eBay lunacy hits a new height

[jducoeur]

Thanks to Peter David for pointing out this one.

I can barely -- just barely -- understand the mindset of the people who are paying thousands of dollars for foodstuffs that have, say, a theoretical image of something that might kind of look like the Virgin Mary on a bad veil day if you squint really hard and say "Ah DO believe!" loudly a hundred times. That's religious, after all, and I can grasp why people get that attached to it. And I can understand the fannish mindset of paying a lot of money for some one-of-a-kind item from a show that one really loves. (Having myself paid rather too much for that Foundation Imaging jacket I wear at this time of year.)

But this sets a new highwater mark for fanatical goofiness. It's a piece of toast, with the Evil Numbers from the show LOST "mysteriously" toasted into it. And it's currently at over five grand, in a furious bidding war. I'm really curious whether any of these people are serious...

Comments

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Don't skip the "comments and questions" list.

No, I don't think anyone here is serious. I hope.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

I gave up on eBay when my friend put a "Rare and Reportedly Magical Paperclip Possibly With Psychic Powers!" up and got bids in the thousands from people he didn't know. This was ruined by a friend of his bidding millions on it, at which point he had to cancel the auction...

There's a sucker born every minute. On the flip side, pranking on eBay seems to be a semi-sanctioned form of fun; since eBay doesn't kill people for doing it, it'll continue...

[cellio]

a theoretical image of something that might kind of look like the Virgin Mary on a bad veil day if you squint really hard and say "Ah DO believe!" loudly a hundred times

*laugh* Are those your words or Peter's?

[jducoeur]

Mine; this is one of those hectic days that forces humor upon me, as a coping mechanism if nothing else...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Gives a whole new perspective to the trade in false relics in the middle ages, eh?

I'd like to know if any of these clearly bogus auctions really do pay off; sure the bidding goes to $XK, but does the check clear? No one reports on that side.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I'm *definitely* on the lookout for religious themed randomninity that I can sell on eBay to a credulous buyer. There's clearly one issued a DSL account every minute.