🛍️ Hack eBay with AI to find secret treasures at lower prices

It’s Monday, {{first_name | friend}}. You ever wonder how stuff gets its name? Like Wi-Fi. Feels pretty straightforward, right? In a world that can’t function without it, you’d think we’d all know what that little “Wi” actually stands for. Btw, special love goes out to Southwest Airlines for announcing all flights will have free Wi-Fi starting Oct. 24. 

🤔 Put your curiosity to the test: What does the “Wi” in Wi-Fi actually stand for: A) Wireless, B) Wideband, C) Nothing or D) World internet? Prepare to be shocked by the correct answer at the end.

🔑 Safe, smart retirement savings: I trust Goldco to protect my retirement with real gold and silver. Tangible, time-tested assets give me confidence and peace of mind. Right now, you can get up to 10% back in bonus silver when you open a qualifying account. Protect your future today! — Kim

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You know that thrill of finding something on eBay for way less than it should cost and the “Yes, I am the deal master” feeling? Here’s where ChatGPT or your favorite AI bot shines. It helps you find the hidden gems that no one else is seeing.

Most people search with the obvious keywords. “Vitamix blender.” “Apple Watch.” “Le Creuset pan.” “New iPhone.” But eBay is filled with sellers who spell things wrong, use weird titles or just aren’t great at listings. 

One person might type “vitamx,” another might just say “blender my stupid ex left.” That’s gold if you know how to dig for it with a little help from ChatGPT.

 “Give me 20 alternate ways someone might list a Vitamix blender on eBay, including misspellings, abbreviations or vague descriptions.” You’ll get results like vitamx, vitamixx, high-speed kitchen blender, commercial smoothie maker and vtmx (yes, really).

Some sellers are super casual and just write “expensive blender I never used.” Others might list it under a brand nickname or a model number you’d never think to search for.

You want those listings. Less competition, better deals.

What the heck does all that do?

Here are some tips on using advanced operators on eBay’s site. You can also tweak filters to only show auctions ending soon, new listings or “Buy It Now” deals that just popped up. 

ChatGPT can help write your listing title, the description, and it’ll even tell you which keywords to use so more people see your item. So smart to use it for this purpose.

I hope these tricks help you save a couple bucks by finding great stuff buried under bad listings. And yeah, it works for everything from sneakers to electronics to handbags to collectibles.

Oh, with the new iPhone 17s coming this week, it’ll be a great time to score deals on older iPhones. Just be sure to hunt for an iPhone 12 or newer.

🤗 I just put my old vacuum on eBay. It was just sitting around collecting dust. (lol)

A woman in New York says her esthetician wore Meta Ray-Ban shades during a very private moment. I also talk to John from Atlanta, who’s scrambling to keep his online model train store on track. Plus: the iPhone 17, hackers faking Google calls, and drones that chase off wolves.

Listen on Komando.com →

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🚌 Scams on wheels: Maybe you’ve seen those Facebook posts like “Win this luxury motor home!” Yeah, they’re scams. You comment, click a sketchy link, give up your info. And that RV? Stolen photo. No prize. Just scams, inconvenience and crushed dreams. There’s taking a camper to go fishing, and then there’s getting phished by a camper. 

Channeling bad vibes: Get a call about a 50% discount on your Comcast bill? It’s also a scam. They’ll ask you to call back the number on your caller ID. Don’t. That’s a burner phone set up to grab your bank or credit card info. If it sounds too good to be true and comes from Comcast? You know the drill. PSA: Look for other cable companies to be used the same way to steal your money.

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🎥 Welles, Welles, Welles, what do we have here? AI studio Showrunner is trying to rebuild Orson Welles’ butchered masterpiece The Magnificent Ambersons. The missing 43 minutes were burned for storage space in 1942. Now, AI + live actors + face-swapping tech are piecing it back together. Amazon is backing it, but without the movie rights, it’s just a very expensive Frankenstein film.

The Oakland AIs: The Oakland Ballers are going full Moneyball 2.0. They’re going to be the first pro sports team to let an AI manager handle in-game lineup, substitutions and field positions. It’s a one-time stunt, but it’s a first for pro sports. Fans used to manage the team via app. They lost. Now it’s the bots’ turn.

🔌 Go ahead, walk into an EV dealership and ask how much they charge: So here’s the scoop: People are picking up brand-new electric cars for less than $100/month. One guy leased a $65,000 Kia EV9 for $189. It’s all because tax credits are about to expire on Sept. 30, and dealers are basically handing out keys like coupons. If your car’s dying, run, don’t walk to your local EV dealer.

