Strollerderby : ebay

Single Mom Sells Ad Space On Her Body on eBay

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:30:00 GMT

One of the things I've always admired about myself (stay with me here) is my ability to work. Ever since I was 16, I've had a job of some sort. Part of that is my skill set -- being able to yak on the phone enabled me to have an embarrassing number of telemarketing jobs, for example -- and part of it is my willingness to find a job and do it, even if its not something I have any interest in. If you need money, you get a job. This isn't to say that this is easy, especially in the current economy. But my feeling was always that no job was beneath me.

My point here is not to toot my own horn. But I was thinking about my job experiences when I read this story on MomLogic about a single mom, BillieJean Irizarry, who tried to sell advertising on her body via eBay. In her mind, this was the best way to make money to support her family.

That can't be the best way to make money. It just can't. I find it hard to believe that there is nothing woman can do. This is someone who, in my opinion, wants to be famous. Now she's "the single mom who tried to sell ad space on her body." Whoo-hoo. Mission accomplished.

Proving my point (sort of) is this: BillieJean was asking $2000 but only got offers of $250. I guess that's a faster way to get $250 than working for minimum wage, but how often can you do that? She has accepted this, telling MomLogic "This idea isn't selling, so I am thinking of doing something else to make money." Oh! Great news. BUT... "I am not sure what it is at this moment, but stay tuned to my eBay page."

If you need money, get a real job. Sorry. Yes, there are circumstances -- living with her who have health problems and are unable to help her watch her three children. But there is absolutely no way that the only option available is eBay. Maybe if she were trying to sell her possessions online, that would be better. But that's it? That's your idea?

What do you think?

Source: MomLogic

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Oops! Classroom Trailer Sold For $1

SunnyChanel — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Need a classroom? Do you have a dollar? Had you been this lucky eBay buyer you could have bought a classroom trailer for just a buck. According to the AP, an Eastern Pennsylvania school district opted to auction off seven of their used classroom trailers via the popular auction site eBay hoping to get about $5,000 to $10,000 each for them.

But there was a big old mistake on their listing. The buyer was able to win the auction for a dollar. The trailers were originally purchased three years ago at around $46,000 each. When they realized the error, they tried to back out of the sale but due to eBay rules, they weren’t able to. And no, don’t go to eBay to try to pick up one of the remaining trailers. The school district superintendent stated when asked if they’d sell the others there, "No I don't think we will go that route again."

Source

Black Market for Blankies

Kelly Mills — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:32:00 GMT

According to the Washington Post, there's a whole slew of sellers on ebay who are buying up seemingly "'eh, what's the deal" blankets, stuffed animals, and other toys. Why? Because the items have been discontinued by manufacturers, and sellers are hoping to capitalize on the desparation of one group in particular.

The "lost lovie" parents. You know, folks whose kids are attached to a binkie, snuggle, woobie, num-num, lovie, blankie, wootsie cueball whatsit. Whatever. Sellers are counting on parents paying top dollar when their child's most precious security possession goes missing. For example, one Carter's blanket had a "buy it now" option of $54.88 and a message telling people not to ask why the price was so high, because this item could only be found on eBay.

I'm simultaneously creeped out by the idea of capitalizing on a kid's attachment to an almost irreplaceable item, and impressed by the ingenuity of people who get exactly how far parents will go to keep their kids from a lost-blankie freakout. I know my family once drove five hours back to a hotel during a packed vacation to retrieve my sister's most beloved stuffed otter.

So how far would you go or have you gone to keep your kid snuggie-satisfied? Would you pay top dollar to ebay vultures/entrepreneurs?

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Georgia Family Has Everything They Own Up on eBay

JeanneSager — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:59:00 GMT

I could make all sorts of jokes about throwing in the kitchen sink. But I won't.

Because there's nothing funny about the circumstances that forced Gregg and Brittiny Peters to put every single item in their household up on eBay. That means the washing machine, the beds, even the family car.

Gregg, a tennis instructor, and Brittiny, a stay-at-home mom, have three kids. Seven-year-old Ayla has a rare and debilitating form of arthritis while two-year-old Noah is autistic. The medical bills have crippled the family, and the economic downturn hasn't helped.

So they put everything up - first on eBay where they have set the opening bid at $20,000, the exact amount of medical debt hanging over their head. Then, someone launched a Website dedicated to their cause, www.everythingweown.org. The title page says it all - Everything We Own, Except the House and Kids.

