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eBay sells for $1.25 in bogus auction

Faced with a barrage of questionable and illegal auctions recently, online auction giant eBay finds itself in yet another predicament--being sold for a mere $1.25 in one of its auctions.

Greg Sandoval Former Staff writer
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
Greg Sandoval
Faced with a barrage of questionable and illegal auctions recently, online auction giant eBay finds itself in yet another predicament--being sold for a mere $1.25 in one of its auctions.

"We're worth every cent," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove, tongue placed firmly against cheek.

eBay, which has been plagued by a rash of attempts by the unscrupulous to profit from illegal sales, received seven bids and closed at a high bid of $1.25. The company had a market valuation of nearly $18.8 billion at the end of the day today and earned roughly $2.8 million last year.

Pursglove chuckled when told that someone by the user name "Mis-one" put eBay up for auction on Tuesday.

"This is obviously a prank but we don't like people trying to misuse our site or eBay users," Pursglove said. "We think we have as good a sense of humor as much as anybody, but we will probably notify our attorneys. Our user agreement says you have to be the rightful owner and whoever that person is, I can assure you he's not the owner," he said.