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Posts with tag auctions

Election Day Newspapers Going for $1,000 on eBay

Yesterday a Rare Sellout Day for Newspapers
As newspapers continue to struggle with the tough realities of the Internet age and the media economy, things aren't exactly looking good for the printed news industry. But, yesterday there was an unexpected ray of sunshine left for those still in print: Newspapers nationwide saw a surge in sales as voters sought out something to commemorate this historic election.

Many papers in New York, San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago all sold out yesterday, with some newspapers (The New York Times, The Washington Post) printing special editions and running thousands more copies than usual. Some Nov. 5th editions started showing up on eBay, with copies of the New York Times listing on eBay for upwards of $1,000! That's a bit excessive, but it's easy to understand the desire to have a physical memento to remember this day by, something that the future's electronic newspapers won't so readily provide. [From: Reuters]

New iPhone 3G Fetching $1,000 on eBay

3G iPhone Fetches a Cool Grand eBay
Those unlocked 1st gen iPhones are going for a surprisingly high chunk of change on eBay, but that's nothing compared to the prices people are willing to pay for the new iPhone 3G. Unboxed and supposedly unlocked varieties (though we haven't heard of any functioning unlocking tools) are fetching prices well in excess of $1,000 for the 16 GB variety. Even the 8 GB iPhone is going for $800-$900.

Prices are being driven to astronomic levels by high demand fueled by insatiable gadget lust and limited supplies produced by Apple. Some of that demand is even coming from overseas in countries that simply can't wait for the new gadget du jour to start shipping to them later this year. [Source: PC World via: Textually]

Old iPhones Fetching Big Bucks on eBay



You might not be aware of it, but your old iPhone is worth a considerable sum of money. Some questionably honest businesses are even making a profit by buying up used first generation iPhones from unsuspecting American customers and reselling them at a hefty profit. One such shop was passing around fliers outside of an Apple retail outlet offering the full price of a 3G upgrade ($199 for an 8 GB, $299 for a 16 GB) for your old phone.

The Web site for FreeiPhoneSwap claims to "recycle" the old iPhones in an environmentally-friendly way. By which, of course, they mean unlock and resell at surprisingly high prices to customers overseas.

Although the new iPhone is available in many countries, it is still unavailable to some people in countries such as India or China where it is not sold officially by any carriers (though Hong Kong, rather than all of China, and India, are on Apple's new "Coming Soon" list). These folks are still left out of the multi-touch fun and some don't want to tie themselves to an exclusive iPhone carrier -- such as AT&T in the U.S. For these people, the only option is an unlocked iPhone, which will work on any compatible EDGE or GSM network (T-Mobile for example, but not Verizon or Sprint).

So if you're thinking of selling your old iPhone, make sure not to jump at that seemingly great deal to trade in your old iPhone for a new one -- unlocked 8-gigabyte (GB) first-generation iPhones are fetching bids of over $500 on eBay. You could buy two new iPhones for that price. [Source: NY Times]

Update: Kate Moss Hair Extension Worth More Than Our Lives


Sooo. We blogged last week about how Kate Moss lost a hair extension and a philanthropic paparazzo decided to auction it off on eBay. This was all for the kids, of course, claimed the pap. To keep them off drugs.

We waited anxiously all 4th of July weekend to see how the auction would turn out. Last time we checked, the stakes were not so high, peaking at around 40 bucks. But the bids are in, and Moss' locks o' love have sold for a handsome 805 Euros, or $1264!

The auction results naturally beg a more pressing question -- who is the mystery buyer that shelled out more than a G for Moss' not-even-actual hair? An avid supporter of German D.A.R.E.? Or a pervy hair fetishist? A Wordpress blogger claims the eBay winner is some guy from Haiti. His motivations remain unknown. [Source: Yahoo! News]

Man's 'Life' Sells for Almost $400K on eBay


For months, we've been following the tale of Ian Usher, an Australian man who decided to put all his worldly possessions online for sale. The auction, which started a week ago, closed yesterday. Usher's life went for a rather disappointing sum of just $380,286. That's less than his house alone was worth! Also included in the auction was his motorcycle, car, jet ski, and a whole cadre of friends.

So, someone got a pretty good bargain, and Usher has turned himself into a minor celebrity, a status he hopes to exploit via his new venture 100Goals100Weeks.com. We wish him luck, because time has shown that nothing's more fleeting than the popularity of an Internet celebrity. [Source: AOL News]

Kate Moss Hair Extension Auctioned Off on eBay


Remember when eBay was all about getting tickets to sold-out Radiohead concerts and Superbowls and stuff? Now you can get lots of gross and unnecessary things on there, like this Kate Moss hair extension, which the supermodel "shed" in Germany while fleeing the paparazzi. The victorious hair-finder, (fashion equivalent of the guy who catches a fly ball in his beer at a Yankees game) is auctioning off the lock for an anti-drug charity, ironically.

