eBay - Then and Now

It was September 4, 1995 in San Jose, California, when a computer programmer Pierre Omidyar put up "AuctionWeb" as part of a website for his online consulting firm Echo Bay Technology Group. Omidyar tried to register the domain name EchoBay.com, but a gold mining company Echo Bay Mines had already taken it. So he settled for the shortened domain name eBay.com. Since then eBay has become the largest online auction website not only in the United States, but around the world.

It had always been part of the saga that the very first items sold on eBay were the PEZ candy dispensers that Pam Wesley (Pierre Omidyar’s fiancee) owned. Not so. Omidyar sold the very first item on eBay, his very own broken laser pointer. To his astonishment it had sold for $14.83.

To this day, eBay has millions of members who sell and buy on the site and has helped thousands of people start their own businesses. As of December 2008, over 700,000 people in the United States rely on their eBay sales as part of their income.

eBay has became so huge that it has websites located in the following markets.
Asia Pacific: Europe: North America:
Australia Austria Canada
China Belgium United States
Hong Kong France
India Germany
Malaysia Ireland
New Zealand Italy
Philippines Netherlands
Singapore Poland
South Korea Spain
Taiwan Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom


EBay's Pierre Omidyar, center, Meg Whitman and Jim Griffith in front of those Pez dispensers.
By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Sell McNugget on Ebay or Not!

Inspired by my trip to McDonalds, finding a strange shape Chicken McNugget and reading a bookmarked news article sent from my tagfoot friend “jewele” on THE 10 STRANGEST THINGS SOLD ON EBAY, I decided to create a the list of 21 weird, bizarre or just plain silly stuff sold on eBay. (Which I had found on various sources online.)

On Jan. 18, 2008, I had a coupon for buy one 10 pack Chicken McNuggets and get one free. I shared the other 10 pack with my daughter. As we were eating our McNuggets, I noticed that one of mine looked like a lamb. I told her to take a picture of it, which she did and then I set it aside.

My daughter had one that looked like a Cocker Spaniel. I said, “Hey we need to take a picture of that.” She rolled her eyes and proceeded to eat it. I was horrified! I yelled, “Why did you eat that? We could have sold that on eBay!”

She laughed and said, “You weren’t serious, were you?”

Of course I was serious! That Cocker Spaniel shaped nugget might help pay for her College. Who knows how much a funny shaped McNugget would sell for! After all I have been unemployed for a while. And our daughter was laid off during the summer from her part-time job at the University. Money has been getting tight. Despite the fact that I have been trying to make money online. I joined some marketing opportunities Even tried to give out a FREE ebook But money isn't exactly pouring out of my computer. (Not just yet!) The problem is I don't lie about my success I'm still trying to find my niche.

People have put more bizarre stuff on eBay than any other auction site. I’m not sure what the most money someone has made on something strange, bizarre or just plain stupid was. But on Nov. 23, 2004 a woman from Miami, Florida sold her 10 year old grilled cheese sandwich, (a bite out of it) which bore the image of the Virgin Mary for $28,000 on eBay. This Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich as been on many internet sites. Probably the most popular bizarre item sold on eBay.

Maybe my “lamb nugget” resembles one of the farm animals in the stable where Christ was born. Now wouldn’t it be worth at least $20,000? I put it in a baggie, then in a plastic container and placed in on a shelf in the refrigerator. Perhaps if I make a plea on eBay, someone will take pity on my situation. Like the business man who gave $10,000 to Cary Copestakes, the 18 year old British girl who put up her virginity to help pay for college.

Anyway, I’m not really serious about selling it. I just want to play it out for a while. After all, I don’t do those silly things that other people do. Or do I?

I guess I am silly, because here is the listing that will continue on until Jan-27-09 18:45:13 PST See my listing!

21 Weird, Bizarre or Just Plain Silly Stuff Sold on eBay

List of 21 Weird, Bizarre or Just Plain Silly Stuff sold on eBay in no particular order: (These items were found on many reference sites about eBay.)

