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Your Online Marketplace for Classified Jet Parts
jonerik writes: "Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Air Force is less than pleased about the recent posting of a number of sensitive jet communications components on eBay, including parts for the SR-71 spy plane, the F-16 fighter, the KC-10 tanker, and the giant C-5 transport. According to the article, the parts had sat in a warehouse for 12 years after being lost in shipping when the dealer, Norb Novocin, bought the lot for $244 in an unclaimed property sale. Novocin ended up selling four of the items to bidders in a recent auction, including an X-Band Weather Radar Modulator for $500 and a high-frequency radio circuit card for $32. The Air Force is looking into the incident and Novocin is cooperating."
my x-band weather radar modulator just broke so I need a new one
...it went to the lowest bidder, so the government can't be all that mad.
Isn't that where the Harrison Ford left the lost Arc?
The Air Farce, lost in space...
Fly Navy...
What OS do you want to abuse today?
In a top notch piece of reporting we are told the defense department is investigating how an antiques dealer bought a bunch of defense related parts at an unclaimed property sale at a warehouse and then sold them on ebay for a profit. I imagine a house subcommittee will soon be on the case also. My parents own warehouses. Unclaimed property sales are standard proceedures. Neither the warehouse owner or the buyer knows ahead of time what is being sold. Since there is no mystery there, the government investigators must be stuck on how exactly someone gets an item listed on ebay. I have actually found the ebay interface fairly understandable, but if the investigator are not computer savy it may present some problems I am sure. Next step of course will be to investigate how exactly the antique dealer got that little blue star next to his name. Very suspecious indeed.
How long before they get to sell an alzheimer-suffering ex-president on EBay?
A message from the system administrator: 'I've upped my priority. Now up yours.'
Taking a quick browse through the feedback posted on the buyers, I see a lot of "Great international customer!" type of comments. Looks like he was shipping this all over the place. At least he didn't have bLaden listed as the highest bidder.
Seems to me that the Air Force should have bid on the item like everyone else.
... but I'm sure they could have scrounged up the money for a winning bid. :)
I know things are tight at the defense defense department these days, what with only billions of dollars to waste instead of billions and billions and billions
Actually, I wonder if the reason the DoD can't seem to pass an independent audit, and in fact can only account for about a third of their budget, is that they're already blowing all their dough buying antique lamp shades on eBay.
You can also buy an ass kicking....if you're into that sort of thing. Bid here -ted
The Air Force is looking into the incident and Novocin is cooperating.
Air Force: "You should be seeing a squadron of B-2 Spirits flying over your corporate headquarters in about ten minutes."
Novocin: "Um, yeah, so whaddya wanna know?"
mstyne: real name, no gimmicks
Wow is the world changing, you can buy -everything- online now..
(shameless plug..)
I remember, back during the Cold War, we didn't have the internet,
we had to sell these things at secret meetings with the "attaché for tourism" from the embassy of some shady nation..
You had to get plane tickets to all these wierd,
exotic locations like Geneva and the Caribbian, to meet these jerks. (They never even said thanks)
Nowadays, I don't even have to leave my nice CIA office, and I always get the best price for my contraband! Ebay is great!
(/shameless plug)
Anyone know where I can score a Hellfire missile?? I searched on Ebay under
Stuff>> Parts>> Govt.>> Weapons>> Missiles>> Classified>> Anti-Radar>> Anti-Tank for "Hellfire" and I got NADA... But I did find a nice AIM-4D Falcon that the Koreans are offloading...
This is ridiculous! I had no problems picking up a sightly used Sun, 81" of snow, a Russian test space shuttle and the Ark of the Covenant (presumably being sold by one Dr. Jones)...
I'm looking at a slightly used V-22 Osprey (no reserve!) on www.ebayplanesthatcrashoften.com, but even though it has no reserve, it's starting bid is $945M....
I guess I'm just a dick.
The Dopester
"Yes, I'm a Karma Whore, but I'm doing it to pay my way through school."
If only Novocin had found a warehouse full of hammers and toilet seats, he could have been rich beyond his wildest dreams! Everybody in USAF procurement knows that's where the real money is.
This reminds me of a old soviet-time anecdote:
Q: Does the hydrogen bomb really exist?
A: No. If it did, it would be on sale on Odessa flea market.
:)
You need some uranium?
I sure wish I had ebay when I was a kid...