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Man Selling His Life On eBay

Posted by kdawson on from the but-wait-there's-more dept.

A number of readers have sent in the story of the guy in Perth, Australia who is selling his life on eBay. 100 days before the auction opened, he put up a site detailing all that was on offer: house, car, jet ski, friends, job, and so forth. (No wife.) The auction has five days to run and the bidding is up over $300K, supposedly from qualified bidders. The seller says: "Upon completion and settlement I will walk out of my home for the last time in just the clothes I am wearing, and carrying only my wallet and passport."

15 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. Well, two things come to mind by suso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is his identity for sale? Otherwise all he is selling is a bunch of stuff. Not "His Life". It would be more interesting if you could actually buy his identity and completely assume his life. Of course, you couldn't do that completely. His friends probably aren't going to buy into it. And also, what of the government?

    If he can't tell everyone the reason why his wife left him, then he is obviously not ready to give his life away. He is still holding on to the idea of privacy, when in fact he is giving that away. Could you imagine selling all the pictures, memorabilia, etc. that you have.

    1. Re:Well, two things come to mind by MikeBabcock · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Or is he really starting a reality TV show with all the hidden cameras in his house and belongings that will begin the week after he moves out?

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    2. Re:Well, two things come to mind by TheLostSamurai · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Agreed. Materialism is the enjoyment of ownership of the object, meaning the goal behind acquiring it was simply to acquire it. If you acquire an object because you enjoy the function of the object, such as riding a motorcycle, then the object is simply a means to an experience.

      --
      I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
    3. Re:Well, two things come to mind by FrameRotBlues · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Mod up. I've been trying to explain this to some people I know, and they're not quite sure how to take it. I think some of them believe they're destined to live a hundred years if they take the right pills, and I'd rather live a great 50 and go out with a bang, than live a mediocre 100; the last 30 of which is pretty much guaranteed to be useless.

    4. Re:Well, two things come to mind by demachina · · Score: 2, Interesting


      I don't hold a particular grudge against or envy for the toy collectors. Especially if they have the disposable income to pay for them. I mostly just feel sorry for the people who don't have the money and have borrowed themselves in to a hole to buy crap they can't afford and often don't really need. Me I would rather have a nice nest egg stashed away instead of an overpriced car that will be worthless in a few years.

      Out of control borrowing, and shipping wealth to other countries in trade deficit has unfortunately become such a massive epidemic in the U.S. it is almost inevitably going to completely crash the economy, in fact it appears that is exactly what is happening right now. I'm not really cheering on the downfall of this particular culture primarily because that downfall will probably be accompanied by a devastating economic crash like the great depression which followed the roaring 20's which was another toy collecting decade to learn lessons from. A serious crash will deeply hurt a lot of people and it will probably hurt the people on the bottom rungs of the ladder a lot worse than it will the rich people with the most toys. On the other hand a devastating crash is probably the tonic needed to force Americans to remember they do in fact need to have a productive, functioning, economy and the world isn't going to hand America everything on a silver platter any more.

      If you take cars as a particularly good example of the flawed reasoning behind modern culture.....

      I would take mass transit in urban areas any day, the only problem is the Rockefellers and their oil monopoly bought out nearly every urban mass transit system in the U.S. to force everyone in to complete dependence on freeways, cars and gasoline so we have a culture completely dependent on cars. Doesn't seem like such a great idea now that oil costs $130+ a barrel and the Chinese and Indians are buying cars trying to emulate this culture precisely at the time the world is running out of oil.

      Any car that isn't a collectors item is a relatively horrible investment. They are quite expensive and they depreciate so fast they are nearly worthless in a few years. At least their quality is somewhat better than it was a few years thanks to competition from Asia. There was a time American made cars would be falling apart right after the warranty ran out. I think they called it planned obsolescence because they want you to spend a years salary buying a new car every three to four years to drain as much of your disposable income as they possible could for a worthless investment.

      --
      @de_machina
    5. Re:Well, two things come to mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have another take on materialism: archivism. I don't care about preserving my posessions, I only care about information.

      I want to preserve memories for later and for others afterwards. Movies, music, and books are examples of things that shouldn't be lost permanently, but they are.

      When anything is created, if it affects other people then it is history and shouldn't be thoughtlessly discarded. It's like destroying part of the people that knew it. Material works are one thing, but there's no excuse not to preserve digital information. Popularity shouldn't determine if something deserves to exist.

      I can throw away clothes, electronics and things like that without the least care. But, it always comes back to haunt me whenever I delete things or throw away stuff like old CDs. There'll be something trivially easy for me to have kept a backup of, and I always miss it later. So, I have thousands of discs, shelves of books and movies that I casually maintain. The space the books occupy I can't do anything about, but the digital backups just get smaller and easier to store over time.

  2. My first post in a long time. by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Honestly, this is the most fantastic Slashdot story that I've seen in a really long time. Unusual, sure. But I think that this is the perfect place to post this.

    I've always dreamed of doing something like this. Starting over, giving everything up. And I'm right positive that I'm not the only one on Slashdot to have those dreams.

    This guy has balls of steel. And I wish him the best.

    1. Re:My first post in a long time. by hal9000(jr) · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, I second this. 20 years ago I fit all my shit in a sea bag. Now I have dogs, a mortgage, bills, and more stuff than I can pack myself. I am happy, but I feel encumbered.

      I wish I had the guts to do this.

    2. Re:My first post in a long time. by wrook · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I actually did this, I guess.

