eBay Arctic Ale Ouchy
August 31, 2007 8:12 AM   Subscribe

Man buys Allsop, relists it as Allsopp - proving that on eBay, presentation is everything. via b3ta
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 (38 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm sorry, that asshole just made $503K on a bottle of beer?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 8:17 AM on August 31, 2007


Ouch.
posted by DU at 8:18 AM on August 31, 2007


Wow.
posted by dobbs at 8:18 AM on August 31, 2007


Actually, there's no way that's happening. The winning bidder's only bought/sold cds and records and been a member for a few months. I vote hoax vote.
posted by dobbs at 8:22 AM on August 31, 2007


hoax bid i meant.
posted by dobbs at 8:22 AM on August 31, 2007


holy shit.
posted by shmegegge at 8:24 AM on August 31, 2007


Well, if you look at the bidding history there are several more experienced people making similar bids.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:27 AM on August 31, 2007


On preview- I was just going to say what EMRJKC'94 said.
posted by exogenous at 8:29 AM on August 31, 2007


Although I suspect a hoax bid as well, East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94, this is interesting.

I know how valuable beer is to me; I just had no idea it was that valuable to others.

Ultimately what it comes down to, though, is that I just like saying East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94.
posted by dersins at 8:32 AM on August 31, 2007 [3 favorites]


Wow.
posted by Paris Hilton at 8:32 AM on August 31, 2007


Tulsa World says hoax.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:46 AM on August 31, 2007


world record price paid for a full corked bottle of wine was a Chateau Margaux 1789 that was part of Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection, LONDON Christies 1989 $265,000.
Claimed to be part of Thomas Jefferson's personal collection, that is.

This bottle has some good provenance, though. Nice find.
posted by Floydd at 8:47 AM on August 31, 2007


Owwwww. First guy feels dumb. First guy feels very, very dumb.

Some beer enthusiasts weighed in, as the bidding was underway
posted by Deathalicious at 8:48 AM on August 31, 2007


I don't doubt that many of the other bids are also hoax bids. What kind of baseball card collector or coin collector takes a break from his normal bidding to make a $500,000 bid on an antique bottle of beer?

Interesting auction, but as with all other high publicity auctions it seems most of the bidding is for fun and not actually serious.

Not that I wouldn't love seeing a bottle of beer being bought for half a million though...
posted by splice at 8:53 AM on August 31, 2007




Hoax auction intended to spread as internet meme as object lesson for people to pay some fucking attention to spelling brand names right in their listings? (Can't count how many times I've seen ads for "Cutlass Sierra" and the like).
posted by yesster at 8:58 AM on August 31, 2007


Hoax auction intended to spread as internet meme as object lesson for people to pay some fucking attention to spelling brand names right in their listings?

I dearly hope not. While you're at it, people: when selling a rare CD, the best place to put the full name of the band is in the description, not the title. It's bad luck to put it in the title, you see, kind of like the Scottish Play. Also, please continue to forget to put the word "Warhammer" anywhere in your miniatures auctions.

Most Sincerely,
Your Happy Bidder
posted by vorfeed at 9:08 AM on August 31, 2007 [1 favorite]


The high bid was a hoax, but from goodnewsfortheinsane's link, he claims he's gotten solid six-figure offers from others.... although he says he's thinking about just donating it to charity because it's 'taking time from his overseas ventures'. Something seems fishy there; even a company the size of GM would spend some time to collect $100K plus. That would fund a lot more overseas ventures.

I'm leaning in the direction of 'hoax, top to bottom'.
posted by Malor at 9:31 AM on August 31, 2007 [1 favorite]


I'm with shmegegge on this.

In any case, it's a great story and fun post. Thanks East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94.
posted by nickyskye at 9:39 AM on August 31, 2007


See, nickyskye, isn't it fun to type "East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94?"
posted by dersins at 9:41 AM on August 31, 2007


dersins is like my personal cheerleader. Where were you in '95? :(
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:44 AM on August 31, 2007 [13 favorites]


Yeah...my shenanigans radar went off...but I do admit that typing East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 is good fun.

