My urges led me again to web, where to my surprise I found promotional replicas of the One Ring, licensed by New Line Cinema, being sold. These were manufactured by Applause Toys but looked just like the movie version and were not plastic but metal collector’s items. They even came with a chain (like Frodo wore in the film) and a cool collector case. These too didn’t seem too expensive and would seem to satisfy my urges. Only one problem: every web store that sold them was sold out and didn’t seem to be getting any more in since they were made in a limited run. Again I went to Ebay, and as luck would have it, found these rare rings being auctioned. I was appalled though at how much some of these were selling for (originally these sold for around $20 and were selling on Ebay for more than $100). There was no way that the small amount of principle I had left was going to let me pay that much for a $20 toy. Being the bargain-hunter that I am, I thought I could turn to toystores for the ring and cut Ebay and the greedy sellers out of the loop. Looking back at the irony of it all, I turned out to be greedy as well.

I spent what is close to many hours on the phones with toy stores and toy departments, putting up with overworked and sometimes hideously stupid workers who all had the same answer: they did not have the Applause version of the One Ring. They had the Applause figures, but not the ring. I thought that if I wanted the ring, I’d have to search for it myself. Whenever I went to a department store, I detoured to the toy department and found a fast way to disappointment. I spent an afternoon scouring the toy stores in my area. Time was wasted, but it didn’t seem to matter. I always justified it by saying the hunt was part of the fun. I wanted the ring. Its power was growing.

My hideous desire for the Applause ring often led me back to the web and Ebay simply looking at the many sellers who were selling the ring. I was fanatical. I was like a gambler playing the slots, hoping that this would be his lucky shot that would make up for everything. But rather than pulling the one armed bandit, I was clicking the links. I used search engines to scour the web for the one ring at every opportunity—lunch breaks, coffee breaks, it didn’t matter. Eventually, an opportunity came about to own the elusive ring at a rather reasonable price. It felt like a coup. I almost felt I had to keep it secret. Never mind the cost of the time and energy I had spent searching for it, it was cheaper than Ebay, damn it, and I had to have it. I bought it and anxiously awaited its arrival in my mailbox. It took what seemed like forever to get to me. Even though I was still waiting for it to arrive, I should have been, by all evidence, finally satisfied. But I wasn’t. I was still playing the links, clicking my way to the rings. I saw all the replicas from the cheap to the expensive. Some I’d seen before, some I hadn’t. When the opportunity came to buy another Applause version, I bought another. Why? The ring had a power over me. I caved. It was greed pure and simple. All manifested by the Ring.

I even had the opportunity to own a replica of the original ring used in the movie, and almost forked over $400 to own it. I needed help. Should I have destroyed the Ring like Frodo? I don’t know if that would have helped or made matters worse.

Time has passed and like Frodo, I’ve been strong. I’ve resisted searching for the One Ring on the web. I’ve gone on with my life and I feel much better now. But sometimes, when its dark and no one’s looking, I still contemplate checking Ebay.

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