posted on February 9, 2002 09:38:19 AM new
I admit I'm curious -- I stopped monitoring this eBay auction some time ago, then checked one last time and saw that the auction had been pulled by eBay. Last I saw it was over $150.00. Does anyone know what the eventual outcome was or why they decided to pull it?
posted on February 9, 2002 10:05:30 AM new
Sorry, I should have provided some background: The "Almost Square Piece of Cardboard" was offered in an eBay auction a few weeks ago. It was just a piece of cardboard used as backing for a calendar the seller received as a gift. He described it in lavish terms, what a wonderful piece of cardboard it was, how useful it could be, providing the exact dimensions in inches, miles, furlongs, light years, etc. In short, it was silly beyond words.
Yet, he attracted bidders, and lots of them! The price went up and up until it was over 150.00. Then, I checked again and it was gone. It also wasn't in the Closed Auctions, so I assumed eBay had pulled it.
My feeling was that if the seller was able to attract enough bidders stupid enough to buy it, well, he should have been allowed to sell it! I was just wondering if anyone knew if the seller actually did sell it, and/or why eBay decided to pull the auction.
posted on February 9, 2002 10:29:33 AM new
If my memory serves me right, which sometimes it doesent, I think that auction was pulled before it ended. There were so many bid retractions that it took up quite a bit of space and I think ebay took the bull by the horns and ended it.
posted on February 9, 2002 10:40:12 AM new
it was bidded up to 1100 dollars on the last day,dunno why ebay should pull it,they should nail the high bidder and make him PAY.
there were many retractions with excuses like i thought i was bidding on a penis,it is not square enough,etc etc
posted on February 9, 2002 11:04:37 AM new
Holy smokes. $1,100.00??? I wonder what bidders were thinking? Perhaps it would become some sort of intrinsically-valuable Internet collectible icon, like the pets.com sock puppet? For sure eBay should have compelled payment -- I assume they just looked at one another, raised their eyebrows, and the boss said "kill it."
I would not have guessed bidding would had gone that high. I'd pay a buck for it just to have it. Thanks for closure.
posted on February 9, 2002 11:07:55 AM new
These types of gag auctions frequently get bid on by shill bidders, either the seller's own accounts or buddies. I'm betting that more than likely, the seller's account got suspended rather than just the individual auction.
posted on February 9, 2002 11:37:17 AM new
a lot of bidders bidded ,they figure there is plenty of time to retract their bids and leave smart ass remarks like they thought they were bidding on a penis?
i doubt if the seller is shillbidding on a piece of cardboard to the tune of 1100 dollars.
i still think ebay and the seller should demand the high bidder to pay 1100 plus shipping.
posted on February 9, 2002 11:45:07 AM new
Regardless of whether or not there was shill bidding, the whole thing was a joke. As such, the high bidders went to extremes because they knew they'd never pay for it. And frankly, before ebay persues forcing the high bidder to pay $1100 for a piece of cardboard presented in a joke auction, I'd rather they force my non-paying bidders to pay the fair price they bid on my legitimate auctions.
[ edited by holdenrex on Feb 9, 2002 11:45 AM ]
