Why are these absurd items posted on eBay? How can someone market something as incalculable as a life, as intangible as a soul, or as useless as a 10-year-old sandwich? Has the globalization of world economies rendered virtually anything a commodity – even a kick to the groin?
University of Missouri sophomore Micheal Linnerman posted an offer on eBay titled ‘Kick me in the nuts to help me pay for college.’ According to U-Wire, the offer allowed the buyer to kick him directly in the testicles while the incident is videotaped.
As if this offer does not sound ridiculous enough, he set the starting price at $80,000.
But, Linnerman wasn’t the first to post a bizarre offer on eBay.
According to BBC News, over the summer Ian Usher, 44, sold his ‘entire life’ on eBay for about $303,628.’
Usher included his house, his car, his job and his friends in the offer in an effort to make a new start after a difficult divorce. Although Usher said he did not regret selling his life, he had hoped for a higher bid.
Artist Gareth Malham, made a similar sale in 2002, when he sold his soul for $16.95, according to an article in BBC News.
The 26-year old from England, who had recently graduated from Sunderland University, promised to sign over his soul by writing a legal document in his own blood after receiving the check. Despite the warnings from local clergymen about the ‘dangerous’ nature of the transaction, he sold the soul to a man in Oklahoma.
And let’s not forget about the infamous ‘Virgin Mary Toast.’
The 10-year-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary sold for $28,000 on eBay in 2004, according to BBC News.
An Internet casino, goldenpalace.com, bought the sandwich, saying that it had become a part of ‘pop culture.’ They plan to take the sandwich on a world tour and donate the profits to charity. Diane Duyser, the seller from Florida, claims that the holy sandwich has not molded since she made it.
People post increasingly idiotic offers on eBay not because they are desperate for money, but because they are bored.
eBay has become an entertainment facility – sellers post random items at obscene prices and get a good laugh when someone actually buys it.
Usher was looking for something to distract him from his failed relationship and Malham just wanted to see if something as intangible as a soul could actually be sold.
Duyser wins the award for cleverest eBay auctioneer, by marketing her cheese sandwich as a religious relic- she rolled in almost 30 grand.
As for Linnerman, he doesn’t actually believe anyone is rich or sadistic enough to pay $80,000 to kick him in the groin. But he was trying to make a statement about the cost of secondary education. Today, college bills are metaphorically hitting thousands of American families where it hurts- and he’s right, something should be done about it.
Although Linnerman didn’t make $80,000 as he had hoped, I say kudos. It takes chutzpah to make an offer like that.
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