“Daddy, daddy, is it here?”
“Yes son, it is. Came this morning.”
“Oh Richard, I’m so glad you bought a Wii for Christmas. What a lovely gift for the kids.”
“Quick Daddy, open it! Open it!”
“Ok buddy, calm down. Here I go…”

Internet auction site eBay has been selling thousands of Wii’s, PS3’s and Xbox 360’s over the past few weeks and months. A few requirements of being able to sell one of the prized possessions are that the seller must have a high positive rating, and include a photo of the receipt with the console. eBay don’t want anyone to become ripped off, of course.

So is this being ripped off? A seller on eBay has listed his “Nintendo Wii Box” for sale, and at the end of the sale, had attracted a final bid of US $247 (ironically, $3 cheaper then the RRP of the Wii in USA). The catch is that the seller was not misleading at all, offering this statement at the top of the page:

“You are bidding on a New Nintendo Wii Box. It has been opened only once and is great condition. It is just the box with nothing else added. It’s a great buy for those who are interested. New Nintendo Wii Box, the title says it all. Once again, it is just the box. Good luck and good bidding.”

Presumably he opened his box to take his Wii out. The sale attracted 6 bidders, with a total of 20 bids. Bids rose from US $20 to US $247 in 3 hours. The winning bidder has been an eBay member since 2004, and bought numerous items, so he knows his way around. The seller did have a picture of the receipt and console, so he met the requirements:

Was that enough to trick the customers? Was he even trying to trick the customers, or just having a laugh, seeing what he could get? Unlike the case earlier this year when a Xbox 360 box was sold for a high price over eBay, when the customer thought he was buying a 360 (fine print at the bottom of the page revealed it was just the box), the seller was not deceptive in any way. His statement is clear, and easy to read. So technically, the buyer would have to pay the full amount. God knows he doesn’t want to pay $247 for cardboard; he may take legal action.

Amazingly, the same seller offered a second “Nintendo Wii Box” for sale, and portrayed it in exactly the same way. However, this time it only fetched 1 bid, at US $15. In fact, the winning bidder left this comment on his rating page: “Very honest and nice guy… excellent seller very good communication.”

Ah, the perils of the internet.

- Aaron Kleemann.