Man auctions his life on eBay, is disappointed at sale price
Monday, June 30, 2008
Image: Denis Grgečić Valput.
After auctioning off his entire life on eBay for A$399,300 (€244 912.148) Ian Usher says he is "a little bit disappointed" at the final selling price.
The 44-year-old British immigrant living in Perth, Australia, put all of his worldly belongings up for sale on the popular auction website, including his three-bedroom house and all its contents, his car, motorcycle, jetski, skydiving gear, and his job at a rug store, for which he offered a two week trial period. He even offered introductions to his friends living in Perth.
Usher made the decision to sell his life after his five-year marriage suddenly ended. On his website, alife4sale.com, he explains that "despite my life being busy and fulfilled, I still miss my wife so much. Everything in my home is a reminder of the wonderful past we shared. So, after a year in this house I decided that it is time to sell it and move on."
|
It was as much about moving on as it was about selling it for as much as I could get. | 
|
—Ian Usher | ||
During the 7 day auction, which ended on Sunday, there were several bogus bids which brought the sale price as high as A$2.2 million, but the final price ended up at A$399,300, which was around A$100,000 less than Usher had hoped for. "I'm a little bit disappointed, but I'm still excited. It's still enough to move forward and do what I said I was going to do, which is move on to the next part of my life," Usher said. "It was as much about moving on as it was about selling it for as much as I could get."
According to Reuters, the winning bidder, whose username is "mslmcc", also lives in Australia, and has a 100 percent feedback rating. Usher says he hasn't yet been able to figure out who the buyer is, because of the TV crews lined up in front of his home. "I'm trying to find some time to get on the computer and check it out ... I haven't looked (up) anything about them yet," he said.
Usher now plans to go off in search of a new life. His initial plan, as he describes on his website, was to just walk out his front door with just his wallet and a passport and board a train, with no idea of where to go. He has since launched 100goals100weeks.com, which will document his attempt to complete 100 of his life goals in a span of 100 weeks. Some of these goals include getting a pilot's license, climbing the Eiffel Tower, learning to play the didgeridoo, and shaking hands with billionaire Richard Branson.
"I was pretty aimless when I started this, and I had a vague notion of adventure, but I've come up with a much more solid plan, which is still very adventurous," Usher says. He invites anyone who is interested to join him on his adventures.
Sources
- James Thornhill. "Man auctions off his life, sale price disappoints" — Reuters, June 30, 2008
- Associated Press. "Man auctions life, but disappointed at bid price" — Yahoo! News, June 30, 2008
- Frances Booth. "Sell a life: what price a life?" — The Daily Telegraph, June 30, 2008
- Linda Rosencrance. "Sold on eBay for $382k: One life" — Computerworld, June 30, 2008
- "Life for sale falls short of target" — The Sydney Morning Herald, June 29, 2008
External links
