[Skinny Minnie]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3146042998

Read the description area!

[Zygomaticus]

Wow! It's at 860 bucksees! That's probably 860 of the easiest bucksees he ever made

Maybe it'll go for more. I read once that some individual beenie baby thingies sold for just that much.

I wonder if his ex-wife'll find out about this

[SamandMax]

You have to watch out for the counterfeit beanie babies. I was busted in Tijuana when they found an illegal 'Eric the Elephant' taped to my stomach. I spent 9 months in prison, surviving only by eating my own dandruff. Good times.

[lakerz]

Hehe, that is funny. And wow, that guy got a decent amount of money. Not that I would know if that collection is worth more or less than the high bid.

[tabacco]

I'm tempted to e-mail him and ask what he spent it on at Home Depot

[DomStLeger]

lol I had a look at his ebay rating and he did a followup listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2960761236

Not only has he managed to get about $40 so far judging by all the new positive reviews hes getting, but hes also gotten loads of positive feedback out of it.

[Phil25]

This guy is my hero.

[doughy white]

Originally Posted by tabacco

I'm tempted to e-mail him and ask what he spent it on at Home Depot

I'd really be interested in what his wife said/did when she found out that he'd sold her precious beanies! Can't have been that bad 'cause he is still selling on ebay.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

And now, ladees and gentoolmen, the truth is revealed (sorry Minnie, if you actually believed it):

Drunken sailor may have gone a little overboard

Published November 2, 2003


In search of thedrunkensailor ...

Now, before you start calling and writing, I'm not looking for just any drunken sailor. I'm looking for thedrunkensailor.

A man by that name started an auction on eBay last month selling 26 beanie babies.

No big deal, right?

Well, not until you read the description.

"Let me begin by explaining some very important details, this way I do not get 100's of silly e-mails asking me to photograph the hind end of some stuffed animals," thedrunkensailor begins. "I DO NOT KNOW crap about these things. This belonged to my ex-wife who had about a 1,000 of these Beanie Babies and when she moved, this one box of these got left behind, and now I am selling the goofy little things. Whatever money I make from them will be spent at the local Home Depot on tools and other cool stuff."

He asked for a starting bid of only $10. He just wanted to make enough to buy some tools and get drunk.

"Final Notice and Disclaimer," he ends the description. "I know nothing about these stuffed Beanie Babies. I offer no proof of anything. It is a stuffed animal, get over it! I don't think my ex-wife was in the Black Market Beanie Trade. But then again, I didn't know she was having an affair either! Thus no guarantees!"

The attack on political correctness. The acerbic wit and dry rage. It was a clarion call for the rejected and injured.

Within days, he was receiving hundreds of e-mails. So, he included two responses on his auction site, one supportive and the other scolding.

"Here is an Email that I just got from some lady who felt she will try to save my soul or something! Read Below:

"`Very clever listing; however it is very likely you have some fakes [counterfeits] among the listing and I suggest you pull them from the auctions until you have them authenticated. Humphrey the camel is an example. It is a requirement of eBay as well as under the provisions of the U.S. Criminal Code that a seller know the authenticity of a trademarked item s/he is selling ... and further it is very unlikely your ex would have left behind these rare ones. If she had 1,000 beanies, she knew what she had and their value.'"

By week's end, the site had become a sort of Internet Manifesto for Frustrated Divorcees. Among the 300-400 daily e-mails were marriage proposals. The bidding quickly climbed from $10 to $860.

The winning bidder was the woman who had blasted thedrunkensailor in the e-mail.

Not one to look a gift beanie in the mouth, thedrunkensailor then began a second auction site. This one thanked his supporters and offered them the opportunity to basically buy him a beer by buying a little piece of paper called "Certificate of Liquid Assets."

He's made $175 doing that.

Is this a great country or what?

I eventually tracked down thedrunkensailor. In keeping with the well-recognized canon that all things bizarre must have roots in South Florida, it turns out he's a neighbor.

And get this. He's not divorced. Happily married, in fact. No affairs.

His real name is Steve (he asked that his last name not be used because he worries he'll be harassed by critics). Steve, 32, and wife Mary, 28, found the box of beanies when they packed to move from Coral Springs to Margate. They had picked them up over the years and really didn't know their worth. Steve said they would have been happy to get the $10.

The story was just Steve goofing around.

"I made the story amusing for myself, more than anything else," he said over the phone.

It has struck a cord. His site has gotten well over half a million hits. He's gotten e-mails from Japan and Australia. More than 100 from England.

"Most just got a real kick out of the site," Steve said. "Most people were just tickled about how honest I was."

Sun Sentinal online

BTW, does anyone here remember the J. Peterman catalog. The guy's eBay listing is like the, um, rogue version of it, a 'discernibly' less nuanced version. I loved getting that catalog, ordered a couple of things from it. But all they gave you is a short story and an watercolour illustration. That's it, just the story, a visual impression, and your imagination firing up. Cool way of marketing.

[Phil25]

You've ruined Christmas for me 'Trep. You're a monster!

[Skinny Minnie]

* sobs into Phil's shoulder*

[remixor]

I still think it's hilarious It amazes me that the guy now can make extra cash photocopying printouts at Kinkos. This line is great:

"I don't think my ex-wife was in the Black Market Beanie Trade..but then again, I didn't know she was having an affair either!"

[lakerz]

Moral of the story is originality sells! Think of a great story, tie it in with an auction and voila...money comes poring in.

[Tanukitsune]

Look here!

The lady wanted her money back, because one or two were fake!

Cafe Press even have a sale pf Druken Sailor T-Shirts! :eek:

Man, this is bigger than that "All your base..." thing!

He even got mentioned on Jay Leno!

So from now on... If you want to sell something on eBay, say your divorced!