BlogCadre - auction

A reverse auction website, a reverse eBay?

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:22:48 -0500

I would like to see a reverse auction website, a reverse eBay, if you will. Let’s say, if you want a copy of used book “Chemistry explained”, you just start a reverse auction of it, people with the book may compete to sell you the book. Maybe.

It all started when I have finished a child education eBook
Mind Games for the Math-Challenged. I want to have a native English speaker to proofread it and as
I was able to auction it off at eBay, It occurred naturally to me that I would like to find the service at eBay. However, as the bid always go up at eBay, it does not looks like that is what I really wanted. After some thought, I come up with a what I thought to be a smart hack to get it auctioned on eBay. I included the eBay list below. I had more than 500

A Life 4 Sale

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:27:09 -0500

Native Brit, Ian Usher, is auctioning his entire life in Perth, Australia to the highest bidder.

Mr Usher emigrated to Australia six years ago, and became an Australian citizen in 2006. "My life here is absolutely fantastic," he said on his website. "But I just want to make a clean break and start again, so I am selling everything, lock, stock and barrel, from the contents of my wardrobe to my kettle, and from my cutlery to my car. Laura and I chose the house together and intended it to be our family home. Despite my life being busy and fulfilled, I still miss my wife so much. Everything around me is simply a reminder of the wonderful past we shared."

The auction will begin on June 22. In the mean time, Ian has started the website ALife4Sale.com, which gives details of the auction and what's up for grabs.

Link to article

Gort from "The Day The Earth Stood Still" up for auction

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:26:54 -0600

My husband and son would kill for this robot model of Gort from the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" that is up for auction on eBay.

From BoingBoing:

Ths eight-foot-tall animatronic model of Gort, the robot from The Day The Earth Stood Still, is currently up for auction on eBay. According to the ad, "the robot hasn't been activated in years." So be careful! Current bid is $4051. From the auction listing:
Specifications:

* Created by Fred Barton Productions, Inc., hand assembled in the USA.
* Originally purchased from FBP, Inc., in 2003. Since then it has been on public display.
* Full size fiberglass reproduction. High quality, durable construction.
* Originally equipped with tilting visor with sound effects.
* Animatronics controlled by an infrared remote control.
* Dimensional specifications were obtained from the original robot.
* The original infrared controller is included.

Link.

Prostitute auctions sex for charity

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:32:40 -0600

Maria Carolina is a Chilean prostitute who has auctioned 27 hours of sex to raise money for the country's largest charity, which focuses on poor, disabled children.

"I've already auctioned off the 27 hours of love," Maria Carolina told Reuters on Wednesday, saying she had raised about $4,000. "One of my clients already paid. It seemed like a good deed to him."

Speaking about Maria Carolina's unusual donation, campaign organizer Mario Kreutzberger said he would not encourage "immoral" activities, but said he would accept her pledge.

"Everyone can do what they want, but if someone tells me that they'll do something immoral ... I'm not going to encourage it," Kreutzberger, who as "Don Francisco" hosts the long-running "Sabado Gigante" program on the U.S. Spanish-language Univision network, told local media.

But Maria Carolina, who advertises her services on the Internet, defended her money-raising scheme.

"There are people who are going to be donating money that's a lot more questionable than mine," she said. "The only thing I did was publicize it."

Link.

'Che' Guevara's Hair Sells for Thousands

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 23:21:40 -0500

Ernesto "Che" Guevara's hair sold for $100K at an auction in a Houston bookstore.

Bill Butler, 61, won the 3-inch tress clipped from Guevara's mane after placing the only bid. His bid matched the reserve price.

Butler, who bid over the phone, said he was a collector of 1960s items and that the hair lock would fit in well.

"A lot of his writings are still worth reading today," said Butler, whose comments were relayed by a Heritage employee who spoke to him on the phone immediately after the auction.

Butler said he plans to ultimately display the hair at his Butler & Sons Books in Rosenberg, located just outside Houston.

Read the full article.

Ebay typo costs man thousands

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:17:14 -0500

One guy was auctioning off a rare bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale on eBay and made the unfortunate mistake of spelling "Allsopps" as "Allsops". He only received two bids -- the winning bid was $304.

Knowing he had stumbled upon a great deal on such a rare find, the winning bidder auctioned off the bottle again on eBay, spelled the name correctly and got 157 bidders. What was the winning bid? $503,300. Ouch.

[via Luxist]

Declaration of Independence bought in thrift store for $2.48

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 21:50:26 -0600

Stan Caffy is hitting himself in the head right now for donating a national treasure to a Nashville thrift shop last year.

Caffy unknowingly bought a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence 10 years ago at a yard sale. Last year he donated the document thinking it was just trash. Michael Sparks snatched it up for $2.48 and is auctioning it off for more than $250,000.

James Kim family benefit art + craft auction

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:37:26 -0600

Starting tomorrow, January 3, an online arts and craft auction organized by family will be taking place to benefit the family of James Kim. Over 40 artists and crafters contributed a variety of high-quality work to the auction.

The bidding will end on January 7. 100% of the proceeds will go to The James Kim Memorial Fund.

[via BoingBoing]

Previously:
CNet Editor James Kim found dead in Oregon wilderness, 1971 - 2006

eBay Bidder Pays $840 for a PS3 Photo

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 10:51:12 -0600

I can bet that the winner of this PS3 eBay auction is expecting more than a photo of a PS3 on his doorstep. Especially after he paid $840 for it.

Read the fine print, people... Read the fine print.

[via digg]