It wasn't the Peterses creating the site - it was art gallery owners Don Weir and Andrea Chandler, who say the Peterses weren't asking for anyone to give them money. But people wanted to give. So Weir and Chandler threw up the site, which tells the Peterses' heartbreaking story:

"We are just 2 average people who became 1 above-average "team" when we met and fell in love almost 9 years ago. We both agree that neither one of us would be "whole" or "complete" without each other! Our incredible love for one another has ALWAYS pulled us through even the most difficult times we have faced together."

Reading up on the Peterses' blog, Brittiny breaks down their medical issues - she has a blood clotting disorder that's made it hard to obtain health insurance, while Gregg is self-employed and thus doesn't have an employer-sponsored health plan. They have Medicaid, but it falls short on covering a lot of the kids' bills, and does nothing to cover the loss of income when Gregg has to stay home to help out with the kids or the travel expenses of seeing out-of-town specialists. Since 2001, the couple has suffered through losing a baby at three months and watching another come into the world stillborn. Their three surviving children are their "blessings," despite the maladies that have put the Peters' in such dire straits.

"Nothing's more precious than the kids, not a sofa, not a TV. It is as simple as that," said Gregg Peters in an interview with the Daily News.

So far, there have been no bids on eBay. The family is selling it all as a lot - from the kids' swingset to Mom's jogging stroller. The latter site has brought in $10,000 in donations so far - and if the eBay site doesn't get any hits, they're going to break it all down and sell things off item by item.

A part of me would love to see the donations mount so high they never have to come to that point, but an even bigger part of me says good for you to the Peters. As Brittiny says on the family's blog, Gregg worked hard for everything they owned - and they bought nice things BEFORE the children's diagnoses put a financial strain on the family. Now they're acting responsibly and selling the "nice things" off one by one.

It's sad that it has to come to that. But here's a family who has taken the words "fiscal responsibility" to heart. Their kids are lucky to have them.

Blogging Moms Find a Kidney For Teen on Dialysis

JeanneSager — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:02:00 GMT

If you've ever doubted the power of the Internet, just imagine the motivation of helping a kid in need thrown in. This is one of those happy holiday stories to make up for all the bad stuff we ended up writing about here on the 'Derby, but I warn you. Get out the tissues.

"Domestic Diva" mom blogger Lisa posted in early November that she could barely keep posting as she watched her teen daughter, Marielle, suffer through her kidneys shutting down. The family was making a drastic move. They were pulling Marielle out of a Philadelphia hospital and heading to New York's Columbia Presbyterian in hopes that the living kidney donor program there could save her life.

Two weeks to the day later, yesterday, Lisa was back online. Blogging mothers across the country had picked up her story and blogged about it, tweeted it on Twitter and shared it on Facebook. Calls poured into Columbia Presbyterian from every state in the U.S., from Africa, from Saudi Arabia. Marielle now has a donor. A friend her mom met through Ebay called the hospital, went through the process and has come up as a match. The teenager is home, still on dialysis, but home for the holiday as doctors work to bring her body to a state of health that will enable them to proceed with surgery.

Yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving, the family released this announcement to the world:

"Thank you to EVERYONE who sent in donor forms, called, blogged, twittered and help spread the word…BUT WE DO NOT NEED ANY ADDITIONAL DONORS AT THIS TIME. I am amazed by the power of the web and the hearts of those who helped make a difference."

Now wipe your tears and get back to that turkey.

Image: Domestic Diva

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The Sarah Palin Doll Brings in the Cabbage!

SunnyChanel — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:40:00 GMT

She may have lost the vice presidency but the Cabbage Patch Kid doppelganger of Sarah Palin was certainly a winner yesterday. This one of a kind Sarah Palin doll, created by the folks at Cabbage Patch Kids, was sold on eBay yesterday for, yes, $19,000…American dollars not Pesos. The winner of this auction was someone who perhaps had a hardcore Sarah Palin fetish, got their hands on the RNC checkbook, or just really believes in Toys for Tots, who was the recipient of all the proceeds of the sale.

Also sold were a pretty tame rendition of Joe Biden, that went for $3550.01. A John McCain doll (which looked an awful lot like the Biden doll) went for $6,000. And the President-Elect Obama Cabbage Patch Kid went for a respectable $8,4000. But yes, the world’s most famous hockey mom brought in the most cash, so in Cabbage Patch land, she is the by far the leader.

The Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch Doll? Really?

SunnyChanel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:58:00 GMT

The Cabbage Patch Kids aren’t kids anymore. They’re all grown up and just turned the ripe old age of twenty-five. And to celebrate, direct from the farm, four very special dolls have been born. In the spirit of the season, you can bid on one of the one-of-a-kind dolls created to resemble Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Each doll was hand-painted and their clothing was hand tailored. The eBay auction starts on Thursday and ends November 4th, with all the proceeds to go to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Oddly creepy, strangely alluring, but hey, it’s for charity so an adoption of a candidate Cabbage Patch Kid goes from goofy and gratuitous to gracious and generous.

