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Grandpa's ghost going, going, gone
Woman's attempt to ease son's fears scares up $65,000 in Internet auction
By Robert King
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December 7, 2004
What started out as a curious way to help a little boy cope with the fear of his grandfather's ghost blossomed Monday into a sure sign the apocalypse is upon us.
The ghost of an Indiana man -- and the more tangible walking cane he used in life -- sold Monday on eBay for $65,100.
EBay identified the winning bidder only as Brian Renovitch. But GoldenPalace, an Internet gambling firm, posted a news release on its Web site late Monday, saying it had prevailed with a bid of $65,000.
GoldenPalace spokesman Drew Black said the higher bid had not been accepted, allowing GoldenPalace to claim the cane. An eBay spokesman could not be reached late Monday.
GoldenPalace recently won an eBay auction where the prize was a grilled cheese sandwich emblazoned with an image said to resemble the Virgin Mary. The "Sacred Sandwich," as it was dubbed, went for $28,000. That sandwich now is on tour, and Black said GoldenPalace will take the cane on tour, too.
Mary Anderson, 33, of Hobart in northwest Indiana, put her father's ghost up for sale last week in an effort to help her 6-year-old son, Collin, cope with the fears troubling him ever since the old man died in the family's home last year.
Anderson said her son worried that his grandfather's ghost might come back to haunt him. In his final days, 72-year-old Collin Proctor had raised his voice to the boy and tapped him on the rear with his walking cane.
Anderson said her father never hurt the boy and was a decent man who happened to be very sick. But the memory stuck with his grandson. Adding fuel to the boy's fear of ghosts was the fact his uncle fancies himself an amateur investigator of the paranormal.
"He said, 'Grandpa died here, and he was mean to me,' " Anderson recalled. "He said he knows ghosts exists, and he basically thinks my dad was the biggest meanie."
As a means to move past those fears, Anderson packaged the ghost with the walking cane. And she set a condition on the purchase: The buyer of the ghost must agree to write little Collin a letter acknowledging the receipt of the cane -- and the ghost.
This curious transaction is one of a handful of eBay auctions that have captured the public's imagination in recent months.
Aside from the "Sacred Sandwich," eBay's Web site drew 17 million hits after a Seattle man decided to auction his ex-wife's wedding gown. It didn't hurt that his eBay sales pitch included photos of him posing in the wedding dress.
Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay, said the secret to turning an everyday item into a national sensation often goes back to the basics of free enterprise -- good marketing.
The ghost, the wedding dress and the Sacred Sandwich -- the items which have created the most buzz on eBay this year -- all were accompanied by creative sales pitches by their owners.
"Some are good storytellers," Durzy said. "If you think of eBay as a giant marketplace -- which is what it is -- you want to do what you can to get the most eyeballs to it."
Fueling the bidding war for the ghost was the appearance by Anderson and her husband Monday on NBC's "Today Show." After the Anderson's offering received national publicity, a number of copycat listings for ghost canes popped up on eBay.
There is a limit to what eBay will allow to be put up for auction. Previous attempts by people to sell their own souls on eBay were quashed because the buyer has to get something tangible.
"There's a rule: A seller must be able to deliver what they are selling," Durzy said. In this case, the cane is a real thing.
"If the buyer believes they are getting a ghost, it's up to the buyer," he said.
Durzy said eBay bidders are warned up front that if they offer the winning bids they have, in effect, accepted a binding contract. eBay doesn't enforce the deal -- that's the responsibility of buyers and sellers. But parties who don't make good on their deals can be banned from eBay and, theoretically, face litigation.
Anderson said last week that her son would get the cash proceeds from the auction. That was when the top bid was about $51.
When the bids were about $1,000, Anderson posted a message on the eBay message board indicating some of the proceeds would go to an account to help pay for the adult respite care of her mother, who has Alzheimer's.
Anderson, who repairs computers, couldn't be reached for comment Monday night, and it's not clear how she will spend $65,000.
When one visitor to eBay's Web site posted a message questioning whether the ghost might be angered by being put up for sale, Anderson said she was not worried.
"Actually," she wrote, "my dad would have loved this."
