upriver
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:05:40 PM new
Okay, so what is the most unusual, or strangest, or most bizarre item you have ever listed (and actually sold) on eBay -- or maybe something that you are looking at right now, wondering if you even have the nerve to list it for auction?
'Fess up, let's have some fun, these endless Paypal complaint threads are just a little dry...
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pj79
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:16:39 PM new
This may not be strange to others but my wife sold a half full bottle of my old cologne that I hadn't used in about 3 years for $5 + shipping. I laughed & I told her that it was a waste of time...she showed me. Never would have gotten near that in a garage sale. 
[ edited by pj79 on Feb 21, 2001 07:18 PM ]
[ edited by pj79 on Feb 21, 2001 07:20 PM ]
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gravid
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:26:05 PM new
My friends (yes I have friends) in Ohio will send me occasional items to sell. They have a surplus store near them they stop in for recreation and they bought a whole bag of little stuffed pigs about half the size of beanies called pantry pals that were distributed in the South as supermarket promotionals. Being a seamstress she tacked their little paws in the hear no evil/see no evil /speak no evil configuration usually assumed by monkeys. We paid about $.35 @ for these and the first set of 3 went for $26.00.
I have never found any more to buy.
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mcjane
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:32:29 PM new
I've never sold anything funny yet but, awhile back on a similar thread someone said their wife came home with a suit for an organ grinders monkey she found somewhere. Whoever it was probably sold it on eBay. I still laugh about that one.
[ edited by mcjane on Feb 21, 2001 07:34 PM ]
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darcyw
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:34:16 PM new
I pretty much just sell Haviland French Limoges, pre-1930. But every now and then I will throw something else into the mixture for a change of pace. Well about a year and a half ago I picked up something odd at an estate auction. It was a real long pipe, about ten inches, with the bowl part being a figural monster standing on legs and a prominant part of his anatomy poking out. I thought carefully before I listed this item because I was concerned about offending my established customer base. Plus I was worried about eBay rules and regulations. I titled the auction "Old Long 10" Pipe w Phallic Monster" and the pipe sold for over $200 to a man who owns a tobacco store.
Darcy
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figmente
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:38:33 PM new
Impressive ongoing reporting at
http://www.whowouldbuythat.com
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darcyw
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:43:44 PM new
Another odd thing I sold was a big whale tooth with a dragon carved around the outside. I bought a box of office supplies at an esate auction to use for myself and that tooth was jumbled in with the pens, paperclips and such. I finally figured out the odd looking thing was a whale tooth, listed it on eBay and it sold for about $500.
This shows the importance of figuring out exactly what it is you have before you list it.
Darcy
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darcyw
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posted on February 21, 2001 07:52:47 PM new
Oops, I don't mean to dominate this thread but I just thought of another one.
Ok, this was another estate auction. I go to estate auctions like other people go to the movies. I always am looking for Haviland and rarely find it but end up buying stuff for myself.
Well at this auction I purchased a box of books for a dollar. Inside of a book was a FADED COPY of somebody's journal article on how to run a nuclear power plant. The article was very scientific, mostly mathematical. I put up the papers for auction and they sold for about $75.
No, I didn't make a copy for myself.
Darcy
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upriver
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posted on February 21, 2001 08:00:52 PM new
Hey figmente, that looks like a nifty site, I bookmarked it for mucho return later on, will give me some jollies I'm sure when my fingers are tired out from all this durn Auctionwatch typing!
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Saffyland
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posted on February 21, 2001 08:19:28 PM new
My three favorite stories:
1) A well-used Transformer toy that I purchased a yard sale for 50 cents sold for $40.00
2) An old -empty- Pepsi bottle sold for $76.00
3) A old 'Ruffle Iron' (Picture an electric gadget shaped like a clenched fist affixed at a 90-degree angle atop a chrome pipe about the length of your forearm, with a clamp at the bottom that attaches to an ironing board) for somewhere around $250.00 (I was hoping to get $30.00 for it!)
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kcizmar
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posted on February 21, 2001 08:19:38 PM new
i sold a old pair of false teeth on ebay.. to a lady who said she was making art of them. uppers and lowers . i got $20.00 for them . she was on the wantboard looking for more last week.
karen
[ edited by kcizmar on Feb 21, 2001 08:47 PM ]
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jwpc
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posted on February 21, 2001 08:27:09 PM new
I am not sure which are the more unusual, I sold a medium size, occasional table, With papers of authenticity, from England which was made from the burned beams of Westminster Abbey After the German's bombed it, and signed by the maker. That was a fairly unique piece.
Then there was the 1800's European, forged iron, spiked dog fight collar.
Heavens I have been at this 6 years, I can't remember all the weird stuff I have sold over the years. I am sure since the subject came up, I'll go to bed tonight and all of the sudden I'll start thinking of all sort of bizarre items that have passed through my hands! 
Cute Subject!
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raglady1
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posted on February 21, 2001 08:48:49 PM new
An old enema/douche bag in the original box that sold for about $100.00! Who knew?
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MartyAW
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posted on February 21, 2001 11:35:47 PM new
laum1,
I deleted your post because it identified an auction and included seller's information.
Thanks for your co-operation.
