#20. Air From A Concert
Air from a concert? How did that happen?! It might be tempting to think that this news is a silly joke, but no, someone actually auctioned a bag with nothing in the inside but air. The photo of the product showed a Ziploc bag, and the owner had written with a black marker “Air from Kanye show”.
It started at only 5 bucks, but the auction went viral when someone tweeted Kim Kardashian telling her that the bidding had flown up to 65 thousand dollars! This was way before Kanye’s current controversial era, of course. To be precise, the concert was from the “Yeezus” tour, in which he played his famous 2013 album.
#19. Justin Timberlake’s French Toast
So, apparently not only does Kayne have some furious haters and detractors but also some loyal fans that are willing to buy air from one of his iconic shows! But do you know what the craziest part is? Kanye isn’t the only musician who has a group of crazy stans who would do anything to own even the most ridiculous belonging of their idol… Justin Timberlake is another example of this.
That’s right, there’s a fan who paid 1,000 dollars for a french toast that had been half-eaten by the singer! I mean, I’d probably go crazy if I get a Kendrick Lamar or a John Frusciante autograph… but their breakfast’s leftovers? Come on, guys, if you pay for that then what you really need is an appointment with a psychologist! But if the first two made you scratch your head, wait till you read about this one.
#18. Golf Balls Eaten By An Animal
In 2008 four golf balls were eaten by a python accidentally. The snake and the golf players were probably relieved after a doctor successfully removed them from the animal’s stomach… but guess what?
Believe it or not, those balls would be later sold on eBay for 300 bucks! I can’t help wondering why the buyer ever did that… is it because he’s crazy about golf? Or crazy about snakes? Or just crazy? I guess it’s the last!
#17. Britney’s Hair
If you’re at least 18 years old, you might remember about that time when Britney Spears suffered a total meltdown. Maybe you don’t recall this episode because you were too young, but I bet you saw a meme or two on Twitter with one of those pictures where a bald Britney is menacingly holding an umbrella as a weapon.
This episode where the singer of Toxic clashed with annoying paparazzi appeared in every single headline, and by now it’s already an unforgettable moment in pop history. But what interests us is that the salon where she shaved her head had the hope of earning big bucks with Britney’s blonde locks. Those hairdressers definitely had a lot of confidence in the audacity of their move, since they put the hair on eBay for 1 million dollars!
#16. A Meal With Warren Buffett
Sadly, the auction of Britney’s hair violated eBay’s policies, so the site took it down from the site. On the other hand, the lunch with famous philanthropist Warren Buffett that’s auctioned every year on eBay is totally legal and consensual. Except for the people who really wish to have a nice conversation with Warren, this might not seem like the best investment… but here’s the thing: the money goes to charity!
Yep, that’s why a meal with Warren Buffett might be the only thing from this crazy list that makes sense since those jaw-dropping amounts of money are donated for a good cause. For example, the winning bidder of 2010 paid almost 3 million bucks! I guess that guy loves donating to charity… or else he has a really weird obsession with Warren!
#15. A Soccer Team
The previous sum of money might’ve shocked you… but the prospect of a multi-millionaire deal was higher when Tranmere Rovers Football Club appeared on eBay in 2009. Who knows what the price for a whole franchise is, 100 million, maybe? We never had the chance of finding out Tranmere Rovers’ price, though, because the club’s chairman was furious when he found out about the whole thing.
Indeed, the ones who wanted to sell Tranmere Rovers F.C. were some of the businessmen who owned a share of the franchise, but chairman Peter Johnson was the guy who had the final word about the team’s fate, and he announced that the club wasn’t for sale.
#14. German Language
Yeah, the whole soccer team situation was super irrational, but eBay users were perhaps even more surprised with the following case: the German language appeared on the site for auction! How can you even buy a language? Was it a silly prank by a random dude? Well, I’m sure you’re gonna be confused as hell with the answer.
As a matter of fact, the German Language Association was the one who came up with the idea! The plan was to go viral in order to raise awareness about the English language’s expanding influence in the country. Having said that, the Germans in this picture seem far from worried!
#13. A Combat Plane
On the other hand, when someone tried to sell a supersonic (and resistant to all weather hazards), gigantic combat plane on the famous site, there was no gimmick behind the deal. No one knows where the heck the owner had gotten it from, but we do know that he tried to sell it for about 10 million dollars.
Sadly for him, no one placed an offer. Who would’ve thought that people don’t have a few million to spare on a combat jet-plane, huh? Still, other people did get lucky with the weird products that they tried to sell on eBay, so slide next to find out about one of the most successful bids ever.
#12. A New Marine Species
For instance, take a look at this guy who casually put a sea urchin for sale. These tiny animals can be found in any ocean, there are almost 1000 different species of them, and apparently, there’s no strict regulation for trading or buying them. It was about 13 years ago when someone auctioned the colorful specimen from the picture, but I bet he’d never imagined what would end up happening next!
Believe it or not, a scientist spotted the white and purple sea urchin on eBay, and after talking with some colleagues, they realized it was a new species. Pretty amazing, huh? After they gave it a name (Coelopleurus exquisitus) and the news expanded, the price rocketed from 8 to 138 dollars.
#11. A Meteorite
However, I’d argue that a newly discovered species of sea urchin isn’t the wildest thing that got sold on eBay. For example, there’s serious competition from that time when a meteorite from Mars was auctioned for the massive sum of 450 thousand bucks!
