Flog It Blog It, Buyer Beware!

Molly The Wallys' Top Ten Bizarre eBay Sales!

This is certainly one purchase where the buyer should beware. A couple were hoping there would be a few brave souls out there happy to bid for their haunted mirror which they claim has brought them nothing but misery. They acquired the antique mirror when their landlord put it in a skip outside their in flat five months ago. But ever since then, the pair claim they have been brought nothing but bad luck, misery, financial problems and illness. The mirror sadly had only one bidder. Drats we missed it (Here) it could have been the makings of a great book and Mollywood film. That got us thinking what other bizarre stuff gets sold on eBay?  So here is our top ten selection of the best of eBay!

An anonymous seller once put Iceland up for auction. The country owed $5.49 billion to Russia and the seller thought they could use the payment to reduce the debt. Bidding started at 99 pence but it reached $17.28 million in just a couple of days. The description said, Iceland would provide the winning bidder with a habitable environment, Icelandic Horses and admittedly a somewhat sketchy financial situation. Bidders’ questions included, ‘do you offer volcano/earthquake insurance?’ and ‘Is it possible that my payment will be frozen?’

In 2009, Bill Bennett sold a single cornflake for $1.85. He did it as an experiment but he didn’t expect any buyers. ‘There were no takers at first but then someone offered 1 cent and it grew from there. eBay had told him to withdraw the cornflake because he had no best before date on it. Someone asked if it would mate safely with a Sugar Puff and another asked if it would be sociable if it were dropped in a fish tank.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as Birmingham radio DJ Tim Shaw found to his dismay. Interviewing glamour model Jodie Marsh on his radio show, Shaw announced on air as a joke that he would leave his wife and children for the model. His wife didn’t see the funny side, and promptly advertised her husbands’ black Lotus Esprit valued around £25,000 on eBay at the buy it now price of fifty pence. Mrs. Shaw’s action was vindicated when her husband issued a formal apology on TV and later bought back his Lotus for £5,000.

Diane Duyser, from Florida sold her grilled cheese sandwich that appeared to have the face of the Virgin Mary on it. The item was purchased by Golden Palace for $28,000! In Salem, Massachusetts, the Chadwick family opened up a bag of Doritos to discover a chip that perfectly resembled the Popes’ Mitre. The same online casino purchased this cheesy artifact for $1209!

When legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner began to experience excruciating back pain he was taken to the hospital where surgeons discovered he had a kidney stone. Shatner asked the hospital if he could keep the offending item and sell it as the ultimate Star Trek souvenir on eBay in order to raise money for charity. Although organ sales are prohibited under trafficking law, kidney stones are exempt and the Golden Palace Casino bid $75,000 to become the proud owner.

This lot comprised a complete window and frame from the sixth floor room of the Texas Schoolbook Depository, from which Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963.  Apparently, the owner of the Book Depository had the iconic window removed after souvenir hunters began to remove pieces of it following the assassination.  The window, along with documents certifying its authenticity was eventually sold to an anonymous bidder for $3,001,501.

A seller from Oklahoma made $2,005.50 from this supposed 18th Century Vampire Killing Kit. Inside the box were the following items, one wooden hammer, four stakes, a prayer book, crucifix, knife, picking scissors and eight bottles with Pamant (holy soil), Agheazma (holy water), Mir (anointing oil), Tamaie (holy incense), Usturoi (garlic), red serum, blue serum and secret potion, wooden cross, and a metal syringe box.

You think that was weird well you are now looking at a picture of Jon Malipiemans' imaginary friend. The seller said 'He is getting too old for me now. I am now 27 and I feel I am growing out of him. He is very friendly. Along with him, I will send you what he likes and dislikes his favourite things to do and his personal self portrait. He also got various emails asking him things like 'does he mind smokers?'. He sold him for $3082.15!

Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans made the startling discovery of a seriously oversized Cheeto in a bag he had bought for his 3 year old son. Evans' auction went viral with hundreds bidding millions, eventually causing eBay to shut the auction down.

Lastly a Brazilian company claimed to have invented the first ever UFO detector. Rather than present their invention to experts as a scientific breakthrough they decided to stick it on eBay. A buyer did forked out $135.03 to buy it. It is not known whether the item worked due to a serious lack of UFOs no doubt. 

What weird stuff have you seen on eBay? I am going to sell my Pukka Pie boxes. I am sure they will be collectors items one day.