eBay For Millionaires

AC writes "Got $2 million in assets? Then you can join BillionaireXchange; just the place to find a 2006 Bugatti Veyron with a Start Bid of $1,050,000.00. Or perhaps you are looking for a boat like the Disco Volante (from James Bond), for example the 2000 Azimut Motor Yacht, a lovely 85-footer with a Start Bid of $2,700,000.00. On the other end of the deal, did your hedge fund leave you in the lurch? This is the place to sell those extravagant toys you thought you could afford."

Comments

Veyron + Salt Water Don't Mix...

[Maddog Batty]

Alternatively, you could try giving your Veyron a salt water wash...

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2009/11/video-bugatti-veyron-pulled-from-saltwater-lagoon-after-crash.html

Re:Veyron + Salt Water Don't Mix...

[necro81]

That just makes me cry.

Re:Veyron + Salt Water Don't Mix...

[jbuck]

It's gone from there. But it's here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=516271617407&ref=mf. That's just an incredible stroke of luck that somebody got that recorded. well, not for the owner - it kinda debunks his claim to his insurance company of a low flying pelican.

So, why is this in YRO?

[selven]

Do millionaires trading houses and planes infringe on my rights in some way?

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Shrike82]

It's because none of us have the right to become a member, unless browsing /. is the latest fad for industrial tycoons and Hollywood A-listers. I'm taking this as a deliberate assult on my rights to make fake bids on speedboats and supercars, and I'll be writing a strongly worded letter to my local governent representative expressing my concern and displeasure.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Shrike82]

Wow. Pedantic much? Clearly I'm joking, but in the summary and the link to the blog it's clearly stated that to join you must have verifiable assets of at least $2M. The answer you posted from the site is in response to the question "Are there charges to join?", not "Do I need to have millions of dollars to join?".

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[jamesh]

My guess is that if it was filed under 'idle' where it belongs, nobody would see it.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Spazztastic]

Do millionaires trading houses and planes infringe on my rights in some way?

Yeah! Seriously, we'd expect a mistake like this from k-doesn't-rtfa-or-correct-the-summary-dawson, but come on samzenpus! You always do so well when you post articles.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[owlnation]

My guess is that if it was filed under 'idle' where it belongs, nobody would see it.

The article was posted by samzenpus. All his articles belong in idle -- or better yet, digg or some other website.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Spazztastic]

anyone can be a member? did you read the link at all or just post right away looking for an insightful mod?

Isn't that the point of posting? Hoping that someone with points doesn't RTFA and assumes that you are correct? Oh look, they might mod me up, too!

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Thiez]

I thought that was the whole point of 'idle'?

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Spazztastic]

My guess is that if it was filed under 'idle' where it belongs, nobody would see it.

The article was posted by samzenpus. All his articles belong in idle -- or better yet, digg or some other website.

Usually samzenpus doesn't make mistakes like filing it under the wrong category, though. This might fall on whoever submitted the story in the first place and the morons who used the firehose to get it approved when it was under the wrong category.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[NoYob]

It works the other way too. Post something negative about Linux and regardless of how true it is, it's an automatic -1 "Flamebait" or "Troll" or the sneaky mods do an "Overrated" .

It's getting better with regards to Apple - the fanboys seam to be growing up. The MS haters, though, are lagging but getting there.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Spazztastic]

It's getting better with regards to Apple - the fanboys seam to be growing up. The MS haters, though, are lagging but getting there.

No matter how you look at it, people are going to disagree with you on the internet either because you are actually wrong or because they are just doing it to attempt in getting a rise out of you. The third reason is that they truly believe that they are right, when they are actually wrong and you were correct in the first place. Ah, what a great culture we have!

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Hognoxious]

Joe Moneybags: Can I join?

Billionaire Exchange: We need to check how much money you have.

JM: Well you wouldn't want any riff-raff in, would you.

BE: Quite. So can you send us details of all your bank accounts. Oh, we'll need the access codes, passwords and all that.