The meteorite was called Zagami, and it constituted a select group: only a hundred meteorites or so are from Mars. No wonder they paid so much for Zagami! But slide next if you wanna read about an even more peculiar offer.
#10. A Town
That meteorite was sold for 450 grand, but that is super cheap compared to the amount of money that was needed to buy the town of Bridgeville, though. Yeah, you heard correctly: this one time, a whole town was put on sale.
Bridgeville, located in California, had it’s 15 minutes of fame in 2002 when it was unbelievably sold on eBay for approximately 1.8 million dollars. Rumor has it that the owner originally planned to renovate the town, but apparently, he was too lazy or Bridgeville required just too much refurbishing to be profitable!
#9. A Dude’s Life
“When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year!” I’m sure there’s been at least one occasion when those iconic lyrics from Friends’ intro struck a chord with you. Everybody has those rough days where everything seems to go wrong by default. Generally, we figure things will get better, or we talk about our problems with our friends. Well, let’s just say that Ian Usher’s solution was a bit more extreme than that.
This British man had recently been through a tough divorce, and he realized that a fresh start was what he needed. And he literally meant a fresh start… because the guy put everything that belonged to his current life on eBay! Yes, every little thing: his job, his house, his clothes… Ian Usher auctioned every possession for almost 300 thousand pounds!
#8. New Zealand
In yet another crazy episode of eBay and its most bizarre stories, there once was a time when for only a couple of hours, you could’ve had the possibility of placing an offer for New Zealand. Yeah, you read correctly.
That’s right, in 2006, a guy from Australia made the ridiculous attempt of selling the country. Who knows what led him to hate a beautiful country like New Zealand so much? The Australian obviously didn’t succeed: when the news started to spread out, the site deleted the whole thing.
#7. A Pregnancy Test
You better brace yourself, because we’re getting closer and closer to the top 5, and the stories behind these auctions will only get more bizarre! This one will be hard to believe at first, but you’ll understand later: in 2005 a radio station sold a positive pregnancy test for 5 grand.
Why would anyone buy a pregnancy test? And let’s not forget that the buyer paid 5 thousand dollars! Was he or she drunk, was it a mistake? Stay calm, fellas, here’s the explanation: allegedly the test belonged to Britney Spears. We can all agree that the dude who purchased this is even more nuts than the one who bought air from a Kanye concert, right?
#6. A Baby’s Name
People were pointing their accusatory fingers at this person too: in 2009 a woman offered almost 7 thousand bucks for the legal right to pick the name of a baby! Apparently, the mother was about to have her sixth child and she was unemployed at the moment, hence the need for money to support the family.
The person who placed the last bid, however, stated that there was no real intention of choosing a name for the newborn, and she only wanted to help the woman. That’s gotta be the most empathetic eBay user in the world right there! But seriously, I hope it all turned down OK for the mother.
#5. A Piece Of Nutri-Grain Cereal
Strange as it may seem, some people think it’s a good idea to spend money on weird-shaped food items. For instance, there’s a woman who once bought a Virgin Mary-shaped sandwich on eBay. Well, that’s only one case amongst many similar ones. You don’t believe me?
Well, I hope this second case is enough evidence: several Australian media outlets announced in 2004 that someone had sold a piece of Kellog’s Nutri-Grain cereal for about 700 dollars. The only explanation is that the buyer was a huge Spielberg fan since the cereal was shaped like E.T. Come on dude, everyone loves the movie, but that’s too much!
#4. A Guinea Pig Armor
If you thought the E.T-shaped cereal story was kinda cute, get ready to say “aww” with this one! 2013 was the current year when someone used his skill to craft a metallic guinea pig armor, just like the one from the picture.
Apparently, some guinea pig lover couldn’t handle the cuteness level and offered a whopping amount of 24 thousand dollars. Thank God the man thought about it twice, because he later backed out the staggering bid. After being auctioned again, the tiny armor was sold for $1,200.
#3. Life’s Meaning
The following is perhaps the most puzzling and philosophical item of the list: in 2000 a citizen of North Carolina started an ambitious auction on eBay in 2000 when she tried to sell “the meaning of life”. You’ve gotta be kidding!
I guess the last turn of the century filled the woman with confidence! However, eBay users were a bit skeptical (and rightfully so), for the final bid was only 3 dollars. Finding the meaning of life for 3 dollars, not bad!
#2. A Guy’s Forehead For Ads
To continue with our list of the strangest things that have been sold on eBay, we have the iconic case of Andrew Fischer and his advertising innovation. Finding new ways of promoting a brand is a must for businesses in today’s capitalist world, and Andrew Fisher was ahead of the curve in 2005 when he decided to auction his forehead.
This might seem confusing, but it meant that the company (which paid almost 40 thousand dollars) could make a temporary tattoo on Andrew’s forehead. So, yes, the man basically rented his skin as ad space for the company! That’s either scary or brilliant, I’ll leave the choice to you.
#1. Elvis’ Cup With Water
But enough about Andrew Fisher, we’ve arrived at our number one! After learning that there’s a thinking, rational person on this planet who’s willing to pay for Britney Spear’s pregnancy test, this one isn’t much of a shock, is it?
Some fans are eager to throw their money away for any insignificant object that used to belong to their idol. That’s precisely what happened when someone paid 460 bucks in 2004 for a cup with nothing but water in it. What was so special about it? Supposedly, rock icon Elvis Presley had taken a drink from it during a concert that took place in 1977. People really do believe anything, huh?