Via MSNBC

Woman Sells Evidence of Her Husband's Affair on Ebay

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Oh, revenge can be such fun--particularly for uninvolved spectators.

An Australian woman returned home to find a pair of panties and an opened condom wrapper in her bed—the bed she had shared with her husband for 22 years. Wasting no time in declaring her discovery to all and sundry, she snapped a photo of the offending items and put it up for sale on Ebay, along with a description that left little to the imagination. Titling her piece “Empty Condom Packet and a Photo of the Tart’s Knickers,” the thoughtful woman did Ebay shoppers the favor of describing in detail this dramatic still life.

Of the panties, she writes, “They are so huge I thought they may make someone a nice shawl or, even better, something for Halloween perhaps.” Interestingly, the photograph juxtaposes the larger-than-life quality of the panties with the diminutive size of the condom wrapper, described by the artist as “size small.”

Next for sale on Ebay? Her husband’s Harley.

Photo: Ebay

Father Puts Baby for Sale on Craigslist

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:45:00 GMT

With all these babies for sale on the World Wide Web, what’s the point of going through nine months of back pain and swollen feet? You can become a proud parent with just a few clicks of the mouse!

Be forewarned, however, that the latest infant up for sale is a bit pricier than the tot offered for one-euro on Ebay recently. An “unexpected” but “very cute” and “very healthy” seven-day-old was listed for sale for $10,000 on Craiglist last week. A woman searching Craigslist to buy more standard fare—concert tickets? an armoir?—alerted the cops to the disturbing posting, and police tracked the poster to an apartment in Vancouver. And by “tracked,” I mean they looked up the phone number that was listed with the ad. The baby was placed in protective custody.

But don’t worry, folks. Bethany Granholm, the baby's mother, “guaranteed” the concerned public that the baby’s father, 26-year-old Jeremy Pete, was only joking when he posted the ad. Sure, the 23-year-old mother conceded, he was being “a bit of dick” (ladies, I think we all know how that goes! Like, do they ever grow up?!). But it was all for shits and giggles. Besides, Granholm hung up on the one caller who responded to the ad--now that is a scary, scary thought. “This has turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he [Pete] has made in his life,” Granholm said, leaving the public to wonder if Mr. Pete had ever accidentally set a children’s museum on fire.

The story is not without a silver lining, however, which is that Granholm seems genuinely desperate to have her baby returned to her, and is considering cutting off Pete’s involvement in the baby’s life. Both Granholm and Pete have had drug problems in the past, but Granholm says she’s been clean since she got pregnant. “She [the baby] is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she said. Meanwhile, a tearful Pete, who has a three-month-old son with another woman, assured the press, "I never believed I was putting my daughter in harm’s way. Because, you know, she was here and secure with us.”

Should baby Beverly be returned to the custody of her parents?

Photo: Arlen Redekop/Canwest News Service

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Brett Singer — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone that weighed in here about what would make a good mother's day gift for the wife. Since I still haven't gotten anything, I thought I'd keep asking.

Lots of options out there, of course, including this one that Redsy mentioned. Here are a couple of others:

One that I stumbled onto was CowParade, which sells penguin-themed merchandise. HA! Gotcha! It's all cows. (Fooled you, didn't I? Yes, I need a nap.)

Anyway, they're selling special Mother's Day Figurines that look kind of cute. One problem -- buying a woman anything associated with cows, unless you live on a dairy farm, is probably a bad idea. (In fact, even if you live on a dairy farm it's probably a bad idea.) I'm going to nix this one right off the bat.

A couple of commenters suggested etsy.com. This is a site that sells handmade stuff, sort of a crafty-ebay (crafteBay? nah.) This shop, mangotreejewelry, was recommended. The items look relatively inexpensive, and fairly nice. Here are a couple of examples:

- Green Cluster Earrings, $21

- The Tassel Necklace, $36

The price is certainly right. Not sure what the shipping costs are, and they don't say that they guarantee delivery by Mother's Day, although they also don't say that they don't. So it's probably worth checking first.

So -- what do you think? Yea or nay?

images: mangotreejewelry on etsy.com

Family Auctions $103,000 in Debt on Ebay

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:02:00 GMT

This is one way to handle the housing/food/gas crunch non-recession of 2008. One woman is attempting to auction off the entirety of her family's debt = $103K or so.

