"What would you say if I told you that I filled my entire living room with completely original works of art for less than $300?" Andrea Dickson from Wise Bread has found an unlikely -- though, the more you think about it, almost obvious -- place to find original art from new artists: Ebay. If you can filter through the crapload of "artistic nudes", there are plenty of gems, and usually at buyers' market prices. And, as Andrea's mother mused, when it comes to decorating the house, it beats buying mass-produced art from Costco, which is about as original as a Big Mac.
posted on Oct 1, 2008 - View this thread

An online auction site called Swoopo, once called TeleBid, has hit upon an ingenious way to make money. They are an auction site not entirely unlike Ebay - but using a different auction scheme. Where EBay uses a slightly modified Vickrey auction system, Swoopo uses an auction system based on the "Dollar Auction" game - with interesting results.
posted on Oct 1, 2008 - View this thread

You talked to her father, prepared a YouTube worthy proposal, gathered all your courage.... and she said no. How will your life go on? And what are you going to do with the ring? Enter I Do... Now I Don't, an auction site that caters to broken-hearted lovers such as you. Started by a fellow who has been there. Buy if you dare. Via
posted on Feb 26, 2008 - View this thread

Invest wisely. End poverty.
posted on Oct 25, 2007 - View this thread

The Facebook Apps Top 30. Opening their source code to application developers, facebook won a strategic gamble. Now, these developers are making their own deals. The I am Hungry application went for just over $20,000, or around 13 cents for data of every user who signed up. But don't worry, you have a chance to bid for yourself.
posted on Oct 9, 2007 - View this thread

Man buys Allsop, relists it as Allsopp - proving that on eBay, presentation is everything. via b3ta
posted on Aug 31, 2007 - View this thread

Charity-by-Numbers. Re-Paint-By-Number. Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles is holding an exhibition & charity auction for The Alliance for Childrens Rights. The show features old paint-by-numbers art work that has been altered by many contemporary artists. You can find Before and After images of all the artwork in their ebay listings as well as many on the gallery's site. (Sorry, no direct link to the embedded feature.) Many larger views are on the Juxtapoz blog. Some are subtle, while others bury the original almost entirely.
posted on Feb 14, 2007 - View this thread

What you have purchased for less than the price of a cup of coffee is arguably one of the most important "lost" music recordings out there. Record collector Warren Hill paid 75 cents at a yard sale in Chelsea, New York for an acetate in a plain cardboard sleeve. After some research, Hill's friends confirmed that the acetate disc, recorded by sound engineer Norman Dolph (who also wrote Reunion's "Life Is A Rock But The Radio Rolled Me"), was the third recording ever made by the Velvet Underground and the first album they ever did. A demo rejected by Columbia Records, the acetate is now up for auction on EBay, where the high bid is $124,640.50 and climbing, already breaking records as the most expensive LP ever sold at auction. (Bonus: see a post from a teenage eyewitness to the VU's 1966 session that produced this acetate.)
posted on Dec 5, 2006 - View this thread

eBay hilarity: "THIS VEHICLE HAS COME TO US VIA AN INSURANCE COMPANY, IT HAS TRAVELLED 32,000 MILES AND IS ONE NOT VERY HAPPY OWNER FROM NEW. MUST TELL STORY:" (via)
posted on Feb 18, 2006 - View this thread

Up for auction is Vincent Gallo's sperm.
posted on Oct 31, 2005 - View this thread

Own a piece of national tragedy. Rehnquist's original signed decision on the 2000 election recount, throwing the country over to the loser of the popular vote (and, quite possibly, the loser of the electoral college) is up for auction.
posted on Sep 10, 2005 - View this thread

Buy the (new) Pope's (old) Mobile
I used Babelfish to translate it (Google's translation apparently doesn't work on eBay).
Only 1.7 million pageviews so far.
posted on Apr 29, 2005 - View this thread

This monkey business has finally gone too far [warning: cackling].
posted on Apr 13, 2005 - View this thread

You can buy a pair of invitations to a wedding I don't want to go to
posted on Oct 20, 2004 - View this thread

For Sale: Slightly Used, Amazingly Versatile 7-Letter Kit. (Letters included: L-I-N-D-O-W-S) Warning: Improper placement of W may result in lawsuits.
posted on Sep 27, 2004 - View this thread

Fart in a jar. Don't worry there are a few varieties to choose from. Even Butternut Chicken. Will anyone buy these?
posted on Mar 18, 2004 - View this thread