JM: Not sure about that, can't I fax you the statements?

BE: Any teen with a computer can fake them. Riff-raff, remember?

JM: Umm ... OK, here they are.

[1 week later]

BE: [answering phone] Hello, Billionare Exchange, how can I help you?

JM: What's up. It's me, J Moneybags the third. I was waiting to hear from you guys.

BE: Sorry, you aren't sufficiently wealthy. Short by about 1.9 million, in fact.

JM: But I've got ten million in cash alone!

BE: Correction. You had ten million. Have a nice day now!

[Click-clunk. Dialtone...]

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[Disgruntled Goats]

No, sampenzus posts articles in the wrong spot all the time. This isn't the first time he's posted idle crap in YRO.

Re:So, why is this in YRO?

[jamesh]

The article was posted by samzenpus.

*snigger* when I saw that name I read it as sanspenis *snigger*

Life imitates fiction...

[RadioElectric]

But will they have Airwolf, lasers and the head of Keith Moon? http://m.assetbar.com/achewood/uuacdNd5L

Re:Life imitates fiction...

[sgilti]

First thing I thought of reading this article. Sup, achewood fan.

Should be filed under TRO

[oDDmON oUT]

"Their Right Online" to sell over valued crap just like common blokes eBay theirs, in order to keep creditors from attaching and disposing of more necessary assets.

Nothing to see here.

[randomlogin]

No top secret island bases, personal space stations, gold cigar holder and lighter combos that can double as a handgun and definitely no sharks with frikkin laser beams. In short, nothing that any self respecting billionaire /. reader would want to spend their money on.

Re:Nothing to see here.

[Spazztastic]

No top secret island bases, personal space stations, gold cigar holder and lighter combos that can double as a handgun and definitely no sharks with frikkin laser beams. In short, nothing that any self respecting billionaire /. reader would want to spend their money on.

Oh, the main site is just a front. For the space stations, sharks with frikken laser beams, and robotic women who can break a mans neck with their thighs, you have to click on one of the items they have for sale. It's something that seems really out of place, and that nobody would probably want. It's the Barry Manilow platinum record, signed by him. Nobody would ever even click on it, so they figured that would be a safe way to hide the secret site.

Hmm... there's a black van pulling up in front of my house and some goons are getting out, brb...

How much do slashdot readers earn?

[bramp]

I'd be curious to see a poll of how much slashdot readers earn. Then we'll know how many people actually find this new article interesting/useful.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Antiocheian]

My thoughts exactly. I doubt that a single regular here would have any interest (besides data mining or other geeky stuff) on billionairexchange.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[IndustrialComplex]

My thoughts exactly. I doubt that a single regular here would have any interest (besides data mining or other geeky stuff) on billionairexchange.

My father-in-law runs a restoration business for collectable vehicles. The typical job tends to charge 1-2 million dollars. (They will reproduce the parts from either the original plans or will pay someone to go and measure the part on their car and rebuild it to spec)

He does purchase some of these vehicles, restores them on the side, and resells them for a modest profit. He doesn't have nearly the disposable income to simply hold onto them (maybe for a few months of car cruises, competitions, and the like) A place to sell these vehicles other than ebay or the various auction houses would be of interest to him.

I'm too frugal myself to deal with luxuries in the +$200k range, and I cringe at Rolex watches, but you shouldn't be surprised if a few slashdotters do have quite a bit of disposable income.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[mrclisdue]

Can you actually hear the text on the page? Do you use a speech synthesizer?

Does it run on Linux?

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Spazztastic]

you shouldn't be surprised if a few slashdotters do have quite a bit of disposable income.

Yeah, and Steve Wozniak does read Slashdot. He certainly has disposable income.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[mxh83]

Either a poll or ask slashdot. I second this idea.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Spazztastic]

Either a poll or ask slashdot. I second this idea.

One thing to remember about polls:

This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.

