Auction -- Engadget

auction posts

Police to auction off nitrous-fueled, motorized La-Z-Boy

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 26th 2009 at 1:07PM

We've seen plenty of strange motorized chairs in this space, including those controlled by Wii Nunchucks and even brainwaves, but rarely do they become available for sale. The handiwork of Minnesota resident Dennis Anderson, this La-Z-Boy mod features everything the manufacturer left out, including: stereo sound system, nitrous oxide booster, parachute, headlights, a steering wheel, and a sticker that reads: "Hell yeah, it's fast." The vehicle, which will reach speeds of 20 MPH, was seized by the state when the driver crashed into a parked car -- he was on the way home from the bar (of course) and 'fessed up to consuming "eight or nine" beers prior to the incident. Anderson may be roaming the streets with a two-year suspended sentence, but his chariot can be yours! Keep an eye out on eBay, where it's due to appear this week with no reserve price.

[Thanks, Scooterde]

OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2009 at 9:41AM

We've seen quite a few a) laptops and b) masterpieces in our day, but it's hard to recall the last time that we saw both in the same instance. Have a look at the object above, which is undoubtedly one of the most amazing pieces of laptop art this planet has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Kenny Irwin, known for his post-microwave creations, decided to zap one of the low-cost PCs and then mold it into the OLPCSlug while things were still gooey, all in the name of good publicity and charity. You see, the buyer of this lovely piece will see 80 percent of the proceeds head straight to OLPC, and given that it will also "help keep you safe from forest beasts of unimaginable size," those currently situated in backwoods retreats have an extra reason to plunk down. The only problem? That $26,001 asking price. A can't-miss demo video is after the break.

[Thanks, Robert]

Continue reading OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art

Harmonix auctions off custom Beatles Xbox for charity, free publicity

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 13th 2009 at 9:56PM

We're sure you've already heard about the kerfuffle surrounding the use of Kurt Cobain's likeness in a Guitar Hero avatar. Maybe it's a generational thing (or maybe it speaks to the difference between the temperaments of Ms. Ono and Ms. Love) but while the former members of Nirvana are not amused by their treatment at the hands of videogame consoles 'round the world, it's nearly unanimous in the Beatles camp: Beatles Rock Band is awesome. If you're looking to indulge your Fab Four fixation -- and if money's no object -- you might want to head on over to eBay and peep the first of fifty Xbox 360s being auctioned off for by Harmonix. Bidding started off at $780, but as of Sunday afternoon it's over $17,000 -- with over four days left to go! Designed by Passion Pictures (the kids responsible for animating Gorillaz), proceeds go to Doctors without Borders. Please insert your own Courtney Love joke here.

Gallery: Harmonix auctions off custom Beatles Xbox for charity, free publicity

[Via T3]

AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition CPU up for auction, sure to fetch a bundle

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 at 11:50AM

Remember that AMD Phenom II X4 TWKR processor that we saw overclocked and reviewed just over a fortnight ago? Don't you recall reading and wondering why you were even wasting your time given the scarcity of said chip? It took awhile, but it seems the justification you've been searching for has finally arrived. AMD only manufactured a smattering of these chips in order for select media outlets to showcase the company's potential, and somehow one has found its way onto eBay. Best of all, 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit a charity (Family Eldercare), so you can feel good about spending way, way too much on a slab of silicon. Tap the read link if you care to drive the price up even further (and you know you do).

[Thanks, Alex]

iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay

by Darren Murph posted Jul 3rd 2009 at 2:03PM

Seriously folks, what's up with these prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we saw an original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The 'Bay, now we've got one of the world's first iPhone 3GSs on there as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the "guy" he "got it from" actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but due to its prototype nature, they can't help him get past the "Connect to iTunes" screen. In other words, it's an incredibly rare brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read link below.

[Via ElectricPig]

Google's altruistic Ion giveaway instantly rewarded with blind greed

by Chris Ziegler posted May 28th 2009 at 7:03AM

Call it a sign of the times, call it a Google I/O attendee who just didn't really like the Ion, call it an overabundance of Western-style capitalism, call it man's almost instinctive need to generate profit -- whatever the case, one of the 4,000 specially-branded Ions given away at the conference this week is now available to the highest bidder. Never mind the fact that it's an I/O special edition, though -- outside of this particular device, we're not sure where you can find a 1700MHz 3G HTC Magic at any price, so we're sure this is going to be worth plenty of cold, hard cash to plenty of people who aren't in San Francisco at the moment. Oh, and don't worry if you miss out on this one; we'd be shocked if there weren't others in the pipeline.