There's Gold in Them Thar PCs. If you're worried about the growing problem of e-waste, if you don't want to ship your toxins overseas, you now have another option. You can recover heavy metals (precious and otherwise) in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Just make sure you leave a window open so you have some fresh air.
posted on Mar 16, 2004 - View this thread

Crap on wheels... that's Robbie Williams. He has a bit of a history with (ahem) lavatory 'situations'...
posted on Aug 2, 2003 - View this thread

State of California sells confiscated items on eBay. Actually, it's not just items confiscated at airports -- it's any kind of surplus the state wants to get rid of. See the complete list here. (Apparently they unload some at Goodwill, too.) (SFGate link via ObscureStore)
posted on Mar 2, 2003 - View this thread

Personal history for sale! Further evidence that the line between the physical and internet worlds are melting. What aspect of our lives are not for sale?
posted on Feb 18, 2003 - View this thread

Budget cuts threatening your college athletic team? No problem. Raise $210,000 on eBay.
posted on Dec 4, 2002 - View this thread

A Scranton, PA man is auctioning 250,000 pieces of software mostly games from the 80s and early 90s composed of around 20,000 unique titles (2MB Excel Spreadsheet) for $250,000. He says its the worlds biggest collection and many games are rare and in demand. You will need trucks and warehouse. If anyone can afford to sit on these for a few decades untill the 80s generation gets old and nostalgic it could be the Schoyen of early computer gameing software.
posted on Sep 8, 2002 - View this thread

Let the market decide where Dan Bern will play next. Bern and his band are auctioning off a private concert at the auction winner's house. You can apparently make his appearance as large or intimate as you want. Would a dutch auction like this be enough to build a U.S. tour on?
posted on Sep 5, 2002 - View this thread

AIM screen name 'satan' going for $15k in an apparent bidding war that abandoned all sense of reality. Still three days left, let's see if they can break $50k? The dark lord could not be reached for comment, though jesusrox232 called it "ridiculous."
posted on Aug 26, 2002 - View this thread

[this is bad] Now you can buy your way onto Filepile.
posted on May 23, 2002 - View this thread

Truth in advertising is such a rare thing. I particularly like the reply to the VP of Engineering from Polk Audio. You can only wonder if it was a real email or somebody just trying to yank his chain.
posted on Apr 11, 2002 - View this thread

The last living member of the Heaven's Gate cult is auctioning off the leader's van on Ebay.
posted on Mar 28, 2002 - View this thread

Is your inability to become a new MeFi member too much to handle? Well, you can just follow this man's example, and buy your way in!
posted on Nov 18, 2001 - View this thread

24th century* apartment. Only $4 million.
*Actual 24th century-ness of the apartment will not be known until we actually reach the 24th century.
posted on Nov 9, 2001 - View this thread

They're auctioning off my childhood. But I can always pick up the original Enterprise for only US$15,000. Starting bid, of course. Maybe I'd rather have Shatner's Kirk tunic -- a steal at only US$6,000.
posted on Nov 2, 2001 - View this thread

Looking for a catchy ICQ number? How about a short one? I can understand domain name reselling, but this is ridiculous. What's next, a market for easy to remember IP addresses?
posted on Jul 31, 2001 - View this thread

MIR debris for sale on eBay. Who'd have thought it?
posted on Mar 23, 2001 - View this thread

20yr old sells soul on eBay for $400 For the auction listing, he displayed a picture of himself wearing an "I'm with stupid" T-shirt.
posted on Feb 9, 2001 - View this thread

'Goonies' House for Sale -- Throw in a set of Bully Blinders^TM for good measure, and I'll take it. via bamf.com
posted on Jan 7, 2001 - View this thread

Buy 1777.58 acres of the Moon "Probably the most romantic and original present you could ever give to a loved one." My ass!! You too can claim ownership to planets/stars throughout the universe and sell them over eBay....
posted on Dec 17, 2000 - View this thread

Don't have what it takes to compete in the Olympics? Buy your way to glory.
posted on Sep 27, 2000 - View this thread

Finally, the weapon we've been waiting for. And at a bargain price really. ;]
posted on Jul 24, 2000 - View this thread

T-206 The most valuable baseball card of all time is up for auction on Ebay. Honus Wagner T206
posted on Jul 5, 2000 - View this thread

Why go all the way down to your local police auction to pick those great seized property bargins, whey you can buy former drug lords' mountian bikes on ebay?
posted on Aug 2, 1999 - View this thread

When this new feature is added to all IE browsers, I suspect that Ebay addicts will slow auction website servers to a crawl.
posted on Jul 28, 1999 - View this thread