She even itemizes it for you...

Please note that you don't hear this poor family (as in sympathy not poverty) arguing their debt is due to $4 gas.

Meanwhile, this seems like a very commonsensical (if a little last ditch) method of dealing with debt.

Plus, you can keep her car and her house if you like (though that's optional), though apparently not her kids (who look quite cute, especially compared to the husband).

Compared to my family's debt, this seems small fry, baby.

[Hat Tip: Consumerist]

Sell Your Baby on eBay! I Mean, Your Baby's Stuff

Karen Murphy — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:08:00 GMT

If you're anything like I was every time I had a baby, you bought too much. Call it the nesting instinct on steroids, or you forgot to factor in the stuff that people would give you, or you can't resist just one more ironic onesie, but at any rate there you are with a six-month old and a whole bunch of stuff that will only fit a newborn. What to do?

Why, eBay, of course!

I did the eBay thing, both coming and going, when I could still get my daughter Serena into dresses (she's 7 now). So Hanna Anderssen and Oilily came and went from our house with regularity, but I have to admit that I found the whole sell-it-on-eBay thing rather, well, tedious. If only I had known these secrets. Plus! Who knew people will buy formula coupons! I must have thrown away a veritable goldmine. Don't you make the same mistake. If you have middle-of-the-night or naptime time on your hands, then you, too, can get rid of some extra stuff around your house and make a few bucks in the bargain. Here's a sampling of advice:

Sell those formula coupons. Like I said, who knew? And you can buy them too.
Little Metallica grown out of those miniscule Newborn-sized diapers already? But you bought 7 cases of them at Costco? Don't worry, you can unload these.
Sell stuff as outfits or sets; you'll make more money that way.
Don't forget a photo; you'll stand out a little more from the other bazillion people unloading their crap.
Keep the box to everything so you can sell it later; you'll get more if it still has its box. So what if your basement is crammed full of boxes?
Create a system and sell stuff for your friends; you'll look more professional and collect a commission on it.

And about selling your actual baby...I am pretty sure that eBay frowns on that.

Kids Sell Their Toys To Save Their Dad From Cancer

Karen Murphy — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:25:00 GMT

I'm all verklempt here from reading this article. Here, you do it, I can't.

Okay, I'm better now. Stay-at-home dad Dave Hall has cancer and was given six months to live. He needs $10,000 to get from where he lives in the U.K. to the U.S. for treatment for his three-inch brain tumor, so his three kids have put their teddy bears and Legos up on eBay to help raise the money for him.

Eight-year-old Callum is even selling his treasured Robodog, because although he loves his toy he loves his dad more. He says, "I love Robodog – but I really want to raise money for my dad and Cancer Research." The kids Daniella, Callum, and Lucia are thirteen, eight, and three.

Their parents must be extremely proud and grateful. I hope they manage to raise the money they need. Me, I'm still verklempt.

Designer Graco Stroller To Benefit Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Alisyn — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 22:48:00 GMT

Designer/mom Cynthia Rowley has teamed up with Graco to create The Graco Mosaic "Be Fruitful" Stroller. The stroller has been signed by 17 celebrity mothers, and will be auctioned off on eBay starting February 1, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The Mosaic stroller was first created in October 2006, to raise funds for the EGPAF. It retails for $299 and again, 100% of the net proceeds go to the EGPAF. You can order one for yourself, or an expectant friend, here. You can learn more about, and enter, eBay's "Be Fruitful" auction here.

My first - in long line - of strollers was a Graco, and I hated everything about it. But perhaps the production and functionality of the brand has improved since 2004 (?) - the design certainly has. Do you have a Graco that you are happy with? If so, will you bid on the "Be Fruitful" piece? Are you unhappy with your Graco, but willing to buy The Mosaic model, to benefit such a worthy cause? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Do Good: James Kim Family Benefit Auction Begins Today

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:02:00 GMT

An auction of fine art + craft to benefit the family of James Kim organized by sisters Lisa Congdon and Stephanie Barnes and their mother Gerrie Congdon begins (finally!) today. I know that many of us throughout the blogosphere have been visiting the site often, drooling over the lovely items that the artists and crafters have so generously donated for this very worthy cause.

One hundred percent of the auction proceeds will go to the The James Kim Memorial Fund. Auction items from the artists listed on the site will be available for bid starting today, January 3, on eBay. There will be a link to the eBay listing for each item from the auction site starting the morning of January 3. (Hopefully they're up as you read this.) Bidding ends January 7th. So go on and bid, and if you have your eye on this, I'm more than happy to battle it out with you.