That is printed below the poll results. It may give you a rough idea, but you can't really use it for anything. You also have to take into account the people who don't share that information freely (frankly nobody should -- you are not your fucking khakis), and the people who will just vote for CowboyNeal's option or the highest amount just to skew the results.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[228e2]

Opera long ago came standard with a speech function . . . I say long ago because its been years since i've used Opera and no longer know if its still around.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[xtracto]

and John Carmack and Richard Garriott and another random guy I remember who owned a "only Mac aboard" yatch.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Antiocheian]

There wasn't any whining in my posting. You obviously read what you want to read.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Antiocheian]

Mind the word "regular" -- not "slashdotter" in general.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[fulldecent]

>> I'm too frugal myself to deal with luxuries in the +$200k range, and I cringe at Rolex watches, but you shouldn't be surprised if a few slashdotters do have quite a bit of disposable income.

Yes, many slashdotters even wear underwear. Let's post articles about underwear, that should be relevant.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Killer Orca]

Yes, many slashdotters even wear underwear. Let's post articles about underwear, that should be relevant.

Only if they are about where the gnomes are hiding mine.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[Disgruntled Goats]

Yes because most regular slashdot posters clearly have the wealth of Wozniak, Carmack and Garriott.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[bobzaguy]

Opera is still around and now has added music to the text for OperaTech.

Re:How much do slashdot readers earn?

[mahadiga]

How rich are you

This actually makes some sense

[Goonie]

The ridiculously rich support a not insubstantial group of brokers of second-hand yachts, planes, luxury cars, real estate, art, and so on. These businesses generally have flashy offices, high-paid staff, and collect a fair amount of commission for helping facilitate the transfer of said assets from those on the way down to those on the way up.

The business skills of the very rich are often overrated, but most of them are smart enough to figure out that cutting out the middlemen saves both the seller and buyer money. This lets them do it without the embarrassment of parading their failures to us plebs.

Re:This actually makes some sense

[purpledinoz]

After browsing, I found only 1 bid on a backgammon set for $500K. Not much volume on this site, yet. In any case, this is a very bad time for luxury goods.

Re:This actually makes some sense

[Spazztastic]

In any case, this is a very bad time for luxury goods.

Or a good time depending on how you look at it -- especially with cutting out the middleman as Goonie said. Some people are making a killing right now in the market because they bought while things were in the shitter and now that it's starting to climb back up they might be looking to reward themselves with their fine investments. You also have to think about the crooks and liars who got us into this financial situation in the first place and that they probably still have disposable income to spend on stupid shit that nobody needs but only wants.

Re:This actually makes some sense

[Spazztastic]

Reward themselves for their fine investments*

I think most people will catch on to what I meant, though.

Re:This actually makes some sense

[CharlyFoxtrot]

I just assumed that this site was either run by the luxury brands as an advertisement (or at least a way to attract ads from luxury brands) or maybe to facilitate things for the middlemen and established auction houses. Who would want to deal with buying and selling on the net if you're swimming in cash ? These guys already have their "people" and in my experience the richer they get the less they are embarrassed by making others jump through hoops for them for a pittance.

Ads?

[bauernakke]

If I had to sell something expensive on an exclusive site, I would go for something more serious looking. Putting ads on the front page makes this look like (more of) a cheasy hype site

This site is a joke

[Ice Station Zebra]

Somebody ought to join and list the earth for sale. Buy now for $100 trillion!

And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[popo]

Seriously, "BillionaireXchange.com"? Way to sound low rent guys. Was it a toss up between that one and "RichguyzAuction.biz"?

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[Bazar]

sound low rent?
Look at their site, once you get past how "bling bling" it looks, its actually got very little content, and a hell of a lot of ads.

I also fail to picture why one would want to use an auction for this thing. You don't stay rich by squanding large sacks of money away on items you've not checked out.
Meeting in person would give you a far better idea of whats involved, as well as either talk the price down to something more resonable, or have it explained why its worth so much.