INDYSTAR.COM
Woman's attempt to ease son's fears scares up $65,000 in Internet auction
By Robert King
<script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write( ''+ 'robert.king'+ '@'+ 'indystar.com'+ '' ); //--> </script>
December 7, 2004
What started out as a curious way to help a little boy cope with the fear of his grandfather's ghost blossomed Monday into a sure sign the apocalypse is upon us.
The ghost of an Indiana man -- and the more tangible walking cane he used in life -- sold Monday on eBay for $65,100.
EBay identified the winning bidder only as Brian Renovitch. But GoldenPalace, an Internet gambling firm, posted a news release on its Web site late Monday, saying it had prevailed with a bid of $65,000.
GoldenPalace spokesman Drew Black said the higher bid had not been accepted, allowing GoldenPalace to claim the cane. An eBay spokesman could not be reached late Monday.
GoldenPalace recently won an eBay auction where the prize was a grilled cheese sandwich emblazoned with an image said to resemble the Virgin Mary. The "Sacred Sandwich," as it was dubbed, went for $28,000. That sandwich now is on tour, and Black said GoldenPalace will take the cane on tour, too.
Mary Anderson, 33, of Hobart in northwest Indiana, put her father's ghost up for sale last week in an effort to help her 6-year-old son, Collin, cope with the fears troubling him ever since the old man died in the family's home last year.
Anderson said her son worried that his grandfather's ghost might come back to haunt him. In his final days, 72-year-old Collin Proctor had raised his voice to the boy and tapped him on the rear with his walking cane.
Anderson said her father never hurt the boy and was a decent man who happened to be very sick. But the memory stuck with his grandson. Adding fuel to the boy's fear of ghosts was the fact his uncle fancies himself an amateur investigator of the paranormal.
"He said, 'Grandpa died here, and he was mean to me,' " Anderson recalled. "He said he knows ghosts exists, and he basically thinks my dad was the biggest meanie."
As a means to move past those fears, Anderson packaged the ghost with the walking cane. And she set a condition on the purchase: The buyer of the ghost must agree to write little Collin a letter acknowledging the receipt of the cane -- and the ghost.
This curious transaction is one of a handful of eBay auctions that have captured the public's imagination in recent months.
Aside from the "Sacred Sandwich," eBay's Web site drew 17 million hits after a Seattle man decided to auction his ex-wife's wedding gown. It didn't hurt that his eBay sales pitch included photos of him posing in the wedding dress.
Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay, said the secret to turning an everyday item into a national sensation often goes back to the basics of free enterprise -- good marketing.
The ghost, the wedding dress and the Sacred Sandwich -- the items which have created the most buzz on eBay this year -- all were accompanied by creative sales pitches by their owners.
"Some are good storytellers," Durzy said. "If you think of eBay as a giant marketplace -- which is what it is -- you want to do what you can to get the most eyeballs to it."
Fueling the bidding war for the ghost was the appearance by Anderson and her husband Monday on NBC's "Today Show." After the Anderson's offering received national publicity, a number of copycat listings for ghost canes popped up on eBay.
There is a limit to what eBay will allow to be put up for auction. Previous attempts by people to sell their own souls on eBay were quashed because the buyer has to get something tangible.
"There's a rule: A seller must be able to deliver what they are selling," Durzy said. In this case, the cane is a real thing.
"If the buyer believes they are getting a ghost, it's up to the buyer," he said.
Durzy said eBay bidders are warned up front that if they offer the winning bids they have, in effect, accepted a binding contract. eBay doesn't enforce the deal -- that's the responsibility of buyers and sellers. But parties who don't make good on their deals can be banned from eBay and, theoretically, face litigation.
Anderson said last week that her son would get the cash proceeds from the auction. That was when the top bid was about $51.
When the bids were about $1,000, Anderson posted a message on the eBay message board indicating some of the proceeds would go to an account to help pay for the adult respite care of her mother, who has Alzheimer's.
Anderson, who repairs computers, couldn't be reached for comment Monday night, and it's not clear how she will spend $65,000.
When one visitor to eBay's Web site posted a message questioning whether the ghost might be angered by being put up for sale, Anderson said she was not worried.
"Actually," she wrote, "my dad would have loved this."
INDYSTAR.COM