The organization is called Keine Macht den Drogen (No Power to Drugs) and sounds like the Weimar equivalent of D.A.R.E. We hope the hair money goes toward the purchase of thousands of KMDD t-shirts and will keep the German youth from one day losing their own hair and teeth.

"I hope Kate doesn't mind. I did not have time to ask her..." says hair-auctioneer John Farr. Of course she won't, John. It's for the kids. [Source: The Local]

Auction for Man's 'Life' Starts Sunday



Sick of your tired, boring life? Want a new one? Well, you're in luck, because as it turns out, there's a burgeoning market for the trading of lives. No, we're not talking about underground slave labor. We're talking about people selling their possessions, friends, and even jobs online -- that's right, their whole lives. The latest 'life,' that of Ian Usher's, is going up for auction on eBay in tomorrow.

Ian, whom we first reported on when he started planning this auction earlier this year, is an Australian twenty something whose life will hit eBay on June 22. Anyone, whether Aussie or not, can bid on everything he has to offer -- though it's a little unclear how the whole job transfer thing will work. One thing we do know is that he's not the first, and not even the first Australian, to sell his life. Fellow countryman Nicael Holt beat him to the punch last year. Ian seems to be getting a lot more publicity than Nicael did, though, showing that being the first isn't necessarily always a good thing. [Source: Alife4sale.com, via Reuters]

Man Tries to Ditch Cheating Wife on eBay

Man Tries to Ditch Cheating Wife on eBay
The Internet has provided many ways for shaming those who have wronged you, and we thought we'd seen them all. That is, until Paul Osborn decided to auction off his "adulterous, lying, cheating, bitch, whore" of a wife on eBay (his words).

Paul found out that his wife and mother of his children, Sharon, was having an affair with a co-worker. His response was to throw her out of the house and post an "auction" for her on eBay. We use quotes around "auction" because in the listing Paul specifically states, "please do not bid on her because she is worth sod all." Paul also used the eBay listing to out her lover Richard Drew, who is also married. Paul provided phone numbers and addresses for both Richard and Sharon. Naturally, eBay took the listing down pretty quickly. [Source: The Sun]

Britney Spears' Jacket Selling for Over $1,400 on eBay

Britney Spears' Jacket
When we were growing up, Wet Seal made inexpensive clothing for the bad girls. At least that's what our sisters told us.

So what happens when bad-girl Britney Spears puts on one of their jackets, and someone else gets his hands on it? It sells for over $1,400 on eBay. The jacket, described as the one she wore while "shopping at Ralph's one evening in LA," still has Britney's "pleasant smell in it and it smells very nice!" As of this posting, it's going for $1,425.00.

The eBay seller promises the jacket's authenticity, as it came from her personal assistant. We're thinking Britney should have a sit-down with these "assistants".

For those of you who can live without the special "scent," you can pick up this jacket from the clearance racks at Wet Seal for about $20. Good luck.

From TMZ

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Grounded Concorde Parts Fly High at Auction

Grounded Concorde Parts Fly High at AuctionThe Concorde was one of the most iconic bits of technology of the twentieth century. At its introduction in 1969, the supersonic jet's delta wings and pointy nose screamed speed seemed to herald a future of supersonic air transport. Unfortunately, over its nearly 30 year career, the Concorde would instead remain a symbol of a seemingly missed opportunity, with rather more boring and decidedly slower aircraft from companies like Boeing taking over the market. (We should also mention that part of of the reason for its demise was the difficulty in letting anyone approve the super noisy jet to fly over their neighborhoods and some serious environmental concerns.) It was retired in 2003, likely to never fly again, and if you never got to fly in one well, you just missed a chance to own a little piece of one.

To raise funds for a new aerospace museum, a collection of random parts and pieces from the Concorde aircraft auctioned off earlier this week in Toulouse, France (home of airplane manufacturer Airbus). The parts ranged from a piece of the landing gear assembly, weighing in at 1.2 tons, to rather more tangible (and portable) items such as an airspeed indicator and a toilet seat.

That toilet seat ultimately sold for a paltry $7,155, while the airspeed indicator went for nearly $41,000. Not exactly pocket change, but with the Concorde's allure continuing to increase over the years, the grounded toilet seat's value will only go up from here.

From BBC News

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