I don’t know the specifics yet, but I can say with 100% certainty that something extremely fishy is going on over at eBay. Let me explain. An eBay auction recently ended in which a “Halo 3 Xbox Live Friendship” was sold [Difference in Opinion]. It’s not the first time it has been done, and I am sure it won’t be the last either. The person selling this friendship was eBay seller lilperiwinkle, who just happens to not have any feedback whatsoever. This “lilperiwinkle” is a demure young blond who has this to say about the item that was for sale:
Here’s your chance to make a new Halo 3 friend on XBOX live! Yes I am a girl and Yes I do actually play. I have my good days of playing and my bad days. I’m pretty darn good with plasma grenades I must say. My favorite level is Snow Bound! I have a pink controller and a Turtle Beach X3 headset for surround sound. I’m all set for a good game!
This friendship will included: talking on XBOX live, Playing Halo 3, messaging, I can help you with unlocking achievements- finding hidden skulls. Also you will get a signed picture of me playing halo 3. This is a once and a lifetime deal- Hey maybe we can even level up together!
The text is in pink and she claims the proceeds she nets from the sale of her friendship will help fund a knee surgery she needs from a torn meniscus. The winning bid for this auction was an astounding US $107.50.
So, what’s so fishy about that you ask? Well look what just popped up on eBay today. An item billed as a “Halo 3 Xbox Live Friendship“. That sounds oddly familiar. This auction is being offered by eBay seller prozenmotorsports who is a powerseller with 1,900 feedback, 99.1% positive. By contrast, “prozenmotorsports” is apparently a young man who likes ice cream and has this to say about his friendship that is up for sale :
Here’s your chance to make a new Halo 3 or Call of Duty friend on XBOX live! Yes I do actually play. I can help you level up on Halo 3, Ive beaten it on Legendary. This friendship will included: talking on XBOX live, Playing Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4, messaging, I can help you with unlocking achievements- finding hidden skulls ..what ever you want. Also you will get a signed picture of me playing on Live. This is a once and a lifetime deal- I’m one of the coolest dudes youll ever meet on Xbox.
Notice the two items are titled the exact same thing. Notice all the identical text (including spelling and grammatical errors) within the item descriptions. These phrases are used verbatim in both auctions :
Female’s auction : Here’s your chance to make a new Halo 3 friend on XBOX live!
Male’s auction : Here’s your chance to make a new Halo 3 or Call of Duty friend on XBOX live!
Female’s auction : Yes I am a girl and Yes I do actually play.
Male’s auction : Yes I do actually play.
Female’s auction : This friendship will included: talking on XBOX live, Playing Halo 3, messaging, I can help you with unlocking achievements- finding hidden skulls.
Males auction : This friendship will included: talking on XBOX live, Playing Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4, messaging, I can help you with unlocking achievements- finding hidden skulls ..what ever you want.
Female’s auction : Also you will get a signed picture of me playing halo 3. This is a once and a lifetime deal- Hey maybe we can even level up together!
Male’s auction : Also you will get a signed picture of me playing on Live. This is a once and a lifetime deal- I’m one of the coolest dudes youll ever meet on Xbox.
It appears the same person is behind both of these auctions. So what does that mean? It could mean someone is doing an experiment (maybe a school project of some sort) to see the difference gender makes in the sale. If that is the case, it will be flawed because the female’s auction says she needs the money for surgery so it attempts to pull on your heartstrings while the male’s auction offers no explanation of what the money will go towards. It could be a scammer who is simply going after your money. Who knows who the actual people are behind the sales. It is obvious there is something deeper going on. I can only hope whoever is desperate enough to bid on these items gets what they are purchasing.
As always, caveat emptor.
Posted by Silvercube on December 8, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I have no idea what to make of this, angel.
I just hope whoever wins these things do get what they pay for.
Posted by Tony on December 8, 2007 at 3:15 pm
This is something that has been going on for years on eBay, now with a twist. “Pretty Girls” (which I put in quotes because you can never be sure) offer themselves to be the winning bidder’s “virtual girlfriend” for a certain period of time, usually for a few months, complete with love letters (handwritten!), juicy emails and IMs, even phone calls and photos. I thought eBay had put the kibosh on them, but I guess not.
Who bids on these things?
As they say, there’s one born every second.
Posted by Phreak on December 8, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Wow. Gotta say that I am not surprised. I remember reading something about people getting busted on those adult dating sites where they were using the system to be prostitutes. Probably be the next step in “friendships” sold on eBay.
Posted by ResilientMonkey on December 8, 2007 at 7:39 pm
It just goes to show, people will buy anything. People will sell anything. Therefore ebay will always exist.
This is just plain silly. I’m gonna go shop on Amazon.com ;)
Posted by Rune Of Red on December 8, 2007 at 9:20 pm
I would never pay for friendship on live, that is a misuse of the system. Plus, my stats do the talking.
Posted by Bema J on December 8, 2007 at 10:31 pm
There’s nothing fish going on, it’s obviously just a copy cat hoping he can have the same success as the
E-Prostitutefriendly woman.Posted by Monty Python on December 8, 2007 at 10:53 pm
The first one is DEFENITELY fake.
