u/PatricksMustache

Hi everyone, my 12 year old nephew seems to be a bit interested in coins after seeing some old junk silver I got and me explaining how they're not silver anymore. He has a lot of various interests he dives into pretty deep (he's not, NOT on the spectrum, haha), but I think he mostly learns from YouTube, and I'm concerned about the quality of info he'd get there. I'm looking for a good book about the history of coinage, that maybe highlights some of the more desirable coins and what makes them so. I think history is neat, but have too much going on to take up the hobby myself, so I'm not sure where to turn to. I'd appreciate any suggestions for well-respected books I could gift him for christmas to expand his knowledge. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I run a small repair business and bought a used fuel pump and tank for a customer's vehicle, with their approval for used parts. It is a motorcycle and had sat for 5 years, ruining the pump and inside of the fuel tank. As the customer is in no hurry and only plans to sell the bike once running, plus I've been swamped with people who are in a hurry, it took me about 6 weeks to get to installation. Once I did, I found the used pump to be defective as well. I alerted the seller, whose only response was "it worked fine when it was here". I explained that it was not working now and described the testing process to confirm it is indeed a bad pump. After 48 hours with no response to that, I chose the only option listed, which was request a return (the listing said no returns, and I'm actually more interested in a replacement than a refund, but there was no other option). The claim was immediately denied on the basis of no returns. I sent the seller another message asking if they were going to ignore me or help make this right, to which they responded again that it tested fine and "you own it now".

I'd like input on the best course of action/steps to follow in order to help ensure I get a resolution in my favor. I can ask eBay to step in to help, but it will be three days before I'm allowed to submit that request. I can also just file with Paypal for a refund. I know things can get weird with eBay being a seller's paradise, so I'd like some guidance on exact steps to follow. Thanks all for any useful replies.

Twenty-nine years in the business, and I'm as burnt out as one can be. I took over the family shop 12 years ago, and have always struggled with profitability. Small shop in a small town, where if you're not "popular" (i.e., you don't go to the right church or whore yourself on social media), you may as well not exist. Add in that my S.O. is in travel medicine and struggles with the distance between us, and I'm ready to walk away. We were always set up different, paying salary regardless of production, and with the shop owning the tools. So I'd have to invest thousands (that I don't even have after a hard winter lull sucked up my savings to keep the doors open) into tool storage before I could even try to find another job at a traditional shop near where my S.O. is currently. Add in that I'm personally kinda slow, and I would never make money in a flat-rate shop (we didn't track it normally, but I calculated myself a couple times as turning out maybe 15-18 hours a week while turning wrenches for 25-30 out of the much longer-than-that time I was actually at the shop; the rest of my time was running the office type stuff).

So, what have those that switched careers found that satisfied the itch of being productive and working with your hands as well as your mind, but hopefully also allowed freedom to travel to new locations about every 6-12 months? My S.O. suggested a medical job for me, but I don't think I could handle gross, naked people, let alone the schooling (I was a very poor student in high school, especially in the maths and sciences). Additional info: we never did exhaust work, so I can't really weld; I can count using only my two hands how many control modules I've programmed in the last 10 years, so I'm not entirely Tech/IT savvy. I've thought about trying my hand at car sales, but not only do I think my honesty would hinder me (as also commented on by a friend who used to be in car sales), but one of the best ways to make money there is staying in one area and building repeat business. I've also considered insurance or extended warranty adjuster, but I can't seem to find any detailed info on the education/experience requirements for that.