Everyone loves eBay. It’s a terrific place to find all kinds of items at super low prices, as well as making some cash on the side by selling your old stuff to folks from around the world. Founded back in 1995, the auction site is used by over 180 million people worldwide, with over a billion listings at any one time.
People sell everything on eBay from old clothes and books to brand new video games and vinyl records. But some listings are a little ‘out there’, including everything from random pieces of cereal to someone’s unwanted wife! Here are some of the strangest and funniest eBay listings of all time.
1) Naming A Baby
Moms and dads around the world spend weeks and months wondering what to name their babies, but one mom decided to let someone else make the decision for her!
36-year-old Lavonne Drummond was pregnant with her 7th kid and had money troubles at the time, so she decided to put the naming rights up on eBay. The auction went over the $40,000 mark but eBay shut it down for violating the rules.
2) An Actual Ghost
Would you buy a ghost? An Arkansas eBay user decided to sell an alleged ‘ghost in a jar’ on the auction platform. He put the Buy It Now price at $56,000 and said he found the jar in a cemetery, warning potential buyers that he wouldn’t be held responsible if they got haunted.
3) An Air Guitar
Many rock ‘n’ roll lovers enjoy playing ‘air guitar’, strumming the air with their fingers and pretending to play along with their favorite tracks. One funny rocker thought he might be able to make some money from the idea, selling a signed air guitar on eBay.
4) A Letter From Einstein
Einstein was one of the brightest minds of all time, but would you be willing to pay a few million bucks for a letter he wrote? Well, someone did! In 2012, an eBay auction for a handwritten Einstein letter sold for more than $3 million. The letter was written by the great physicist in 1954 to philosopher Erik Gutkin.
5) The Original Hollywood Sign
The world famous Hollywood sign is one of the most iconic man-made structures in the world, but did you know that the sign you see if you visit LA nowadays isn’t the original? The original sign sold for almost half a million bucks on eBay, and the buyer started making items out of it and selling them on, including pieces of jewelry and picture frames.
6) An Actual Town
Buying a house online would be a pretty big deal, but imagine buying an entire town! Well, in 2002, the California town of Bridgeville was listed for auction on eBay. It was the world’s first town to be sold on the site and it went for a grand total of $700,000.
7) Somebody’s Life
It always hurts when your heart breaks. Sometimes, you can feel so bad you just want to give up on everything. That’s what Ian Usher did, selling his actual life on eBay back in 2008 after his wife left him. The listing included all of Usher’s possessions, friends, and even his job, and it sold for $300,000. Usher used the cash to start a whole new life.
8) Captain Kirk’s Kidney Stone
Kidney stones are pretty gross. They’re painful to deal with and most people are happy to avoid them as much as they can, so why would you want to buy any? Well, Star Trek actor William Shatner sold one of his kidney stones for charity, raising $25,000 in the process.
9) A Dorito That Looks Like The Pope’s Hat
Ever found a cool-looking chip? It happens every now and then, and usually you just say “Huh, look at that!” before gobbling it down, but when someone found a Dorito that looked like the pope’s hat, they decided to put it on eBay, earning over $1,200 in the process.
10) The Meaning Of Life
It’s one of the biggest questions out there: what is the meaning of life? Some people can spend their entire existences pondering this age-old dilemma. Others choose to buy it on eBay!
A guy claimed to have discovered the meaning of life and offered to share it with anyone willing to pay $3.26. Eight people paid up, but nobody ever revealed what the seller told them.
11) A Human Liver
One Florida man who was really in need of cash decided to sell his own fully functioning liver via online auction, just to get some money. Astonishingly, the bids went all the way up to $5.7 million but eBay eventually shut the whole thing down as selling organs or body parts is, of course, illegal.
12) One Little Cornflake
Proving that people will pretty much buy anything, a 19-year-old seller decided to list a single cornflake on eBay for a single cent. It took a little while, but eventually the bids started adding up and the teen ended up with about a dollar.
13) Forehead Ad Space
Back in 2005, 20-year-old Andrew Fisher thought up one of the weirdest eBay-related ideas we’ve ever heard of. He decided to sell his own forehead to a company to use as advertising space, saying he’d temporarily tattoo their brand name and logo onto his own skin. He got over $37,000 in the end from a company producing snore remedies.
14) Justin Timberlake’s French Toast
People will always pay more when celebrities are involved, so when someone saw a half-eaten plate of French toast left over by none other than popstar heartthrob Justin Timberlake, they decided to put it on eBay and see what people were willing to pay. A 19-year-old Justin Timberlake superfan bought the toast for over $1,000.
15) Holy Toast
Sticking with the toast theme, someone from Florida sold off a piece of grilled cheese that had a burn pattern which is believed to resemble the Virgin Mary. The owner said that the toast had brought her good luck over the years and it ended up selling for $28,000.
16) A Broken Laser Pointer
Ever wondered what the first ever item to be sold on eBay was? It was a broken laser pointer, which sold for just over $14. What a weird way for eBay to begin.
17) A Mammoth Skeleton
The skeleton of a woolly mammoth named Max sold on eBay for over $75,000 back in the early 2000s. That would be such a cool thing to have in your home, but you’d need a lot of space to display it.
