eBay has responded after the auction of an “ultra-rare” Woolworths collectable reached an outrageous $100 million.
Yahoo Lifestyle first reported on the Flocked Bullseye Ooshie auction on Tuesday, when 93 bidders had driven the price to $16,111.
Since then, a bidding frenzy has driven the price to a ridiculous level — even if there are just 125 of the collectables in circulation in Australia.
An ‘ultra-rare’ Ooshie auction has reached fantasy levels, pulling in a bid for over $100 million.
(eBay)
At $100 million, the asking price has officially entered fantasy territory.
It’s enough to buy around 100 average Australian homes, complete more than three million qualifying Woolworths shops that would each earn an Ooshie, or check into a $1,000-a-night hotel every night until the year 2300.
It calls the legitimacy of the auction into question.
Yahoo Lifestyle approached eBay to ask if the listing was going to be removed or if bidding would be allowed to continue.
But, an eBay spokesperson said: “We don’t restrict bids on auction items.”
“If a bidder wants to receive an item, however, they will need to pay the amount that they have bid for it.
An “ultra rare” Disney Toy Story Bullseye Ooshie has been released to collect.
(Facebook/Mark Hunter)
“We have clear policies in place that restrict fake or shill bidding and consistently making bids that are not paid will see us take action on a users account.”
Well, this could be a major payday for one Woolworths shopper.
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But Yahoo Lifestyle does not think that’s likely.
If the winning bidder refuses to pay, eBay said the seller can offer the item to one of the 183 underbidders.
There are only 125 of the flocked Bullseye in circulation in Australia.
(Getty/eBay)Don’t assume your Ooshie is worth thousands
The extraordinary listing comes as Woolworths’ latest Ooshies promotion continues to sweep across Australia, with collectors flocking to supermarkets, trading in school playgrounds and joining online swap groups to complete the set.
But the Bullsey listing isn’t the only Ooshie being put to auction online.
The Platinum Buzz Lightyear has also been listed with an asking price of $1,050.70.
Consumer behaviour expert Dr Paul Harrison told Yahoo Lifestyle shoppers shouldn’t automatically assume their rare Ooshie is worth anything.
The senior lecturer at Deakin University said collectibles only become valuable when buyers agree they are worth paying for.
“Nothing actually has real value until we decide it has value,” Dr Harrison told Yahoo Lifestyle.
There are 40 Ooshies to collect.
(Supplied)
“Even a $100 Australian note has no value in its own intrinsic self. We have a shared belief that other people will accept it and exchange with it.”
The same logic applies to supermarket collectibles, trading cards and luxury goods.
“We give things their value in all sorts of ways as human beings,” he said.
“Price reflects a complex mix of scarcity, identity, belonging and emotion, rather than the physical object itself.”
Dr Harrison said limited-edition collectibles can become especially desirable because many people are driven by the desire to complete a collection.
“When people have invested time collecting a set, the missing piece can become incredibly valuable to them,” he said.
For those not willing to part with their hard-earned cash, Ooshies have become hot commodities on free social media trading groups.
Woolworths told Yahoo Lifestyle free events will be held in every supermarket and Big W, between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, for Aussies to make trades.
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