........This Powerbuy will close on June 24 at 10:00pm PDT.

Amy hosted her "mom's group" today and one of the moms was driving her new Honda Odyssey.  She likes it and I did get a better view of the interior.  I did not get inside; it looked decent.  I can see how awesome a "staging area" one could create -- for easy third row seat entry and egress -- by taking out one of the second row seats.

My Homeruns order arrived just at the end of the delivery range.  When the delivery person was unloading the soda, I realized that I had accidentally ordered twelve packs of Diet Coke without caffeine rather than with it.  I thought about getting it replaced, but it's no biggie (it was not worth the effort and wait for a replacement).