Specifications:

Length Overall (LOA): 85'0"/25.91 m

Engine
2000 MTU 12V 2000
Horse Power: 314
Fuel Type: Diesel

Engine Type: Inboard

Description
Hull Material: Fiberglass
Hours: Contact Dealer

Stock #: 85 Azimut 2000
Status: In Stock

Thats the full description of a yacht with a minimum bid of 2.7 million dollars.
If that auction site was worth a damn, they'd actually either give pages of material about the product, or refuse to list it on such small infomation.
I'm done talking about the site, the fact that the site hit slashdot both gives credence to them, and lowers my perception of slashdot.
I just hope slashdot got a pile of cash for advertising it.

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[Spazztastic]

I'm done talking about the site, the fact that the site hit slashdot both gives credence to them, and lowers my perception of slashdot.

Blame the people who modded it up with the firehose. If everybody who is angry about this making the front page used the firehose to mod things down, these sorts of things wouldn't make it through as much.

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[dkleinsc]

They should have called it "billionairesexchange.com" instead (look closely, you'll get it).

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[krelian]

I don't know which joke is older: the one you posted, or the one in your sig.

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[Disgruntled Goats]

the fact that the site hit slashdot both gives credence to them

You give Slashdot way to much relevance outside of its niche audience. I'm willing to bet 99% of people surfing the web will never come across this story posted here.

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[dkleinsc]

The one in my sig was an original when I put it in my sig, but honestly I haven't changed it in a long time.

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[VisceralLogic]

Seriously, "BillionaireXchange.com"? Way to sound low rent guys.

well, I think "billionairesexchange.com" was already taken...

Re:And they couldn't afford a better domain name?

[mgcarley]

I've been a member of this site for months. I think I was following the owner on Twitter. I found it similarly devoid of content or purpose (as it apparently still is) and haven't logged in in quite a while.

Why is this news?

Am I the only one who's noticed that ...

[thefear]

None of the auctions have any bids, and all of the vendors have 0 sales. Sounds like a web2.0 winner!

Re:Am I the only one who's noticed that ...

[NiteMair]

That's cuz everyone's waiting to snipe 'em at the end...

Not standards compliant

[mxh83]

Sure, they sell stuff worth millions. But are they standards compliant? That site looks pathetic in Firefox. Considering the "elite" audience they are trying to attract, they could be directly turning away around 50% of their visitors. I would not like to put my millions on a site like this...

Re:Not standards compliant

[daveime]

Muh WTF ? Way to go off on a tangent, mate. You must be perpendicular to the equator and heading off towards Jupiter with that one !

In other news ...

City Laws Only Available Via $200 License, but are they standards compliant ?
Micro-Black Holes Make Poor Planet Killers, but are they standards compliant ?
Microsoft Buys Teamprise, Will Ship Linux Tools, but are they standards compliant ? (Oh, that one actually IS relevant) !
Future Blu-ray Movies To Come With Playable Game Demos, but are they standards compliant ?

There's a time and a place to grind your axes, but I don't think this was either.
 

Pay Pal Account?

[smitty777]

I can see it now: Please enter your SSN, Credit Card Number and Birthdate. If you're worried, take a look at our privacy policy .

Excellent...

[muffen]

... now all we need is "BillionaireITeXchange -- news for rich nerds, stuff that really doesn't matter" so we have somewhere to post stories like this one!

Bugatti Veyron for cheap coming up

[mwilliamson]

What a dumbass

Can't afford a real web designer?

[bilbo909]

You would think that a site for billionaires could afford a read web designer and would not use a rocket theme joomla template. http://demo.rockettheme.com/aug08/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Re:Can't afford a real web designer?

[Archon-X]

Or alternatively, they know how to save money. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a design, integration, etc, they drop $50 and have a nice, proven theme.
Seems like the smart thing to do to me.

Re:Can't afford a real web designer?

[wren337]

You know, this whole thing smells a little too much like "The Sting" to me. Anyone else read David Maurer's "The Big Con"?

Re:Can't afford a real web designer?

