TOP 10 Stupid eBay Stories You’ve Ever Heard

16-year-old British boy who bought a Sony Playstation 2 for $194 on eBay got more then game console when he opened the package. There was a whole heap of euros -- €65,400 ($90,000) to be precise -- stacked neatly inside. The boy's parents alerted police when the parcel arrived. Police are holding the money while the matter is investigated. But, if the money remains unclaimed the family could potentially apply for it to be returned to them. A spokesman for eBay said: "We know that eBay is a great place to pick up a bargain, although in this case, we agree that the contents of the parcel were somewhat unusual and we will assist with any inquiries the police may wish to make."

eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. Though he's now a billionaire (of course), Pierre started AuctionWeb (as it was then known) as a simple "side hobby." In late '95, Pierre made history when he sold eBay's first item -- a broken laser pointer he had originally bought as a cat toy. Amazingly, the buyer paid $14.00 for the broken pointer. It was a dumb idea to sell broken pointer, it was a dumb idea to buy it. But, we imagine it was about this time Pierre realized he was on the cusp of creating something great.

The first MiG-21 prototype flew in 1956 and came into service with the Soviet air force in 1959, becoming one of the most mass-produced combat aircraft since World War II. A Chinese businessman has bought an old MiG-21f fighter jet for nearly $25,000 on eBay to decorate his office. Zhang Cheng bought the Soviet-made jet from a seller in the United States, where it is said to be in excellent condition though last flown in 1995.

This kid, Ron Steen, just put himself up for auction. It means that literally: 2% of his future income will go to the highest bidder. The minimum bid price is $100,000:

"Hi there, my name is Ron Steen. I am selling 2% of my future earnings for a chance to go to college. I am offering up 2% of every dollar I make for the rest of my working life for a starting bid of $100,000. I am starting Cal State University of Fullerton on August 21st, 2006 and I want to pay for college and its expenses by myself. In exchange for money to go to college I will send you 2% of whatever my income is annually in the form of a check once a year. This also means if I win the lottery you will get 2%, any income is your income (but I don't play the lottery so don't count on that one) The papers will be drawn up by my lawyer and you are more than welcome to look them over.

I am a really good guy: I have been the host of a tv show for the city of Anaheim, I have a dynamic personality and I am team player who is willing to learn. I have no drug or alcohol problems and my car is completely paid off. I have the drive and desire to do well in life. I want succeed, and I will. I am going to study communications and want to get into broadcasting and radio. After I complete my education I plan on making at least 30 million dollars in my lifetime. When I meet my goal, you will make six times your original investment. Where else can you invest in something that pays off every year and has the potential of making you over six times your money? Not the stock market, not real-estate, definitely not gambling. I can't really think of any one thing that pays off ever year like this. With this investment you are guaranteed one check every January for 40 years. I will be paying you in my working years, from the moment I finish college in 2012 until I am 65 in 2052 you will receive a check in the mail every January made out for 2% of my earnings from the previous year according to my W2s.

I want to make money, and am going to continue to work hard through college and into my career. I don't want to take out loans and go into debt, I want to catapult myself to the top. I want you to make a lot of money for believing in me. The more you make, the more I make, the better this will work. I am a man of my word, and you will make a profit. This is a great opportunity for anyone out there who wants to invest in someones future and be able to reap the benefits of the person they help. Thank you and if you have any questions please feel free to ask -Ron

A few small disclaimers:
Payment will be made in one lump sum within one week of auctions end.
I will not accept Paypal.
Yearly payments are transferable.
This agreement does not include any money I may inherit."

If you thought that buying free e-mail accounts that have something to do with the Apple iPhone fad is over, think again. unlocked_apple_iphone_wholesale at yahoo.com was sold for a whopping $610 on eBay, which exceeds the 8GB iPhone model price by $10. Some people really have too much money on their hands.

The seller listed the free Open Office program product for a minimum bid of $3.95 but rose to a final price of $61 dollars with 25 total bids. The Open Office suite works in a similar way as Microsoft Office suite but is available for free and it can be downloaded. Instead of downloading free, these buyers bid on this product and one of them ended up buying this product for $61. Still cheaper than Microsoft Office, but why pay for it when you can get them free?

"For Sale: Belgium, a Kingdom in three parts ... free premium: the king and his court (costs not included)." The odd ad was posted by one disgruntled Belgian in protest at his country's political crisis. "I wanted to attract attention," said Gerrit Six, the teacher and former journalist who posted the ad. "You almost have to throw a rock through a window to get attention for Belgium." Six placed the advertisement that offering free delivery, but pointing out that the country was coming secondhand and that potential buyers would have to take on over $300 billion in national debt.

A lot of people like buying stuff on eBay, because it's cheap. And some people never buy on eBay, because they are afraid of being ripped off. Here is your solution to making easy money on eBay. Go to Craigslist.Com and see what items people buy and sell most often. Look at prices. Then go to eBay and see, if you can get it cheaper. Once you find your niche, you can buy things on eBay (or better yet, act as a representative for an eBay powerseller) and sell them for a profit using local classifieds and Craigslist. You can do this online as well. Set up a proxy store, and when you get an order, simply buy the same item on eBay for less, substituting shipping address from your own to that of your buyer. It's simple and stupid, but it works.

eBay addiction is a new and increasingly worrisome category under the umbrella diagnosis of Internet Addiction. Due to the popularity of online auctions such as eBay, a growing number of individuals are showing signs of addition related these sites in the past decade.

In moderate cases, eBay addicts will wake up at strange hours just to be there for the last remaining minutes of an online auction. "It was 5 am and I couldn't log on," explains one eBay addict. "I had a complete breakdown, I started crying, and my husband didn't know what to do with me. That's when I realized I had a real problem."

In more serious cases, eBay addicts feel a sense of accomplishment when they discover they are the highest bidder and begin to bid on items they don't need just to experience the rush of winning - sometimes to the point that they go into financial debt, take out a second mortgage, or even go into bankruptcy just to afford their online purchases. One woman stole funds from her husband's 401K until he discovered her addiction. "He shut down my account and threatened to divorce me," she explained. "I was about to lose my marriage all because I couldn't stop myself from using eBay."

In 2004, a Seattle man posted pictures of himself wearing his ex-wife's wedding dress. In more than one way, the seller received much more than he expected. While he initially admitted he was selling the dress to earn some money for Mariners tickets, the bidding got into the thousands of dollars, and the seller actually had received a number of marriage proposals from users.