TIME MACHINE ! For Time Travel ? very low reserve

March 14, 2005 6:36 PM

TIME MACHINE ! For Time Travel ? very low reserve. Some people put enough detail in their fake auctions that it deserves at least some respect.
posted by XQUZYPHYR (28 comments total)

That is too funny!!

The thing looks like an old radio and people bid on it?

hahahaha.....fools.....hahahaha
posted by The Infamous Jay at 6:43 PM on March 14, 2005

It's like the TARDIS. It only looks like an old & busted radio...
posted by SenshiNeko at 6:49 PM on March 14, 2005

And soon you'll be able to go and check it out up close at the Golden Palace Casino since they won the auction.

Considering how much they paid for the grilled cheese with Christ on it, this was a bargain. Now I'm gonna go look though my garage to see what I can sell to the Golden Palace since they appear to be dumb enough to buy anything.
posted by fenriq at 6:57 PM on March 14, 2005

Time Machine; used, some rust
posted by quonsar at 6:57 PM on March 14, 2005

The details and the "oh, look what some alert reader sent me" touches are fantastic. Man...I wish I'd thought of it first. Hey...wait...I know, I'll invent a time machine, travel backwards in time, and do it. Yeah.

Oh, but wait...I don't seem to have an old radio. Drats. Foiled again.
posted by dejah420 at 6:57 PM on March 14, 2005

that is cool : >
posted by amberglow at 7:08 PM on March 14, 2005

Holy.... that's an expensive jukebox
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 7:21 PM on March 14, 2005

I'm reminded of Uncle Rico's time machine in Napoleon Dynamite... he bought his online, too, didn't he?

Ouch....
posted by BoringPostcards at 7:23 PM on March 14, 2005

The Q&As are hilarious:

Q: world dominator? some of these questions are pretty scary. how will you be sure that who ever buys it uses the machine for the good of all mankind?

A: the trust system

Pure comedy gold.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:23 PM on March 14, 2005

What happens when auctions like this close? I mean, we know nobody's ACTUALLY buying it, but eBay charges for completed sales, so is the seller paying a premium for their joke when someone bids it up to $20,000?

I mean, you can't even set your own self to auto-bid to $1,000,000 just in case, because eBay will still try to charge you for that...

Anyone know?
posted by davejay at 7:33 PM on March 14, 2005

they'll put it on display, i'm sure.
posted by amberglow at 7:44 PM on March 14, 2005

Damnit! I knew I lost that thing somwhere. /Titor
posted by grateful at 7:57 PM on March 14, 2005

So all they could come up in 2029 for a time machine are few mechanical rheostats and an analog gauge. Did the whole IC era got swallowed into some time warp or something?
posted by c13 at 8:02 PM on March 14, 2005

Of course, the winner?

GoldenPalace .com

I feel bad even posting their name, but they really do underwrite the whole eBay economy... check out their "other items won".
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 8:24 PM on March 14, 2005

Damn. I'm rapidly running out of ideas for "things to sell to GoldenPalace.com on eBay".

Boogers?
Boogers in a bottle?!?!
Shaped like - hell, I don't know - a ship, perhaps?
posted by yhbc at 8:31 PM on March 14, 2005

Boogers in a bottle?!?!

Can I get a 5% finder's fee on that?
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 8:45 PM on March 14, 2005

c13: No, it's just that their technology is so far advanced that they were able to work in the hip retro industrial design so it wouldn't look terrifyingly out of place when he got to the early 1900s.
posted by loquacious at 9:10 PM on March 14, 2005

I'd take that thing off some sweet jumps.
posted by newton at 9:41 PM on March 14, 2005

Damn. I'm rapidly running out of ideas for "things to sell to GoldenPalace.com on eBay".

This seriously sounds like a decent business plan. Find an investing angel.

Angel...that gives me an idea for an eBay auction...
posted by NickDouglas at 9:56 PM on March 14, 2005

I know this time machine might be one of the most important discoveries of all time, but if I cant get the time machine to work, then its not worth that much to me, so that is why im selling it on ebay. Also I figured I could get a little extra money so I could finish remodeling my bathroom.

Woo! Hoo... Ha... Phew! I think i hurt myself laughing at that bit.
posted by shmegegge at 10:06 PM on March 14, 2005

Only in Turlock...
posted by numlok at 10:20 PM on March 14, 2005

"I even called my best friend who has worked on cars, even he could not get it to work"

Priceless.
posted by lagavulin at 11:44 PM on March 14, 2005

Q: Hi, my friend bought this off you tomorrow, we managed to get it working, many thanks. Mike.
A: thanks for the fast payment

posted by jcruelty at 11:45 PM on March 14, 2005

This is awesome; I'm inspired.
posted by obloquy at 12:46 AM on March 15, 2005

John Titor says it's not a real time machine.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:11 AM on March 15, 2005 [1 favorite]

The thing looks like an old radio and people bid on it?

So all they could come up in 2029 for a time machine are few mechanical rheostats and an analog gauge.

If you were going to go back in time, would you not want your time machine to blend in with then-current technology so as not to draw too much attention to yourself? Use your head.
posted by probablysteve at 6:24 AM on March 15, 2005

I love the picture of the empty cabinet, as if to say "yup, that's the spot alright."
posted by hellbient at 8:36 AM on March 15, 2005

Great transaction... Oh, I gotta go! A triceratops just crashed into my house!
posted by soyjoy at 9:57 AM on March 15, 2005