18) A Cornflake Shaped Like Illinois
Yes, we already had a simple cornflake earlier in this list, but how about one shaped like Illinois? Well, someone was willing to pay $1,350 for it back in 2008 as he was starting off a special collection of “unique pop culture items”.
19) James Blunt’s Sister
Here’s an intriguing story! The ‘You’re Beautiful’ singer listed his own sister on eBay several years ago. He wasn’t trying to get rid of her. Instead, she needed to get to Ireland at a time when the ferries and planes weren’t running, and he wanted to see if anyone was willing to take her. The winning bidder had his own helicopter and flew Blunt’s sister over to Ireland. They later dated and then got married!
20) Some Gum Chewed By Britney Spears
Fans of singers and stars are willing to pay big bucks for even the strangest items, so when a mega Britney Spears fan saw an eBay listing for some gum that had been chewed by the singing sensation, he just had to have it! He spent around $20,000 on the gum.
21) A ‘Cheating’ Wife
Paul Osborn was not a happy man when he decided to list his own wife up for sale on eBay after discovering that she’d been cheating on him. He called her a “cheating, lying, adulterous wife” in his listing and put the starting bid at just a penny.
22) A Woman’s Virginity
People really will put anything on eBay, huh? A 27-year-old lady decided to auction off her own virginity on eBay, and the bidding made it up to around half a million bucks before she had a change of heart and decided to call the whole thing off.
23) An ‘Annoying’ Grandma
10-year-old Zoe Pemberton seemed to have gotten a little sick of her “cuddly but annoying” grandma back in 2010, so decided to list the old lady on eBay. Bidding made it up to $25,000 before the auction was shut down by the site.
24) A Bag Of Air
Air is air. It’s everywhere. It’s pretty simple, and most importantly, it’s free! But that doesn’t stop people trying to sell it. One eBay user who went to a Kanye West concert decided to sell a bag of air from the big event on eBay. Somehow, bidding went all the way up to $65,000!
25) Iceland
Iceland is a very popular vacation destination nowadays and the country’s economy has been steadily growing, but back in 2008, things weren’t looking so great.
So an Icelandic guy decided to put his whole country up for sale on eBay! Clearly, this was against the rules and the sale didn’t actually go through, but the bidding made it over $17 million.
26) A New Species
Back in 2004, an eBay user found a pretty sea urchin and decided to list it on the popular auction site. A marine biologist took a look at the listing and realized the urchin was a whole new species. What a discovery!
27) A Fighter Jet
We have no idea what you’d really want to do with a fighter jet except sitting in the cockpit and pretending to be in Top Gun, but that didn’t stop someone trying to sell an old F/A-18 Hornet for $9 million in 2004.
28) A New Middle Name
American businessman Matt Rouse wanted to change his name and decided to get someone else to choose the new name for him, for a price! He offered naming rights up on eBay and earned himself $8,000. Unfortunately, the state courts refused to allow Rouse to change his name in the end.
29) A Weekend With Some Aussies
Australians are famous for their good sense of humor, their friendly nature, and their outgoing personalities. It’s always good fun to hang out with an Aussie, and it’s even worth paying for!
In 2006, a few Aussie buddies listed a weekend with themselves up on eBay, promising beers, snacks, fun chat, and laughter for the winning bidder. They made $1,300 AUD.
30) A Video Of Marilyn Monroe Smoking A Cigarette
One of the world’s most iconic actresses, Marilyn Monroe was a Hollywood legend. Even to this day, her fans will do anything for even the tiniest bit of memorabilia related to Monroe, so when a home video of the star smoking a cigarette appeared on eBay, one fan was happy to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars.
31) A Cup Used By Elvis
Just like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley is a pop culture icon with legions of fans around the world. Those fans will stop at nothing in their search for Elvis-related items, and one of them was very happy to pay over $450 for a cup that the King drank from during a 1977 concert.
32) A Pope’s Car
It’s not quite the Popemobile, but a simple Volkswagen Golf had very spiritual significance when it appeared on eBay. It had been owned and used by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. It sold for over $275,000.
33) Some Sprouts
Here’s an inspiring story! One British person didn’t want to eat their sprouts during Christmas dinner (who does?) so they decided to sell them over on eBay, with all the funds raised going to charity! The sprouts sold for the equivalent of over $2,000 in the end and all that cash went to cancer research.
34) Twinkies
We know what you’re thinking, Twinkies are a common snack. There’s nothing special or strange about them, right? Well, back in 2012, there were rumors going around that no more Twinkies would be made as the company that produces them had filed for bankruptcy. This made Twinkie lovers panic and boxes of the cream-filled treats appeared on eBay with prices of up to $10 million!
35) Guinea Pig Armor
Guinea pigs are delicate little creatures that should always be handled with love and care. And if you really want to keep them safe from your pet cat or a fire-breathing dragon, why not buy some guinea pig armor? A set of it sold for over $24,000 on eBay and all proceeds went to a guinea pig rescue shelter.
