ASHBURTON, New Zealand, Dec. 29 (UPI) — A listing for an “unwanted” $100 bill became New Zealand auction site Trade Me’s most viewed auction of the year, prompting bids of over $5,000 dollars which were later removed by the site.
Robbie Shefford posted the auction with the simple description, “I was given $100 for xmas, don’t want it so selling it.” It was intended as a joke referencing the influx of unwanted gifts found on auction sites the day after Christmas.
“Boxing Day is the day all the kids put all their unwanted Christmas presents on Trade Me to get money to buy the stuff they really wanted,” he told Radio New Zealand. “And we decided wouldn’t it be funny if someone put $100 note on Trade Me with no reserve of $20 and a buy now of $150.”
The auction quickly became the site’s most popular auction, gaining nearly 20,000 page views and prompting over 3,700 people to add the auction to their watch list.
It also received bids as high as $5,150 before the site intervened and began removing seemingly fraudulent bids lowering the highest bid to $180.
Spokesperson Logan Mudge said that although the Trade Me will continue to monitor bidding activity and follow up with bidders, there is no intention to remove the auction from the site.
“We try to keep these running for the seller and because they’re fun and interesting,” he said. “This particular seller has captured people’s imagination and he’s taking a bit of the mickey out of these unwanted gifts and we want to see a bit of a result for him.”
Shefford said that he will donate the proceeds of the auction to Ronald McDonald house if the buyer follows through.
“My daughter’s three-and-a-half months, she spent five weeks in the neo-natal unit in Christchurch and we stayed at Ronald McDonald House. They’ve got extremely good facilities so it’s just my chance to give something back to them.”
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