🍏 Apple’s iDrop: Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT, Apple will roll out its new, smarter Siri, along with the ultralight iPhone 17 Air, base iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. We’ll also see Apple Watches and smart home gear. Stream it on YouTube or Apple’s site. I’m just hoping the iRon will now work with the iWash, iCook and iClean network. (That was so bad, it was so good!)

Your smart TV isn’t just watching shows, it’s watching you. Here’s how to stop it from tracking everything you do.

Listen on Komando.com →

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🏠 Front door mat (17% off): Stop dirt at the door. Built tough for rain, snow and messy shoes.

🪰 Indoor fly trap (32% off, two-pack): Ditch the messy flypaper. Plug these in, and they’ll handle little invaders.

💚 Mesh screen cleaner (10% off): Finally, a way to clean dusty window screens without pulling them out.

✨ Microfiber cleaning cloth (47% off): Just add water, and watch your glass and mirrors shine.

🧽 Scrub the rest: More handpicked goodies that make your home spotless are waiting for you on my Amazon storefront.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Need to take a quick photo? On iPhone, swipe left on the lock screen. On Android, double-press the Power button. No passcodes, no missed shots.

🗂️ Show hidden files: By default, Windows 11 hides certain system files and app data. But sometimes you need to see them to clean up old folders or fix an issue. Open This PC or any folder, click the three dots at the top and choose Options. In the new window, go to View and toggle on Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

▶️ YouTube PiP on Chromebook: You can keep a YouTube video running while working on other tasks. Place your cursor on the video player, double-tap with two fingers on the touchpad, and select Picture in picture. A floating window will appear that you can resize and move anywhere on your screen.

🔋 Find power-hungry apps on your phone: On iPhone, go to Settings > Battery and check the Activity chart and Battery Usage by App. On Android, open Settings > Battery > Battery Usage to see the app list. Once you track down the main culprits, cut down their background refresh, notifications or sync times.

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1,289 Mbps
That’s the download speed Amazon’s satellite internet just flexed. Basically, it downloaded an entire HD movie in the time it takes you to tie your shoes. But don’t get too excited, that speed came from a fancy business-grade dish, not the one you’d actually get. Still, it’s a flashy preview of what might be coming (eventually).

20,000
That’s how many years a human could live if we hack aging at the DNA level. One scientist ran the math and decided immortality is basically just a software update away. So yeah, your great-great-great-great-great-grandkids could still be waiting on you to Venmo them.

$425 million
That’s how much Google owes for ignoring your “do not track” setting. Apparently, when you said “no thanks” to being tracked, Google heard “just a little bit.” The fine’s big, but considering the plaintiffs asked for $31 billion, it’s more of a slap than a shutdown.

Honey, I shrunk the Zenith

You know what isn’t 75 inches, 8K or trying to guess your next binge? This tiny retro TV that looks like it came from Barbie’s living room.

Meet the $60 TinyTV 2, a pint-size throwback that channels old-school Zenith vibes in a screen barely bigger than a postage stamp. It’s got it all: clicky dials, TV static snow and a remote the size of a cough drop.

No streaming. No AI. No “Because you watched 12 true crime docs in a row…” Just a 1.14-inch IPS screen, 16-bit color, a Raspberry Pi brain and enough nostalgia to make you crave sugary cereal and Saturday morning cartoons.

0️⃣ The answer: C) Nothing. Yep, it doesn’t stand for Wireless or Wideband, and definitely not Wicked internet. Surprisingly, the “Wi” just means nothing. A branding agency in the late ’90s just thought it sounded zippy. But hey, it worked.

Fun fact: Wi-Fi’s technical name was “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence,” so yeah, I’m all glad they went with vibes over vowels.

🐨 On a flight to London the other day, I met a network engineer from Australia. I asked him, “So, this means you come from a LAN down under?” He just shook his head, but I laughed!

Before you head out: Gold and silver stand the test of time, and Goldco makes it simple to add them to your retirement savings. Get started now and claim up to 10% back in bonus silver! Do it now while you’re thinking about it.

🚀 Drop a rating and a comment below. I read them all. And thanks for subscribing to my free newsletter. Remember, there’s no buffering allowed on your goals with me by your side! — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Bing Image Creator, MEXERRIS, TinyCircuits

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