      Quit my job as a programmer. Sold my car and house. Gave up my dogs. Gave away all my possessions (Well, what wouldn't fit into a backpack, anyway -- kept a laptop of course!) Hmm... kept the money -- handy stuff, money. Then I moved to Japan to teach English.

      Honestly, I did this because over the years I've found that when I had more stuff, it was just a burden. I realized I was actually happier with less stuff. I'm living on very little money now (about $1200 a month, total) and I'm surprisingly OK with it. It's been 1 year and I don't miss my old lifestyle one bit (OK... I miss pizza -- Don't come to Japan for the pizza...)

      I've got a few things here. I've got a fairly decent bicycle. I've got a laptop. I've got a nice suit. I've got a fairly nice kitchen knife. I've got a nice rain coat. Hmm... the rest is just odds and ends that don't really matter, or stuff that came with the apartment. Oh, and a mountain of manga :-) Note to self: must dispose of manga...

      So if you want to do it, then come on it -- the water's fine. However, I recommend practicing giving stuff up for a while. I gave away stuff for years before I made the plunge. Just to see if I would really miss it. It was actually tough at first. But eventually it didn't matter to me any more.

    3. Re:My first post in a long time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Posting anonymously because I don't much care to have this linked to my regular account.

      Me, I'm laughing (like everyone else), but only because I "get it". Losing your job, developing a incurable disease, getting cheated out of money, having your car stolen, losing big time in Vegas, nothing comes close to the torment of what a woman can put you through.

      I agree that in the short term, the pain of heartbreak can be worse than anything else, but having been diagnosed with an incurable disease (Crohn's Disease) several years ago, which I've had for decades (only it went unrecognized), I can safely say that the emotional scarring done when I found out that my spouse had been cheating on me was but a blemish compared to the physical and psychological damage I sustained from suffering from chronic illness, especially one that went so long undiagnosed. I don't mean to sound like a pity party by any means, but there isn't a day that goes by where suicide doesn't seem like a valid option to me, and not because I'm suffering from depression but to escape from the pain, the humiliation, the burden I place on my loved ones, and the incapacitation.

  3. Re:Net Worth... by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Obviously this guy does some sort of skilled job that requires some sort of degree if he can afford a house, a car, and a jet ski. I mean a construction worker and a cashier is not going to own his own jet ski. I think you need to re-educate yourself on earning potential of blue collar workers. As an example there was a comparison done in the news in Australia a few years ago between a 25 year old brick layer and a doctor who had his own practice. The bricklayer was bringing in more revenue and was financially better off than the doctor and had a hell of a lot less stress.
    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  4. Re:Net Worth... by mulvane · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My father in law does outside construction. He own's a tow behind camper, 16' bass boat, 2 jetski's, 2 chevy 1500 HD trucks, a lincoln town car, and a $450,000USD house and a camping property on the Missouri river. I'm pretty sure people who budget early in life can afford nicer things later on if they make enough to initially subsist on and a little extra.

  5. Re:There is no wife by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    No, you get the full house and full jetski, but the wife and him will each get their half of the auction money.

    Assuming both partners don't want the house and all that memorabilia after the divorce, but would rather have a huge lump of cash, it's not a bad idea to sell it all in one go and then split the earnings.

  6. re: I don't find it "annoying" in the least .... by King_TJ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I often hear people complain about how "materialistic" we've all become, and how much happier we're supposed to be if we learn to reject some of this.

    Isn't that the same promise the Catholic religion has been hawking for the last 2,000 years or so?

    No, your possessions don't literally equate to your "life" ... but at the same time, I think they can (even SHOULD) help define a person. Looking at myself, I realize that my purchases directly reflect the things I enjoy doing in life. For example, I own several computer systems. Well, that's been my main "hobby interest" for close to 20 years now, and it led me to my career choice. Computers are the key to what makes me a "productive citizen", earning a regular paycheck. I also have a decent-sized music collection, and even some musical instruments (electric guitar, synthesizer, etc.). Sure, they're not necessities in life, but they're enjoyable distractions for me, and reflect on my interest in music in general.

    The people who worry me the MOST are the ones who don't seem to have any clear "hobbies" or interests that involve ownership of property! I've had friends like this, who seem like they're wandering aimlessly through life - spending their money on "intangible entertainment" like movie tickets, amusement park passes or sporting events. Ultimately, they have little to show for the work they do.

  7. Re: I don't find it "annoying" in the least .... by King_TJ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, see... the first paragraph of your reply is pretty much in agreement with what I was saying. People aquiring random possessions that don't even wind up getting much use or making them happy is just "hoarding", and taken to extremes, we classify it as a mental disorder. My point was simply that having material things is not inherently "bad", "wrong", or undesireable.

    As for the last part of what you wrote, I ageee it is interesting how people can come away with two completely different interpretations of the same behaviors. I still maintain that carefully chosen possessions do nothing but ADD to one's "interesting experiences" in life. Again, looking back to my first interest in musical instruments ... my friends all purchased electric guitars and either taught themselves to play, or took some music lessons. Although I hung out with them regularly and was considered a "best friend" of theirs, I felt like I was missing out - all because I didn't own an instrument, and so couldn't participate in that interest of theirs. When I finally bought one of their used ones, a whole new world of experiences suddenly opened up. I wound up learning enough from them to get started, practiced a bit on my own, and eventually got to play rhythm guitar in a band they put together. Some of my fondest memories were from us playing out at clubs around town on weekends - even though it made me practically no money.