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94, East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94, East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94. Yes, I like it a great deal. I'm all tingly, like a prom queen, drinking Arctic Ale while being undressed by the East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94....
posted by dejah420 at 9:51 AM on August 31, 2007 [1 favorite]


Where were you in '95?

I was here, East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94.
posted by dersins at 9:55 AM on August 31, 2007


So this is why I was able to buy Jimmy Hoffa's body so cheap! Had the seller not spelled his last name "Hofa", I never would have made my fortune selling "Tincture of Unionist" for five shillings a vial!

If you'd like to vaccinate your place of work against the Reds, remember that Honest Robocop's Tincture of Unionist is the only product acknowledged by doctors! A repressed workman is only a vial and several painful injections away!

Also, please browse our selection of mummified capitalist phalli!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:05 AM on August 31, 2007


Hey, thanks for the cool Buran Shuttle link, dersins.
posted by Brocktoon at 10:08 AM on August 31, 2007


Hey, thanks for the cool Buran Shuttle link, dersins.

um. huh?
posted by dersins at 10:11 AM on August 31, 2007


Apparently, the beer-flipping market is heating-up in response to the failing house-flipping market.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:15 AM on August 31, 2007


Yeah, thanks dersins!
posted by dobbs at 10:47 AM on August 31, 2007


Well, I reckon I'll feel downright thrifty picking up a bottle of cheap-ass Chimay this weekend.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:51 AM on August 31, 2007


Chimay Grand Reserve is the greatest god damn beer on the planet.
posted by shmegegge at 10:53 AM on August 31, 2007


True! Also you can have several for well under half a mil.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:01 AM on August 31, 2007


There's a lot of doubt surrounding this bottle... the photographs document it very poorly for all its supposed value. Dug some commentary up, and this guy actually possessed and sold the 1875 commemorative version of this beer:

I am Mike Peterson, seller of the 1875 Arctic Ale. I am also formerly newsletter editor of the newsletter of the Association of Bottled Beer Collectors. While it is impossible from a photograph, to say with certainty whether the 1852 Arctic Ale is a fake, I am sure it is.

Labels were rarely put on bottles in the 1850s, they were just coming into use. The label states that the 'red hand' is a trade mark. This trade mark was not registered until 1878.

The bottle looks wrong. It looks like one manufactured around 1880 to 1920 or so.

The wax seal is inappropriate for a bottled beer which has to survive Arctic conditions. A corked bottle with a lead seal is the only effective method of sealing against Arctic conditions available in the 1850s.

I hope that helps.

You'll notice in the photograph that the label, form what we can see of it, is in extremely good, almost pristine condition. Not even a scuffmark... at any rate, I wonder if this guy has paid his $7500 final value fee?
posted by mek at 11:20 AM on August 31, 2007


at any rate, I wonder if this guy has paid his $7500 final value fee?

Ebay charges on a monthly basis, so probably not yet.
posted by vorfeed at 11:42 AM on August 31, 2007


It would probably go down well with one of these.
posted by Brak at 1:31 PM on August 31, 2007


Is that the red hand of ulster on the bottle, or a different severed red hand?
posted by Dr. Boom at 6:26 PM on August 31, 2007


Chimay Grand Reserve is the greatest god damn beer on the planet.

I prefer the red label dubbel to the blue label trippel, personally. I will reserve judgment regarding my "planet" vote, as I have quite a few left to sample.
posted by spock at 10:08 PM on August 31, 2007


Oh, the red label Premiere Rouge is wonderful, but I want to be perfectly clear on this: What i said is not an opinion. It is undeniable fact. You're free to prefer what you want, obviously, but I'm just saying you're wrong.
posted by shmegegge at 10:26 PM on August 31, 2007 [1 favorite]


...reminds me of an episode of 'antiques roadshow' i saw once...lady brings in a big, gorgeous armoire, nicely finished...appraiser asked her if it was refinished recently, lady says yes.
appraiser: used to be a sort of vomit green color right?
lady: how did u know?
turns out it used to belong to louis the 14th, was varnished with something that is now extinct, the rest of the bedroom set is all in the louvre, etc etc
previous value: at least $350,000
current value:maybe $1800
d'oh
posted by sexyrobot at 4:06 AM on September 2, 2007 [1 favorite]


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