Naughty kids' Christmas gifts sold on eBay

Naughty kids' Christmas gifts sold on eBay

As reported by the Associated Press: "An online casino that bought a cheese sandwich said to bear the Virgin Mary's image and a cane sold to banish a young boy's fear of ghosts has struck again -- this time paying a man $5,300 for his naughty children's Christmas gifts.

The Pasadena man said last week that he decided to auction the three Nintendo DS game systems because his sons, ages 9, 11, and 15, had misbehaved.

The family's decision made national headlines, intriguing GoldenPalace.com, casino spokesman Monty Kerr said.

"Everybody knows Santa doesn't come to naughty kids," Kerr said Sunday.

The Antigua-based casino agreed to bid on the game systems as long the family promised to donate the proceeds to charity, he said.

The family told him it will buy a new heater for its church and do other renovations.

The casino plans to donate the game systems to a needy Houston family, Kerr said.

The father, who has been identified only by his eBay seller name magumbo--2000, could not be reached for comment.

The casino has paid about $108,000 for eBay oddities in just more than a month."

Earlier, it was reported that a "Father Of 'Naughty' Kids Sells Their Gifts On eBay."

This report on theindychannel.com: " HOUSTON -- A father of three children in the Houston area has gone from playing Santa Claus to playing the Grinch.

The man decided that his children were being naughty instead of nice -- and he's taught them a lesson by auctioning their presents on eBay.

The man, who asked the Houston Chronicle not to reveal his name, decided to sell off the presents because the youngsters had misbehaved. His children are 9, 11 and 15.

His posting on the eBay Web site says, "Bad children get no Nintendo DS. Santa will skip our house this year."

The man is offering to sell three of the wireless video game systems as well as several games.

The bidding was up to $465 as the auction wound down last night." -- Associated Press

eBay buys Rent.com for about $415 million

This from the Associated Press:

"NEW YORK — In a diversification move, online auctioneer eBay Inc. is buying the privately held Rent.com, which specializes in Internet listings of apartment and house rentals, for about $415 million in stock and cash.

The deal, announced yesterday, would enable eBay to expand into a new segment of the online real estate market.

Rent.com, based in Santa Monica, Calif., was launched nationally in October 2001 and matches prospective renters and landlords who are charged a fee if they sign a lease as a result of their free property listings.

The company said it is profitable and expects revenues in 2004 to total more than $40 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expect eBay, based in San Jose, Calif., to report revenues of about $3.26 billion this year.

"Rent.com has been extremely successful in the apartment-rental space online and is a great match for eBay," Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America, said in a statement.

Under the deal, eBay would pay $30 million in cash and shares worth about $385 million.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005 subject to approval by Rent.com shareholders and regulators.

On the Nasdaq Stock Market, eBay shares fell 95 cents to close yesterday at $114.75."

Ebays buys Marktplaats

Ebay acquires biggest classified ads site in Netherlands
eBay has acquired Marktplaats.nl, the most popular classifieds Web site in the Netherlands for about $290 million, the company announced on Wednesday. It bought the site from Het Goed Beheer BV, a company that owns second-hand retail shops in the Netherlands. Het Goed Beheer BV owns 92 percent of Marktplaats.

Marktplaats.nl site boasts over a million classified ad listings, ranging from clothing and collectibles to cars and household items, and some 500,000 daily visitors.

Marktplaats BV earlier clinched a deal to deploy Google’s search engine and advertising software programmes on Marktplaats.nl and other websites in the Netherlands and abroad.

Shill bidding doesn't pay. Don't bid on your own items!

If you're thinking of asking your friends to bid on your items just so to inflate prices and create a bandwagon effect, think again. According to an AP report, eight eBay sellers were ordered to pay nearly $90,000 in restitution and fines "after admitting they bid up products online to inflate the prices."

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said more than 120 people will receive restitution in the settlement of the three cases, which wrapped up last week in state courts.

Too bad.

A buyer, Brad Clarke, 48, of Peachtree City, Ga., already has received a check for $3,089 after overpaying for a 1999 Jeep Cherokee sport utility vehicle he bought on eBay from a New York seller in 2002, according to the report.

"I'd always been suspicious because it seems like an easy thing to do, to just keep bidding up," Clarke told AP. "But I was still just completely shocked and very surprised."

Ebay guidelines specifically prohibit "shill bidding" - Shill bidding is the deliberate placing of bids to artificially raise the price of an item and is not allowed. To avoid the appearance of being involved in this activity, family members, friends, and individuals living together, working together or sharing a computer should not bid on each other's items. -- Ebay.

"Shill bidding undermines trust in our community and is not permitted on eBay. In addition, shill bidding is illegal in many areas with severe legal penalties. We want to ensure that all eBay users understand what shill bidding is, why eBay treats it so seriously, and what can happen if one engages in shill bidding. We also want to ensure that one does not unknowingly engage in the practice." -- Ebay policy.

Can sellers bid on their own listings?
"eBay originally allowed sellers to bid on their own listings as a way to close their listing without selling to the highest bidder. Because this privilege was abused it was eliminated. Therefore, bidding on your own item is considered shill bidding and is not allowed." - Ebay

Sample Scenarios:
- A member bids several times just under the highest bidder towards the end of a listing, incrementing the final sale price by a dollar and retracting if he/she inadvertently bids more than the high bidder.
- A member bids 30 times or more even when there are no other bidders on the listing.

According to the report, three sellers were accused of making 610 bids on 106 of their car auctions under the user name "Mother's Custom Automotive NY Dealer."

More on shill bidding tomorrow...

Singapore eBay user wins auction for a private lunch with investment guru Warren Buffett

EBAY IN THE NEWS TODAY:
(SINGAPORE) A Singapore-registered eBay user by the ID of 'jchoo9' has won an online auction for a private lunch with investment guru Warren Buffett in New York for a whopping US$202,100.

The auction, put up on June 28, lasted 10 days and saw 11 bids being placed by three users including 'jchoo9'. The Singapore bidder's first bid of US$55,000 appeared on July 5, but a competing bidder threw in a US$100,000 bid the same day. The Singapore bidder then raised his bid sharply and ended up winning the auction.


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