Weird Things Sold on Ebay
There have been many different occasions in which I have looked on the internet and have seen news of another bizarre thing being sold on eBay. Some of the transactions that take place on eBay seem like they are just a waste of the buyer and sellers time. Where does someone’s desire to buy a chip that is shaped like a country or an old dirty pair of shoes come from? Although some things, such as the chip, are something that most people would find odd or neat, why would they want to spend money so they can have it in their possession? What use do they have for such a thing? It is beyond me why someone would pay five dollars for a used, worn out pair of gym shoes when they could get a new pair of shoes at wal-mart for the same price. It may not be the nicest pair of shoes at the store but it would get the job done and be a lot more comforting than wearing some stranger’s nasty shoes. Many of the odd things I see being sold are things that someone would never be able to use. Is it worth paying shipping and handling charges for an item you are never going to use? Along the same lines, is it worth paying shipping and handling charges for an item that you bought on eBay for just a couple of dollars, when the shipping handling would cost more than the item itself? These are all things I wonder when I see items such as these items being sold on eBay, which also lead me to these three main questions:
1. What are some of the weirdest things ever sold on eBay?
2. What might be someone’s reasons to sell these things?
3. What kind of profit do these items bring in?
1. What are some of the weirdest things ever sold on eBay?
I previously mentioned that someone had sold a potato chip and a worn out pair of tennis shoes. At least these things are material objects of which people will actually get possession. On the other hand, things are being sold on eBay that people know they can never actually have. It is simply a waste of someone’s time and money to get on eBay and buy the moon. This person knows that they have no legal ownership of the moon and that they will never have the ability to visit this purchase, but they are still happy to pay the money. This purchase was made for 19.95(Kat). On another occasion someone purchased another person’s imaginary friend. It would be crazy not to buy this item for the going price of $.99(Kat). “The weirdest thing I have ever seen sold on eBay was a family; I thought it was impossible” (Marsh). Maybe I just don’t have the superior intellect to understand the importance of these items, but I would much rather buy a material item. Even the purchase of a material item, to me, has to make sense and has to be done at the correct price. Someone got online and sold a stuffed piranha, and although this may be a weird item that you don’t see everyday and probably wasn’t on your shopping list, it could be a nice item to use as a house decoration (Morning Lark). Although these people may be crazy, they get crazier yet.
In today’s society, people think celebrities are some kind of godly figure, and they would do anything to be associated with a celebrity. This has been the reason for hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on eBay to purchase some of the weirdest things you will see purchased on eBay. A piece of French toast partially eaten by Justin Timberlake sold for $1,025 while a Cheeto shaped like a male sex organ sold for $1.25 (Wolf 1).
2. What might be someone’s reason to sell these things?
It is hard telling why exactly people sell these things on eBay. I know that I don’t look through a bad of chips for a chance to make money. These strange items that get sold on eBay have no sentimental value to anyone, which is the reason l wonder why they are still being bought. People are being scammed out of their money for the sake of owning things that they will never have in their possession. Someone can’t actually think they own the moon because they got on eBay and made a purchase from some random person. The chances of a potato chip shaped in a certain way, still resembling the intended target, after going through the shipping process are very low. This makes you wonder, “Are these people buying these things online just in order to get a laugh?” It seems like they are doing it so people will see that they did it.
3. What kind of profit do these items bring in?
If I were to pay this kind of money for an item it would be something that I will be able to use day in and day out. I would buy something such as a new tennis racket, a new pair of shoes, or some new gaming console, depending on the type of person. At least these items will get used. These items are the reason eBay was made; so people could sell things that have use, but they no longer have use for. Apparently this strategy for selling has its benefits because people have brought in large profits. One of the greatest profits that can be recorded came from a website similar to eBay, called Craig’s list. A man names Kyle MacDonald started on July 12, 2005 with one red paperclip. By only trading, not spending any money, he walked away on July 12, 2006, one year later, with a house.
How does a man obtain such a reward? Kyle MacDonald made a series of 14 trades starting with a red paperclip. He was willing to drive places to make these trades because he hoped that in the end he would end up with a reward big enough to make it all worth it. He traded his paper clip for a fish pen, in which he then turned right around and traded for a doorknob. The doorknob traded for an old worn out gas grill which he turned around and traded for an old generator. He traded the generator for a Budweiser light up sign and a keg of beer. He was somehow able to trade this sign and keg of beer for a snowmobile. Someone was willing to trade him a trip to Yahk, British Colombia in order to obtain his snowmobile. To Kyle, a Cintas box truck was worth more than his trip to Yahk, so he traded once again. He continued to trade in this order: a recording contract, one year in Phoenix, Arizona, one afternoon with Alice Cooper, a Kiss snow globe ( he believes one mans trash is another mans treasure), one movie role, and of course a house (One Red Paperclip).
The mystery still remains on why people still sell such bizarre items on eBay, and also a mystery, is why people buy them. I have seen some of the most awkward things that were sold on eBay and I have become dumbfounded as to the amount of these things that get sold. I don’t see how it is worth a person’s time to sell things for as small an amount as $.99. I have also become amazed at the amount of profit that some of the items brought in. I guess the best way to look at it is, if you think there’s a chance you could make money off of it, there’s someone out there somewhere that will buy it.
Works Cited
MacDonald, Kyle. ” One Red Paperclip”. 1 Oct. 2008 http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/2005/07/one-red-paperclip.html.
Kat, Bonnie. “Ebay – Cruel and unusual”. 1Oct. 2008 http://bonniecat4.tripod.com/id21.html.
Marsh, Patrick. Personal interview. 10 Oct. 2008.
“Strange thingsfor sale on Ebay”. Morning Lark. 1 Oct. 2008 http://www.morninglark.com/strange-things-for-sale-ebay.html.
Wolf, Buck. “Weird News: Unbelievable Junk Sold on eBay”. ABC News. 1 Oct. 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/Story?id=91336&page=1.
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