posted on September 12, 2001 05:54:36 PM
Although I am quite sure that this will not be a popular opinion, I think that all of the rubble & dust should be sold. Not today or tomorrow, but in time when the pain subsides. Not by individuals, but rather by one or two carefully chosen companies who can remove the debris, package it, and sell it. Not auction it, but sell it at a fixed price. ALL of the proceeds (minus actual costs) should then be divided equally among the families of the victims. No, I'm not a cruel and heartless person, nor have I lost my mind, but early estimates are that the casualties will be in the thousands and I know that money cannot replace those lost, but it can help support those left behind. It can help to insure that those who have lost a loved one and his/her income do not have to suffer additional distress financially or the possibility of losing their homes.
posted on September 13, 2001 12:08:07 AM
MSNBC was not "slamming ebay", they were merely reporting on the ocurrance.
I don't understand why ebay must feel they must decide whether someone is entitled to collect something historical or when they can start collecting it. Who made ebay our gaurdian?
Here on the news they were saying the terrorist attack was not just on America but on our freedom. Hello, what freedom? We've got ebay censors on a free commerce site in America. What B.S.
Sellers with WTC items are entitled to profit on anything legal that carries any amount of demand. Some clueless moralist does not have the deciding right for the thousands of interested parties.
Regarding who would buy the dust, etc., of the tragedy, in time probably many would - they bought the ashes after Mt. St. Helen erupted and people were also killed - nothing like this, but in fact the ash sales were good.
Although possibly ghoulish, most likely someone will do what you propose, might as well be a company who will turn all profits over to the victims of this nightmare.
posted on September 13, 2001 09:19:56 AMSara Thank you. Now is not the time for posts such as that.
I tend to agree with Rancher in princible. There will be a lot of people in need when the smoke is cleared. Besides the victims in the planes and in the buildings, what about the families of the 400 Firefighters, or Police Officers. There will be a great need for financial assistance.
I think, gruesome as it may seem, that certian items like this would sell well on ebay.
posted on September 13, 2001 12:05:55 PM
WTC sales probably shouldn't be banned, it's still a free country. It might be in good taste to wait. It would be in better taste not to get involved. Just because there's a market doesn't mean you have to sell it. There's a lot of "markets" out there, some pretty foul. And there are a lot of fast buck artists out there willing to sell anything. Even concrete dust they get from chopping up concrete blocks in their back yards.
Was it Churchill who said something to the effect that you could never underestimate the bad taste of American
Wish I could afford the negs, I'd bid forever and then say "My mother just died, sorry".
posted on September 13, 2001 12:14:01 PM
I don't think it was right for people to send hate mail to the seller who had listed his items before this tragedy.
There were a couple of folks selling the NY newspapers-- which a lot of folks outside NY would probably want-- and stated in the listing that they would donate the proceeds to the Red Cross. I don't know that those listings should have been cancelled either, but who knows if the money would ever be turned over to the charity?
posted on September 13, 2001 12:52:30 PM
Just looked at the article.
I agree with kerryann
This is a sad time it is true, however sending hate mail to the person who was selling an item listed on Sunday before this all happend is totally stupid (for lack of a better word).
I can't believe people would get that upset about stuff like this. It wasn't like he was selling rubble and he didn't list the item to exploit the disaster.
posted on September 13, 2001 02:11:18 PM
Thanx Sara, I missed the post, but it must have been a doozy to get zap & suspended so quickly.
I'll agree the idea is ghoulish, but we all know that there are people that would buy it. It could also be marketed as a symbol of a tragic event in our country, a tribute to remembering those who's lives were lost & a constant reminder that we will stand united to fight these terrorists until there are none left to threaten us or anyone else on this planet.
I just keep thinkin' about the poor families involved. Imagine for a moment, you losing your spouse or parent or child and on top of that having to worry that you might not be able to make the morgage payment. I know how finances are in my home. If we lost my husband we wouldn't be living here very long and I cannot imagine having my world turned upside down like that, let alone the lives of my children. Even this afternoon one of the US officials was calling for the FHA and major finacial institutions to loosen payment deadlines, and to extend forclosures for at least 90 days. Well, that's nice, but what happens after 90 days if you can't come up with the money? The lives lost are tragic, but the lost futures for the remaining families is, in some ways, just as bad.
People donate $$ in this situations, but I believe more people would "buy" something related to the history of the event, especially knowing where the money was going. People will do it anyway (wait til after Oct 1 and see if you don't find WTC Rubble on eBay) and pocket the profits, why not do it right, and take care of those who need it the most?
kerryann...I can relate to the desire for the newspapers. I save newspapers of historical events and have been for years. I would have liked to have newspapers from all over the country on this tragic event, but with gas prices as high as they are, driving from state to state was prohibitive.
posted on September 13, 2001 02:40:08 PM
I certainly agree that auctions launched after the attack began should have been pulled - those were trying to take advantage of the situation.
That being said, those that had auctions launched PRIOR to 9/11 did nothing wrong - and those sellers shouldn't be blasted or sent hate mail - they did nothing wrong.
posted on September 13, 2001 04:20:08 PMkerryann...I can relate to the desire for the newspapers. I save newspapers of historical events and have been for years. I would have liked to have newspapers from all over the country on this tragic event, but with gas prices as high as they are, driving from state to state was prohibitive.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, Rancher, but I'd be happy to send you a copy of yesterday's NY Post.
posted on September 13, 2001 04:42:58 PM
kerryann...Thank You....I really do collect the newspapers, so I can understand why people would want them & don't think it was in bad taste for those sellers to have run those auctions (IF and I do mean IF the funds were going to the Red Cross)...The gas price thing was a bad joke!...
Thanks for your offer,that was very kind of you but I'm in NY and have copies of every paper from yesterday..& a couple from today (did ya see the picture on the cover of the Post - brought tears to my eyes)...
~ Rancher
[ edited by rancher24 on Sep 13, 2001 04:44 PM ]
posted on September 13, 2001 05:28:30 PM
while preparing a bunch of comic and movie mags for listing today I came across one called Meteor
I have never seen this movie, the mag is dated 1980.
the cover shows a meteor heading for NYC
inside the mag are several pictures showing the twin towers being destroyed.
One picture shows the two towers smoking; it looks almost like the images on TV (freaky)
Anyway I put the mag on ebay just like my other mags
I made no mention of the towers, nor did I show the pics, except for the cover like I do all my mags.
Anyone remember this movie.
I will NEVER forget the pain of the families in NYC
posted on September 13, 2001 09:58:11 PM
I think ebay went off the deep end here. While I might see folks having problems with rubble, the idea of excluding legitimate photos, postcards, posters, etc., showing the WTC before all this smacks of the worst kind of censorship.It's not like we're talking about selling Nazi items here. There are no doubt people who have some nostalgia for the building in times prior to the tragedy.
Let's look at this again. Is anyone saying you can't sell pictures, post cards, etc., of the Pentagon? And what, pray tell, would Ebay have done had, heaven forbid, one of the planes hit the White House or Capitol?
There must be thousands of collectables of those buildings.
posted on September 14, 2001 05:36:34 AM
Yesterday's NY Post had a story about this and ebaY said it was removing all World Trade Center and Pentagon items until October 1st.
