Self Storage & eBay Work Hand-In-Hand

eBay is an internet based auction company, founded in America in 1995.  People and businesses can list items on eBay, and other members bid on the listing.  The highest bid wins, at which point the buyer and seller enter into a contract.  Auctions are listed in real time, and feature an icon indicating how long is left until the bidding ends.  In addition to this format, eBay later added a “Buy It Now” feature, which has been extremely successful.  Closer to the standard method of shopping online, this allows online classified adverts to have a set price, dictated by the seller.  A “Buy It Now” price can be set in addition to bidding, or instead of it. If it is additional, consumers are given the choice whether to ‘gamble’ and hope to win the bidding, or to buy the product at a higher price, but secure it instantly. 

Many unusual items have been listed on eBay since it began in 1995. These include:

•    A Brussels sprout was auctioned in December 2005, after being cooked on Christmas day and frozen in preparation for the winning bidder. It sold for £99.50, and the proceeds went to Tearfund, a Christian relief charity working in the third world.

•    A second sprout was sold for £1550, by a different seller. The auction was held a year later and proceeds went to cancer research.

•    When Britney Spears shaved her hair off in 2007, her locks were listed on eBay for one million dollars.

•    In 2005, Tim Shaw – a British Radio DJ – was heard flirting on air with model Jodie Marsh. His wife, as revenge, listed his Lotus Espirit on eBay with a “Buy It Now” price and instructions for the seller to collect it the same day. It sold within five minutes.

•    A single cornflake was sold by a student for £1.20.

•    A ten-year-old grilled cheese sandwich was auctioned after being said to resemble the Virgin Mary. It eventually sold at a whopping $28,000.

•    After the banks famously collapsed in Iceland in 2008, one witty individual put Iceland up for sale on eBay with a starting price of 99p. The auction had reached ten million pounds by the time it was taken down.  The listing stated that the island would provide the owner with “a habitable environment”, but admitted to having a “somewhat sketchy financial situation”.  Singer Bjork explicitly not included with the purchase.  Further amusement arose (as noted by a Telegraph blog) when buyers began asking questions such as “Does it come in any other colour than white?”, “Do you offer volcano insurance?” and “do you have proof of ownership?” to which the owner replied: “fish”


Aside from these unusual items though, many sellers make a reasonable income from eBay auctions. “Powersellers” are sellers that have been given a higher status after a large amount of sales and positive feedback from buyers.  Powersellers are enhancing their selling capacity by leasing self storage units to house their treasures whilst they are awaiting a buyer.

The relationship between self storage centres and ebay sellers is a reciprocal one.  Many eBay sellers go to storage auctions and bid on reclaimed self storage units and their contents.  Inside many, valuable goods can be found which the buyers then sell on eBay and make a profit.