[Anonymous Coward]

This has to be a scam look at the registration page
1. unsecured
2. uses a joomal template
3. net worth, Visa, American Express? , sounds to me like its a targeded operation to bilk money out of people that HAVE the money ti bilk.

Tax It

[Doc Ruby]

This exclusive market sounds like an excellent place to levy a 25% Federal sales tax.

Most of those qualifying assets come from TARP and other government handouts. The rest are all enabled by the US government protecting the "capitalism" that collects that kind of money in individuals' hands: socialism for the rich. And all of it is protected from other taxes by an army of lawyers and offshore tax shelters.

Give these rich people a toy exchange as bait for them to pay their way in supporting the government that makes their riches possible.

Re:Tax It

[fridaynightsmoke]

Yes, anybody with more money than you robbed it.
Feel better now?

Re:Tax It

[Doc Ruby]

No, not in principle. But in practice, yes.

I've got a lot of money myself. I earned it, in that I worked to get it, and I might not have if I weren't both good and lucky. I pay more to support the system that keeps it coming to me. And I deal with lots of people richer than me, and I see that they're more lucky than good as the scale goes higher. The billionaires aren't thousands of times better than the millionaires. They're luckier. And they should pay more to keep the $billions flowing.

OTOH, you don't have much money. You're not that lucky, and you're probably not that good. You don't know much about it, so you'll speak in principle about what is different in practice. But you're working to keep those so much luckier than you, so much better off, even richer than if they were paying their way.

Put down the Ayn Rand for a while and find out about the nonfiction world you live in. Then watch out for your self interest, not the self interest of those you wish you were.

Re:Tax It

[mgcarley]

It would be interesting to see where the company is registered. As a non-US citizen, I don't pay too much concern for your country's taxes, but if it's registered in the US, that's just foolish.

A-rod's Crib

[smitty777]

Interesting - you can buy A-rod's house online. I guess winning the world series doesn't pay as much as it used to.

(..and yes, I am a bitter Red Sox fan)

Re:A-rod's Crib

[geoffrobinson]

Don't be bitter. If the Yankees didn't exist, we would have to invent them. They collect the most annoying free agents. But more importantly they collect all the front-running annoying fans.

achewood saw this coming

[hamburger lady]

http://achewood.com/index.php?date=04282006

i'd buy airwolf in a second.

Possibly parody site?

[Cheerio Boy]

I looked through all the listings and I couldn't find one with any bids at all so I'm kind of wondering if the site is real or not.

I can't find anything to prove that it's parody but that doesn't mean it isn't.

Anybody got $2M in assets to find out if it's real? ;-)

Re:Possibly parody site?

[pky666]

I looked through all the listings and I couldn't find one with any bids at all so I'm kind of wondering if the site is real or not. I can't find anything to prove that it's parody but that doesn't mean it isn't. Anybody got $2M in assets to find out if it's real? ;-)

As of 8am EST, there has been two auction items bid upon. (a 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 for $450K U.S, and a 2071 ct Diamond & Gold Backgammon Set for $500K). I suppose if these sales go through, there only has to be a small percentage kept by the web site to make a profit, and not in fact a parody site.

Re:Possibly parody site?

[jcaren]

It does not feel real.

I have worked on auction sites that present cataligues for major auction houses.
The revenue stream was in three parts

  1) charge for display of the catalogue
  2) transfer of e-bids to the auction house
  3) collation and analysis of winning bids.

Reports based upon the latter was the biggest money maker...

Jacqui

Access Denied

[knix]

It looks as if my company realizes that nobody gets paid enough to be able to place a bid on this site. They've gone ahead and blocked it so we won't be tempted to bid on items out of our price range. How thoughtful...

/. unite!

[hesaigo999ca]

Slashdotters unite, we could all pool 1 dollar each into a bank account under a name which will never be used except if we all signed off on it, and create an account to then associate with this new found 2 million dollars, to which then all of /. could view at their leisure, without buying anything and keeping the money frozen to always have free access.

It would be pretty cool, although I doubt after the first 100k it would still be there... i think someone would find a way to steal the money.

