eBay news stories on Newser

Cher Sells Key to Adelaide, Aussies Stunned

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:29:10 CDT

Cher must be getting a little hard up because she sold the symbolic "key" to the city of Adelaide on eBay—and Aussies are flabbergasted. "I am exceptionally disappointed," huffed current Adelaide Mayor Stephen Yarwood . "It's more a reflection on Cher than the city of Adelaide. It must be very...

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:48:05 CST

When James Labrecque listed an old safe—to which he did not have the combination—on eBay, the seller warned, "What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back." A Tennessee man purchased it for $122.93, had a welder cut it open—and found $26,...

For Sale: Obama's Chrysler, $1M

Polly Davis Doig — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:40:32 CST

Before he helped bail out Chrysler, President Obama drove one. The 2005 Chrysler 300C once leased by the future president is now for sale on eBay —for the not-too-shabby starting bid of $1 million, reports the New York Times . (Note to Chrysler: If you could have made this business model...

eBay Snaps Up Hunch for $80M

Kevin Spak — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:56:11 CST

eBay made a splash today by acquiring Hunch , a recommendations startup that launched in 2009, the companies announced . The official statement didn’t list a price, but Michael Arrington’s Uncrunched , which first reported the deal, said it would be "somewhere around $80 million." Hunch founder Chris Dixon will take over eBay’s...

Prosecutors Probing eBay-Craigslist Feud

Rob Quinn — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:15:00 CDT

The Justice Department has become involved in the long-running dispute between eBay and Craigslist amid accusations that eBay execs broke the law. Federal investigators are probing accusations that eBay employees forwarded confidential information about Craigslist's classified ads business to a team starting up eBay's own classified ads service, Reuters reports....

JD Salinger Note to Maid on Sale for $50K

John Johnson — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:26:57 CDT

A newly surfaced work from the late JD Salinger is up for sale—for about $1,800 a word. It's a signed note to his maid written in 1989, which the online company History for Sale has up on eBay for $50,000, reports the Concord Monitor . "Dear Mary," it...

Back From the Future: Nike Releases Genuine Air Mags

Mark Russell — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 05:00:00 CDT

They're the most famous shoes never made—until now. They're the Nike Air Mags, the LED-covered high-tops Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future Part II . Now, as Gizmodo gushes , they can be yours for a limited time ... for the right price. Nike has made just 1,500 pairs...

Feds: Hospital Scammer Sold Patients' Prostheses

Matt Cantor — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:47:05 CDT

Seeing this health worker could literally cost you an arm and a leg. A hospital official may have tricked his patients into replacing quality prostheses so he could trade the originals for cash on eBay, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The FBI is looking into whether the head of prosthetic...

Many Firms Pay CEOs More Than the Taxman

Kevin Spak — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:48:54 CDT

Many in Washington are calling for lower corporate taxes, but many US corporations have now become so adept at dodging the taxman that they’re paying their CEOs a lot more than Uncle Sam, according to a new study from a liberal think tank. The study found that 25 of the...