How my rumballs became a part of eBay History

Food has a way of bringing us all together – it is one of the basic needs of mankind and mankind needs companionship as well. So get your favorite comfort food and find a friend to share it with and the world may seem all right to you once again. - beachbadge

I am not someone famous, nor are my rumballs made with some special hard to find ingredient but some how my rumballs have found a place of notoriety right here on eBay. I guess the best place to start to explain about my rumballs is with what they are, and why I make them.

I have always loved the idea of cooking and baking but I never really had the chance to learn and practice. I work shift work so many times for me dinner is at 7am and breakfast at 11pm so you see where part of the problem comes from. Who makes a fancy dinner at 8 in the morning! Of course my family and friends find it funny for me to be known worldwide for a culinary delicacy! Until they find out that it is for my rumballs.

I found the basic rumball recipe years ago and have tweaked it in my own special way to make my rumballs really something to remember. I made them right before Christmas one year and I had them all to myself since my husband doesn’t like rum. The next year a few of my family members and friends had the chance to taste them and then every year after I made them around Christmas I had people asking me to make them some. So I did.

Now how my rumballs ended up being known by the eBay Community was all because of a thread that was started on an eBay Community Discussion Board called "The Park". The Park started a twice a week ** SHARE YOU WARES (SYW) ** thread, which was almost like an online Tupperware Party. Everyone was invited to join in to chat and post a few of their items they had listed on the eBay site as long as the items matched the theme of the day. While we all were posting and shopping during the SYW a few eBay Pinks* and members started to bring virtual snacks to "share". So one day I offered a virtual dish of my rumballs! After that they became the hit of the Share Your Wares and we had many laughs and fun with members looking for me to post with the rumballs – even eBay’s own Elfie made them one of his favorites!

eBay Live & the Rumballs

Then in June of 2003 I made plans to go to my first eBay Live in Orlando Florida. While talking on the boards with both eBay staff and members I promised to bring the real rumballs with me to eBay Live. So after all this time of talking about them I would now be able to share the real ones with everyone. Right before eBay Live I received notification from eBay that I had been nominated and chosen to be one of the Community Hall of Fame Award Members for that year. It was such an honor for me to receive that award and one that I will always treasure.

This is where my rumballs make eBay history.

During the days of the convention I met so many of my online friends and eBay staff and to be true to my word I carried and offered my rumballs to anyone that asked about them. Soon word spread and I was surprised that there were some people searching for me just to have a taste of my rumballs LOL! I found out that my husband was even using the rumballs to barter for some pin trading! Yes, not only were my virtual rumballs a hit but so were my real ones!

At the 2003 eBay Gala event is where my rumballs made eBay history. On stage during the presentation of my award eBay CEO Meg Whitman, mentioned my virtual rumballs!! I never expected that and could not help from laughing. My rumballs had now become my eBay trademark for life!

I have attended every eBay Live since then and have always carried along samples of my rumballs. I have found that they are a great ice breaker to start a conversation when waiting in long lines for autographs. I have even been surprised a few times that someone would recognize my eBay ID and ask about the rumballs. I have met and spoken to so many interesting and friendly eBay members all because of these tasty little rumballs

For eBay Live 2006 a request was made for members to submit recipes for an eBay Community Cookbook. I felt that since my rumballs were already so much a part of the eBay Community that I just had to share and submit it. You can find the recipe on page 283 of the 1st Edition 2006 "The eBay Community Cookbook". Of course that is the basic recipe and with just a little of my tweaking.

If you want to taste the real thing – See me at the next eBay Live!

Here is the recipe

1 (12-oz.) box vanilla or chocolate cookie wafers
1 (16-oz.) bag confectioners' sugar
1 cup walnuts
1 cup butterscotch morsels
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup Malibu rum
1/4 cup banana, pineapple or orange rum

Finely crush all the cookie wafers (use a grinder or food processor) and place in large mixing bowl. Finely chop walnuts and butterscotch morsels together and place in bowl with cookie wafers. Add in the cocoa powder and half the bag of confectioners' sugar. Mix well. Add in the rums and mix very well. Place the remaining half bag of confectioners' sugar in a bowl next to you. Scoop mixture with a melon ball, roll into 1'' balls, then toss each one in the additional confectioners' sugar, coating the rumball. If your mixture is too moist, add in more wafers or confectioners' sugar. If your mixture is too dry, add in more rum or some orange juice. Place rumballs in an airtight container and let set for a day or two before serving. Roll in confectioners' sugar once more before serving. *Note* You can alawys change the flavor of the rum and/or the morsels you use to suit your taste. I like to store my rumballs in the refrigerator. If they dry out they make a great topping for ice cream - just crumble them over a scoop and enjoy!

I won’t mention names but there are quite a few regular attendees of the eBay Lives that seem to really look forward to getting their yearly taste of my rumballs. To them I promise never to let you down and will always have rumballs made just for you! The friendships made and the fun of the rumballs will always be one of the most pleasant experiences I have had with eBay.

Please Note:

** The Share Your Wares (SYW) program mentioned above and hosted by the eBay "Pinks" staff ended in May 2006. The members of the eBay Community banded together to keep it alive and now can be found but with just a little different format. Check out the current months Park's Share Your Wares (PSYW) posting which will always found tacked at the top of The Park's discussion board. All Buyers and Sellers are welcome to join right in and discover some awesome items on eBay! Type " PSYW " into ebay search and chat with the sellers and buyers on the thread in The Park.  You can find out more about the PSYW and other Community events at eBay's Community Events Broadcast 

* A Pink, Pinks or a Pinkliner. This refers to an eBay staff member who posts a message on a Discussion Board. Messages from eBay staff have a pink header.

If you don't have one of the eBay Community Cookbooks - You can find a copy of my rumball recipe here on my eBay blog!