Marty
Moderator
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jrb3
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posted on February 22, 2001 12:28:50 AM new
I purchased 2 of these bottles a a great junque store for $1 each.
Sold it on Ebay for $125 in medical catagory.
I can't get the cap off to clean afraid of damaging it.
In Case you can't read it says
MORTICIANS SUPPLY COMPANY "TRU-TONE PRODUCTS DALLAS TEXAS
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jrb3
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posted on February 22, 2001 12:32:37 AM new
I'm keeping this one for a rainy day.
It gets all sorts of looks on my bookshelf.
Joe B
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upriver
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posted on February 22, 2001 12:46:46 AM new
jrb:
Nice old bottle, good embalming bottles like that are certainly very collectible. I've been an old glass & bottle collector for many years, so can appreciate it.
Though it reminds me of an old story.
A friend of mine has the heart of a child...
(ta-boom)
...keeps it in an embalming jar up on the fireplace
Don't know where I heard that, though I suppose I should have left it there.
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laum1
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posted on February 22, 2001 01:02:19 AM new
Moderator - sorry, forgot.
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Bassicbrian
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posted on February 22, 2001 05:36:10 AM new
Sold to a man who was "tormenting" a friend of his. Asked me to triple wrap it and send it in a plain brown wrapper. He later told me that it took her 20 minutes to open and she loved it!!! I guess they do that to each other regularly.
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jwpc
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posted on February 22, 2001 06:38:54 AM new
I have never had nor sold any of these, but I have a customer whose main collection is of "unused" throw-up bags from airlines!
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LindaAW
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posted on February 22, 2001 07:59:23 AM new
harmonygrove,
I'm sorry but I have deleted your post. By posting identifying information, including auction numbers, links or IDs, the Community Guidelines require an invitation to the identified parties to participate in the discussion.
If you wish to post the information again, please review the procedures
outlined in the CGs before doing so.
http://www.auctionwatch.com/company/terms.html/#mesg
Thank you for your cooperation.
Linda
Moderator
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joanne
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posted on February 22, 2001 10:37:47 AM new
A couple of years ago I sold a very old "Radium Hand Cleaner" tin to a guy in New Mexico... hubby got it in a box lot of old wallpaper tools and was going to throw it in the trash but then gave it to me and said to try it on eBay. Started it at $3, I don't remember exactly what it sold for but it was somewhere around $65-70. I always wondered if the buyer worked in the nuclear field 
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equestrian
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posted on February 22, 2001 10:44:10 AM new
Joanne
Your radium hand cleaner didn't go to Roswell did it???
hmmmmm
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joanne
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posted on February 22, 2001 10:54:41 AM new
Actually I think the tin went to Los Alamos... I remember that I immediately associated the city with nuclear stuff!
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upriver
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posted on February 22, 2001 11:50:12 AM new
RADIUM:
About 4 years ago a collector friend in Ottawa Canada, also a doctor, took a 1920s Radium container to the laboratory at Atomic Energy Canada.
The container was glass inside of a metal housing with metal spout.
Well, they tested it & sure enough, while the glass was ok, the metal parts all tested quite highly radioactive & they would not even return it to him, they said prolonged exposure to it could be dangerous, especially if handled by children.
Just a warning there -- these Radium thingees were popular as a "quack" medical treatment back in the early 1900s, but they still can the long-term radioactivity embedded in them -- glass is ok, but you should be wary of other kinds of materials for sure!
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 22, 2001 12:07:45 PM new
For me, the most unusual thing I've sold would have to be 40-50 year old, Outdated photographic film and darkroom paper. A friend in the family had stockpiled a large amount of it in his freezer, and his spouse donated it to our photography store after his death.
This stuff usually goes bad in 4 or 5 years.... (lasts a little longer in the freezer) but still I figured after 40 years the stuff was probably just garbage. We divided it into about 4 or 5 different lots and started them out at $1.00 apiece. Each lot ended up selling for WELL over $100.00. Our friends spouse was in tears when we stopped by later that month with a sizeable check for her. Who knew!
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corrdogg
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posted on February 22, 2001 01:56:15 PM new
I seem to recall that jerry12 sold a cow.
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mrssantaclaus
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posted on February 22, 2001 08:23:37 PM new
and then there was that kidney ....
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jenimomof3
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posted on February 25, 2001 07:54:04 AM new
We sold a Lunkenheimer steam whistle that stood almost 4' tall. DH paid $90 for it, and told me to list it w/a $200 reserve because he thought it was "special". I grumbled, and said, "Who in the heck is going to want this thing?" He gave me a smug "I told you so" look 7 days later, when the whistle closed at $1225 - I shouldn't have even bothered with a reserve!
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cix
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posted on February 25, 2001 08:07:42 AM new
I bought an Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile for $5.00 and sold it on ebay for about $250
Then there was the dental torture tool I found I had posted on AW about it a few weeks back to see if anyone knew what it was.
I had bought it for $5.00 too and it sold for about $160
Most recently I found a little blue horse I bought for 50 cents at a garage sale that sold for $450 !!! Although I found out this horse had a $2,500 book value ! Oh well.
I saw an auction for cow patties once, but the strangest was an auction for a g-string worn by 3 monkeys !
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