One of the things that makes eBay great is the sheer variety of products available, and over time some of the more interesting items have sold for startling amounts. Here are the 10 most expensive eBay auctions in history:
#10 Shoeless Joe Jackson’s Baseball Bat – £398,000
‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson was one of Baseball’s early superstars, playing for the Chicago White Sox in the early 20th Century until a game-fixing scandal in 1919. Jackson’s nephew sold the bat in 2001, despite being in relatively beaten up condition.
#9 Ferrari Enzo – £689,000
Ferrari is renowned as a luxurious car brand, and only 400 Enzos were originally built with only well-connected people even able to request one. One of the Enzos was placed on eBay in 2004 and sold to an unknown bidder in Switzerland.
#8 Honus Wagner Baseball Card – £758,000
Another baseball one – Honus Wagner was another famous player in the early days, around the time baseball cards became popular, but Wagner put a stop to production of his early so only around 200 were printed. As such, good quality examples are very rare, and in 2000 one such card sold for over three quarters of a million.
#7 Bridgeville, California – £1.2 million
California might be famous for massive cities but it was the small town of Bridgeville – population 30 – that was the subject of a successful eBay sale in 2002. However the owner didn’t see enough return on investment and sold it (not on eBay) just three years later.
#6 House with underground war bunker – £1.44 million
In the atmosphere of fear following the terrorism attacks of 9/11, a house was built in New York’s mountainous countryside with a converted underground missile silo offering full war bunker protection. The house was valued on the property market at around £6 million, so the eBay buyer actually got a great deal.
#5 Albert, Texas – £1.72 million
The second small town on this list, Albert was auctioned off after being inspired by Bridgeville’s success but only for £170,000. The new owner recognised that a bar would make the town a good stop-off point, and then re-auctioned the town to make 10x his original investment.
#4 Lunch with Warren Buffett – £1.79 million
Warren Buffett is an American businessman and philanthropist, and each year he auctions the opportunity to enjoy lunch with him with proceedings going to charity. It’s always raised a good amount of money but one year in particular made the top 10.
#3 Action Comics number 1 – £2.2 million
The idea of an original comic book selling for huge amounts is the dream of many who were collectors as children, and the first appearance of Superman in good condition was always going to do well at auction – but in 2014 it broke all records for comic book sales and made international news.
#2 Gulfstream II Jet – £3.37 million
For five years from 2001 the Gulfstream II private jet was the top selling item in eBay’s history. Seating 12 passengers, it’s regarded as one of the most luxurious jets available to buy, with only 258 ever built.
#1 Gigayacht – £115.8 million
Almost 10x the value of everything else in the top 10 combined, the Gigayacht is one-of-a-kind featuring an on-board gym and cinema among other opulent touches. In 2006 it set a huge record for an eBay auction, when it was bought by famous Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
That’s the top 10 list of most expensive eBay auctions to date – at least until the next record-breaking item is put up for sale.
*Originally these listings were sold in US $ but we’ve converted the prices at a contemporary rate, so there may be some variations between the £GBP price actually paid
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