A heartbroken Australian man was bemused when he decided to auction off his life on eBay and the bid reached $2.2 million.
Ian Usher, 44, decided in March to auction his entire life, including his A$420,000 three-bedroom house in Perth, Western Australia, a trial for his job at a rug store, his car, motorbike, clothes and even friends.
After the break-up of his five-year marriage and 12-year relationship with ex-wife Laura, whom he had built the house, he made the decision sell the life he’d made for himself.
Usher hoped to raise up to A$500,000 to fund a new life but on the first day of the week-long auction, bids skyrocketed to A$2.2 million.
But Usher figured there was a glitch in the system with auction Web site eBay, because it was allowing offers from non-registered bidders. The problem took only a day to sort out.
“Apologies to all, but I guess there are a lot of bored idiots out there,” Usher said in a statement posted on his website www.alife4sale.com.
“Anyway after a long day on the computer, I have decided to pull all bids back as far as the first registered bidder, and the price is back to A$155,000 as I write this … we are back in the land of common sense and reality, so it’s over to you.”
Twenty-one bids later, the amount had risen to A$245,100.
“Usher had to verify all the bidders before the auction to check they were genuine buyers and he could delete any he believed were hoaxes,” said eBay spokeswoman Sian Kennedy.
Usher’s life is listed under the real estate section on eBay, as his house is the main asset in the sale.
“The real estate category on eBay is a non-binding section because of the real estate laws in Australia. You need a special license to sell real estate,” said Kennedy.
“You need to get in contact with him and he has to verify you are a genuine bidder before you can bid. If he doesn’t think you are genuine he can remove your bid,” she added.
Usher is not the first person to put his life up for sale but could be the first to offer it in this package, said Kennedy.
Last year, in a protest about mass consumerism, Australian philosophy student Nicael Holt, 24, offered his life to the highest bidder.
In 2001, American John Freyer started All My Life For Sale (www.allmylifeforsale.com) and sold everything he owned on eBay, later visiting the people who bought his things.
Adam Burtle, a 20-year-old U.S. university student, tried selling his soul that same year, with bidding hitting $400 before eBay called it off, saying there had to be something tangible to sell. Burtle later admitted he was a bored geek.
Usher’s auction closes at noon on June 29.
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