1. Broken Laser Pointer: It was September 1995 and the beginning of eBay. Founder Pierre Omidyar, began with the listing of a single broken laser pointer Pierre had intended for the listing to be a test and was shocked when the item sold for $14.83.

2. U.S. Navy F/A-18A Hornet: A state brokerage in Virginia sold a U.S. Navy F/A-18A Hornet jet fighter on eBay for just over a million dollars. It was, in pieces, but they offered to put it back together and make it ready to fly for just another $9 million.

3. Wedding Dress: A guy sold he ex-wife's wedding dress. He modeled it, as well as writing a long screed about his ex-wife in the description. It sold for 3,850.


4. Shoeless Joe Jackson’s original "Black Betsy” bat: The Black Betsy weights more than 40 ounces and handmade of hickory. Jackson had the third highest career batting average of .356 and was known for a swing so perfect that was copied by Babe Ruth. This bat sold for $577,610.

5. 18 Year old British Girl's Virginity: In order to pay off her college tuition, Cary's Copestakes put her virginity up for auction on eBay. The bid started at $10,000 and was taken up by a business man. He did not take her up on her service, but gave her the money in pity of her situation.


6. Doritos Cheese Pope Hat: March 23, 2005, Salem, MA, the GoldenPalace.com, Internet casino most famous for their purchase of the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, bought the Doritos chip for an unbelievable $1,209.

7. Vampire Killing Kit: A seller from Oklahoma made $2,005.50 from this supposed 18th Century Vampire Killing Kit. It all came in a linden wood box, lined on the inside with maroon velvet. The seller claimed that the estimated value of the artifact was between $29,000 and $51,000


8. Bridgeville, California: The entire town. Bought on eBay twice within 3 years. The last time listed in June 2007. Selling price: $1,800,000.

9. Britney Spears Half Eaten Sandwich: Golden Palace Casino has purchased a half eaten egg salad sandwich for $500 also for an additional $20 they also purchased a nibbled on corn dog by Spears' ex husband Kevin Federline.

10. Britney Spears Chewed Gum: Someone picked up Britney Spears chewed gum at a London hotel and decided to sell it on eBay. Believe it or not they got $263 for it. I wonder if the fan who bought it, chewed the gum or framed it!

11. John F Kennedy Assassination Shooters Perch Window: The actual window and frame from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed our 35th president, John F. Kennedy. 188 bids were placed and the winning bidder paid $3,001,501.00 on February 16th 2007.


12. A half eaten piece of French toast from kid rock - over $3,000.

13. Someone sold their soul - $400.00

14. Elvis's ear piece - over $1,000.00

15. Ghost In A Jar: A man 2 jars and an old journal in a wooden box. He accidentally broke one jar and brought the other one home. Afterwords a ghost was terrorizing him. Apparently it came from the jar. He decided to sell this jar to anyone willing to take on the ghost. On June 05, 2003, this item sold for $50,922.


16. Woman Sells Right to Name Her Baby: Early 2005, when Melissa Heuschkel couldn't decide what to name her fourth child; she turned to the auction site eBay. Golden Palace casino won the bid for $15,500. The baby was named Golden Palace Benedetto. (Golden Palace has brought several weird items from eBay.)

17. Oldest known pair of Levi jeans sold in May 2001 for $46,432.

18. Justin Timberlake’s partially-eaten French toast sold in March 2000 for $1025.

19. A woman's deceased father's walking cane (his ghost included) sold in December 2004 for $65,100.

20. A man's forehead for advertising space in January 2005 for $37,375.

21. Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Diane Duyser, from Florida sold her grilled cheese sandwich that appeared to have the face of the Virgin Mary upon it. The item was purchased by an online casino, Goldenpalace.com for $28,000.

Chicken McNugget or Chicken “Lamb” McNugget

Look closely! Do you see the ears, eyes and slit for the mouth?

Jan. 18, 2008 “Lamb” McNugget

Picture of a lamb