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Making Money Off of Strange and Odd Things

Making Money Off of Strange and Odd Things

Weird and bizarre auctions have made eBay notorious. In this piece, we'll examine some of the craziest and then talk about the useful lessons to be learned from them. Let's get the creative juices flowing by perusing these outlandish ads first:

Mary Anderson put her late father's spirit up for auction on eBay in late 2004. Since Mary's father had recently passed away, she and Colin, her little son, were worried about a haunting. Mary decided to put the ghost up for sale on eBay after her son, Colin, became too afraid to sleep because of it. In order to meet eBay's requirements, she listed her father's old cane for auction with the "ghost." Whoever placed the highest offer would win both items. Her son was worried about his grandfather's spirit, so she included a clause in the ad requiring the successful bidder to send him a letter assuring him of his grandfather's well-being. At the end of the auction, the highest bidder paid $65,000. (Goldenpalace.com was the high bidder; they are an online casino that has achieved notoriety for their wacky eBay purchases). Mary has promised to start Colin's college fund with the money, so the 'ghost' has probably left, and Colin is much pleased.

Tim Shaw's wife sold his $50,000 Lotus Esprit sports vehicle on eBay in June 2005 with a Buy It Now price of 50 pence ($1) while he was in the studio doing radio. While on live, Mrs. Shaw overheard him flirting with model Jodie Marsh and stating that he would leave his wife and two children for her. After this "final straw," Shaw's wife put their sports car (which he had been stupid enough to buy in her name) up for sale on eBay for 50 pence, with the only catch being that the buyer had to pick up the vehicle within "the next two to three hours before my husband gets home to find it gone and all his belongings in the street." Within 5 minutes, the automobile had been sold and was being taken away that same day.

A 19-year-old British guy made £1.20 (about $2.50) from the sale of a single cornflake on eBay. The cornflake was his "experiment," which he described on the website. There were no offers at first, but after a few days, someone offered a cent, and the bidding continued to rise until he sold it for £120. One potential buyer inquired whether the cornflake could safely mate with a Sugar Puff, while another wondered if it would get along with fish if thrown into a tank.

A Guy in Arizona Made $5.50 off of eBay by Selling an "Air Guitar."

After Britney Spears had her hair cut off in February 2007, the salon where she had it done auctioned off her shorn head of hair, along with a blue Bic lighter and 3/4 of a can of Red Bull that she had consumed. In the face of an uproar, eBay withdrew the listing after it had hit $1 million.

Elvis Presley's alleged water slurp from a performance cup in 1977 fetched $455.

One individual in Brisbane, Australia, listed New Zealand for sale for the ridiculously low price of only one Australian cent. As incredible as it may seem, the price eventually reached $3000 before eBay took down the item.

A bitter ex-husband from Seattle put his ex-wedding wife's dress up for auction in 2004. Due to the fact that the guy personally modeled the outfit for the images, the website drew a large number of visitors and bids. This dress was originally listed for $1, but it eventually went for $3,850.

One clever eBayer even offered his immortal soul for sale in the year 2000. We were unable to keep the item up since eBay stipulates that buyers get tangible goods, and souls are not exactly easy to package and transport.

The sale of the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich is widely regarded as one of the most bizarre items ever listed on eBay. Miami resident Diana Duyser allegedly created the toasted sandwich for herself ten years before selling it, and when cutting into it, saw a face that seemed somewhat familiar. After 10 years of sitting in her nightstand drawer, she finally decided to sell the cheese sandwich on eBay. Despite being on a shelf for so long, the sandwich (supposedly) didn't have any mold when it was sold.

How are these postings so off the wall? There was a lot of focus on them all. And that's a major problem in a market where everyone is vying for customers' attention. Even if your listing has a catchy headline, detailed explanation, and stunning picture, adding that additional "something" will help it (and your company) stand out in a crowded marketplace. As a result, offers began to come in.

So, what can you do to increase daily traffic to your listings? If everyone else is doing something, you should probably avoid it. You won't stand out from the crowd if your listings are identical to everyone else's. Try to think about what sets you apart from the competition and what the customer would find intriguing. It is not required that you do this with each listing. Make a single outlandish listing that you use to market your whole business and all of the things it sells. In some cases, all it takes is a little bit of publicity for one listing to start things going. Naturally, it is ideal if your "wacky" listing is consistent with the rest of what you provide.

Let's pretend that the salon where Britney Spears got her hair cut has advertised many lines of hair care products. The likelihood that a customer will make a purchase from you increases if the product they're considering also comes with a compelling backstory they can tell their friends. Keep an eye out for a hook in your listings, anything that stands out as unique, and then make sure to cross-promote your connected items and eBay business to bring in as many customers as you can. Give it a go; it'll turn out OK.

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