A meniscus is the curve you get at the top of water when you put in into a cylindrical container.
Posted by hoben on December 9, 2007 at 2:04 am
Monty Python: You need to check your facts. The meniscus is also the name of a cartilage in the knee.
Wikipedia is your best friend.
BTW, DEFINITELY is spelt with two Is.
Posted by mywoodenrobot on December 9, 2007 at 2:09 am
that is pretty strange. my friends will find this quite amusing. great investigating skills! kudos!
Posted by Interesting… « Mywoodenrobot’s Weblog on December 9, 2007 at 2:16 am
[...] [Read the rest of this story] [...]
Posted by Chase Long on December 9, 2007 at 2:24 am
Meh,
Im one of
theteh coolestdudesd00ds you’ll ever meet on the internet.Posted by NovaHunter on December 9, 2007 at 5:05 am
I’m guessing that “prozenmotorsports” is legit – he probably saw the other auction, liked the idea, and was too lazy to write his own description for his auction.
Posted by justmaddi on December 9, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I just laugh at the idiot that paid $100 for the ‘friendship’
Posted by Cayote on December 9, 2007 at 1:03 pm
If this were for a charity event it would be something fun-strange but fun-but for me it would have to be someone well known-but even then, the idea is kind of strange.
Posted by Cayote on December 9, 2007 at 1:05 pm
LOL I just checked who bid on the girl and it was basically 2 people the whole time-funny.
Posted by bs angel on December 9, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I suppose I am more skeptical than the rest of you. I just don’t think this guy is copying her words for the simple fact that he is trying to copy her success. I look at her zero feedback, his auction starting the day hers ended, the similarity in the pictures (could you get two more guy/girl next door sort of pictures?), and the identical text as highly suspicious.
We will probably never know the real story behind this if I had to make a guess. :)
Posted by Cayote on December 9, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Yeah…after looking around at the other ones I too have decided how cheesy this is haha.
Posted by trademark registration on December 9, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Or, it could simply be the case that the male auctioneer is big on plagiarism. It’s not uncommon for people to steal other people’s carefully worded posts, edit them to meet their own needs, and then post re-post.
Posted by bs angel on December 9, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I can see how that could be an issue, definitely. But when it comes to these words, it doesn’t seem to fit the “carefully worded post” category. The words are quite simple, and riddled with grammatical errors.The typos weren’t even fixed in the second auction! LOL … Oh well.
Posted by Queen 0f Blades on December 9, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I’d like to know why somebody is buying friendship over the internet in the first place… How utterly desperate can you be? Jeez…
Posted by zombie z on December 9, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Whatever the “truth” may be — this certainly made me LOL.
I can’t pretend to understand Halo players anymore than WoW players, but to pay someone to, uh, talk to you, when there are so many twelve-year-olds with respect issues owning their very own headset? (Does anyone remember the “Mom, get me my motherfucking chocolate milk!!!” clip from one of these things, or did I make that up?)
Posted by Thunk Different. on December 9, 2007 at 8:40 pm
loco ese.
Posted by Paul on December 9, 2007 at 9:08 pm
maybe the guy saw how successful this girl was and then decided to try it out for himself….??
I would have to say that the mans offer will not get as much $$ because there is certainly less demand for xbox friends in the female population and plus, just look at the guy. Holding ice cream cone….whats that all about?!
Posted by John on December 9, 2007 at 9:13 pm
wow! you’ve got a pretty keen eye for detail, I never would have noticed the similarities unless i saw them side-by-side.
Posted by onthe5 on December 9, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Haha, the things people will buy on eBay. Pretty ridiculous. Nice article though.
Zombie z, I remember the chocolate milk thing.
Posted by The Six-K Club on December 9, 2007 at 9:20 pm
LOL Big Big Loco Esse
Posted by Durandant on December 10, 2007 at 10:09 am
What’s next?
“Female AI for Sale! Can hack any system including XB360, Xbox Live, or heck even the CIA if you want. Asking $2.401e10.”
Or have they already done that?
Posted by Mike on December 10, 2007 at 10:54 am
I sincerely doubt it’s the same person.
Sounds to me like the guy saw how much the other one went for and said, “wow, free money, no work, I can do that.. let me just copy what she put down.”
As for her, it’s a shame she didn’t do like a multiple auction.. that way it’s not a $108 only deal, but as many as she can sell. For example, the 108 price obviously had to beat a $106 (ish) price.. If she had a quantity of 2, she’d have gotten $212 ($106 x 2).
Good for her though, and good luck to him… and god luck to me if I decide to try it to! lol
Posted by Nick on December 10, 2007 at 4:19 pm
to teh people who actually bought teh freindships:
make you friends the old fashion wahy, with out money!
god…… 107 freaking dollors…………..
PS: the current bid for the guy is $0.99
(HAHA)
Posted by Nick on December 10, 2007 at 4:24 pm
BWAH HAHAHA!
another guy is trying it!