Wooo

[Dunbal]

The only billionaires I see are the owners of the site, racking up huge listing fees. But - but, NO ONE HAS ACTUALLY BID ON THE ITEMS! Shocked.

the site is for the rich, but

[archangel9]

an education apparently isn't required for sellers. Check the titles of some of his "art".
http://billionairexchange.com/xchange/other_items.php?owner_id=100011
"Falboart" apparently thinks highly of his cubist work. Is Falboart an anagram for "Borat Laf?"

Re:the site is for the rich, but

[PerfectionLost]

It's depressing that rich people post auctions in ALL CAPS too.

I always figured that it was just leotards on ebay.

Also, apparently slashdot did not let me post this comment in all caps. That must be why this place seems so civil.

You mean billionaires?

[mysidia]

If you are a millionaire with a couple million. I don't think you'll want to buy a $1 million toy. Also, imagine the sales/use tax on that you'll be paying to your state, probably another 100 or 200k, unless you're in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon.

Listing Price vs. No one is bidding

[charleste]

I wonder what they charge to list items on a site that is receiving no bids?

Joomla

[macsyrinx]

A billionaire site running on Joomla. typical

Re:Joomla

[bigredradio]

I noticed that the site was a little cheap. Also, check out the merchandise. I do not know cars and boats, but I checked out some of the art. Seems they are peddling some cheap art for high prices. I wonder if this isn't part of their scam.

It's a Phishing site...

[dharte]

From the article: "requiring of prospective members a minimum of $2 million in verifiable net worth."

Re:Not Nerd or Geek News

[Philip K Dickhead]

Heck. This site is a stealth something. I don't know what they're up to - but it's not what it appears.

"Hey, Mr. Multi-Millionare! Click stuff that lets me know your net-worth, on my quickly built Drupal site!"

Also Ebay for millionaires...

[stonefry]

...Ebay

Obviously...

[denzacar]

Whoever put this up is a super-villain.

The only question is - is (s)he just looking for perspective victims, or is (s)he trying to trap a potential billionaire-playboy-vigilante.
You know... someone like Batman.

Re:Obviously...

[Philip K Dickhead]

I think it's the IRS or FBI. A sting op.

Re:Not Nerd or Geek News

[Johnny Mnemonic]

I wonder how they verify that you have the requisite $2M in assets. And what they can do with the information you provided to assert that.

Why bid on the 2006 Veyron...

[Tmack]

When theres a 2008 Model up at only $450k:

Re:FOR WORKERS REVOLUTION

[darthdavid]

WOOSH goes the joke, right over the moderator's head...

17.9 million for this?

[spammeister]

The description:

THE ULTIMATE NEW 100' WATERFRONT HOME, DESIGNER QUALITY & CRAFTMANSHIP, 12' CEILINGS, GRAND DOUBLE STAIRS TO INTIMATE SITTING AREA ADORNED W/MARVELOUS ROTUNDA CEILING, VIEWS OF WIDE BAY FROM MOST ROOMS, DOUBLE MASTER SUITES, THEATER/LIBRARY, DEN W/FIREPLACE & BILLIARD RMS. KITCHEN: COOKING ISLAND W/COMMERCIAL VIKING STOVE, DBLE APPLIANCES, ADJ. MORNING/FAMILY RMS, FRENCH DRS TO COVERED TERR-SUMMER KIT. LARGE DOCK AND INFINITY POOL.

You think they could have paid someone 5 bucks to actually spell words, and not look so angry.

Forbes talked to the co-founder

[Milkyfresh]

Here and google has a whole bunch of stories on the site and him here

Bugati Boat?

[twoHats]

Watch out if the Bugati is from Texas...Some guy just put his Veyron in the salty drink down there while retrieving his cell phone from the floor...

Order of magnitude problem here...

[Guy Harris]

Got $2 million in assets? Then you can join BillionaireXchange

So the "Billionaire" "Xchange" only requires $2M in assets? Somebody's off by almost 3 orders of magnitude, base 10....