36) A Haunted Cane
Back in 2006, a little boy was terrified by his deceased grandpa’s old cane. He believed that the ghost of his grandpa was still lingering in the cane and haunted him at night, so he sold it on eBay, warning any buyer that the ghost would follow the cane wherever it ended up. It sold for around $65,000 in the end.
37) Secret Spy Files
One eBay user thought he was just buying a simple camera, but ended up with a whole host of secret documents and photos! The camera had previously belonged to a British MI6 secret agent who forgot to delete his files from the camera’s memory card before posting it out. There were pictures of Al Qaeda terrorists and even details on rocket launchers and missiles on the card!
38) Haunted Dolls
There are actually plenty of allegedly ‘haunted’ dolls going up for sale on eBay all the time. Prices can range from as low as about $20 up into the hundreds and thousands. They all have names, stories, and creepy faces too.
39) Facebook Data
Back in 2018, shortly after the Cambridge Analytical scandal, a guy named Oliver Frost decided to download all of his Facebook data, put it on a thumb drive, and sell his online identity on eBay. The bidding reached around $400 before eBay shut it down.
40) A Ghost Town
Imagine buying an abandoned old town in the middle of Texas! Well, back in 2007, a town just like that appeared on eBay with a reserve price of $2.5 million.
It didn’t sell until 2009, when the price was finally lowered to $883,000. The winning buyers have turned the whole turn into a luxury wedding venue, but it’s still technically a ghost town as nobody lives there permanently.
41) A Man’s Kidney
Earlier we had a liver, and now we have a kidney. In 1999, a man who was ready to do anything at all to make some moolah decided to place one of his kidneys on the auction site.
He said that the buyer could choose either one of his kidneys but would need to pay for all the medical costs to have the kidney surgically removed and transplanted. The bidding made it all the way up to $5.7 million before eBay pulled the plug.
42) Fanhood
Sports fans often pride themselves on their loyalty, endlessly supporting the same team through the bad times and the good, no matter what. But one New York Knicks fan got tired of all that and decided it was time for a change.
He auctioned off his own ‘fanhood’, vowing that he’d support a new team, go and watch them play, buy their jerseys, and even burn some of his old Knicks memorabilia in exchange for the winning bid. He earned $3,500 and is now a Los Angeles Lakers fan!
43) Szechuan Sauce
McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is the stuff of legend! It was first released in conjunction with 1998’s Mulan, and then briefly appeared again in 2017. Fans were so excited to see the sauce, they were willing to pay crazy money for a single packet, with some selling for $200 on eBay.
44) An Apple TV
Here’s a TV shaped like an apple. We’re not sure why you’d want it or what the designer was really thinking, but maybe you could trick someone into thinking it’s the latest Apple creation.
45) A Very Furry Ken Doll
This Ken doll is absolutely covered with hair, like his beard just ran out of control and covered his whole body. He was listed on eBay for around $50.
46) A Bread Bag
For $100, you could own this weirdly-shaped, oddly-designed cross-body bag. It looks just like a loaf of bread. Maybe you could keep bread inside it too?
47) A Cigarette Smoked By Rihanna
A guy listed this cigarette on eBay for $500 and claimed that Rihanna herself had been seen smoking it. It’s hard to really know if he’s telling the truth though.
48) A Hilarious Poncho
This is just ridiculous! This two-person poncho was designed to be worn by a motorcycle or scooter driver and their passenger. Imagine seeing someone wearing one of those things driving along the highway!
49) A Couple Of Snowballs
In 2016, these snowballs were listed on eBay for $10,000! The seller said they were from the biggest snowfall in recorded history in New York City.
50) A Cigarette Holder For Gamers
These little plastic hooks fit around the finger and allow gamers to have a smoke while they play without even needing to hit the pause button. How lazy.
51) A Gummy Worm-Bear
Here’s an odd one! Someone thought that this bizarre mix of gummy bear and worm was worth $10,000. Who would be stupid enough to pay that? We’d want a lifetime supply of gummy worms and bears for that much money!
52) A Conversation Piece
This bizarre nude man and woman paperclip was listed on eBay as a ‘sexy conversation piece’. The seller wanted $10 for it. We think they should have just thrown it in the trash.
53) Eerie Albino Monkey Dolls
These super creepy albino monkey baby dolls were placed on eBay with a starting price of $425. We’d pay $425 to erase the image of them from our brain.
54) An Actual Witch’s Dress
The seller of this bizarre outfit wanted $5,000 or more. They claimed that the dress and accessories dated back to the days of the Salem witch trials and that some parts are made with actual human hair. Why would anybody in their right mind want to own this!?
55) A Zebra TV
We’ve seen an apple TV, and now here’s a zebra one. This weird TV might not look so bad in a kid’s bedroom, but the seller wanted $10,000 for it! A Spoonbrush? This weird blend of spoon and toothbrush was listed on eBay for the grand total of $45.
If this list proves anything, it’s that people are weird. They’ll sell almost anything, and they’ll buy almost anything too! Most of the listings on this list really did sell, often for truly ridiculous prices. And you can see plenty more weird and wacky listings appearing on eBay each and every day. Share the list around with friends and family, especially the eBay addicts in your life.