[Via TmoToday]

Zen-filled Aspire One netbook makes VAIO P look cheap

by Darren Murph posted Apr 27th 2009 at 12:09AM

Oh, right -- we forgot that Sony's not actually considering the VAIO P a "netbook," but for all intents and purposes, it is. That being said, this highly decorated Aspire One easily blows the pants off of the aforesaid Sony, ringing up at $3,000 (minimum) on eBay. Why so pricey, you ask? No, there's no liquid nitrogen-cooled Core 2 Quad within, nor will you find a CrossFireX graphics setup. What you will see, however, is hours upon hours of TLC poured into this one-of-a-kind machine by Japan's own UFO-Hayashi. Still, for three large this better come bundled with peace, love and happiness for as long as the owner draws breath -- something we're definitely not seeing in the video after the break.

Continue reading Zen-filled Aspire One netbook makes VAIO P look cheap

NES Joystick Test Cartridge lands on eBay, complete with lowest replay value ever

by Darren Murph posted Mar 29th 2009 at 9:02PM

Not that we haven't seen some pretty crazy Nintendo gear fetch some pretty crazy prices on The Bay, but this is definitely amongst the weirdest. Shipping directly from the frigid tundras of Fairbanks, Alaska, this Joystick Test Cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System will undoubtedly spend a record low amount of time within your still kickin' NES console. Put simply, these carts were passed out to game stores for them to test out their NES machines, and after they were done, they were instructed to ship the cart back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Clearly, one renegade employee shoved it in his coat pocket and made a beeline for The Last Frontier. Surely all that's worth $1,050, right?

[Via TechEBlog]

Macbook with Apple logo-turned-LCD now on eBay, naturally

by Darren Murph posted Mar 15th 2009 at 12:21PM

Not that we can really blame the guy or anything, but don't think that the selling of this machine at this point in the history of mankind is any sort of coincidence. Literally two days after we took a glance at this very Macbook -- which had its Apple logo replaced with a bona fide, completely functional LCD -- it's up for auction at eBay. We know, the economy's a little rough right now, so we'll chalk this one up to a creature of the entrepreneurial spirit and move on. But yes, you should be prepared to pay top dollar (or learn how to mod) if you're dead set on being its next owner.

iPhone prototype caught on video

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Mar 10th 2009 at 9:46AM

We found a quick video of the iPhone prototype that you've probably already bid on. The excitement is palpable as the person on screen clicks his or her way through menu items, checks out mobile web pages and generally does the sort of things that we imagine one does with a test unit. No doubt your curiosity's been piqued, and we don't blame you. With a current bid of $2,000 and over thirty-five hours left on the auction, this is probably as close as we'll ever get to the thing. Video after the break.

Update: Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later: it looks like Apple's lawyers had the auction (and the accompanying YouTube video) pulled. It was fun while it lasted!

Update: Thanks to our main man Steve, the video is back up... for now. See for yourself after the break.

Continue reading iPhone prototype caught on video

iPhone prototype surfaces on eBay, aims to fetch a pretty penny

by Darren Murph posted Mar 9th 2009 at 7:42PM

Okay, so we'll go ahead and crush a few dreams up front -- there's nothing here that proves this isn't some funky KIRF iPhone or just an ad hoc or jailbroken app making things look completely funkadelic. Now that our skepticism is out in the open, we'll be honest and say we really, really hope this is legitimate. According to the eBay description, this here iPhone prototype was constructed a few months prior to the real iPhone's release, and it actually powers on, makes calls and receives SMSs. It sports a totally beta plastic matte screen, and the software is obviously pre-release. Oh, and the best part? The auction winner also scores a second beta phone that won't turn on (yet), but we're sure the right tweaker could fix it up into the most amazing secondary phone the world has ever seen. Forget all that bad economic news you've been hearing -- you best bring the bring the bank if you're thinking seriously about claiming this.

[Via iLounge]

Prototype Apple Interactive Television Box up for auction: there goes your savings

by Darren Murph posted Jan 23rd 2009 at 11:07PM

From what we can gather, even Apple purist Jeremy Mehrle doesn't own one of these ultra-rare set-top-boxes, and if you think you're the only Apple fanboy out there eying this one seriously, we fear you'll be sorely mistaken. This prototype Interactive Television Box was crafted in or around 1994 and was designed to deliver content to one's TV by connecting to a central server and downloading content. Thus, the unit itself doesn't boot into anything nor does it feature an internal hard drive. Still, DIYers and collectors alike will have a hard time passing up the opportunity of snagging this piece and turning it into a makeshift iTunes server, but given the remarkably low $249.99 buy-it-now price, we'd say that window of opportunity may not be open for long. Oh, and Apple TV -- you ain't got nothin' on this in terms of desirability. Sorry, bub.

[Thanks, Marc]

Slot loading Xbox 360 enjoys its 15 minutes, heads to eBay

by Darren Murph posted Dec 14th 2008 at 5:43AM

There's a good possibility you felt some sense of jealously when eying RDC's meticulously modded Xbox 360, and now you can act on said envy thanks to the supreme convenience of the online auction house known as eBay. That's right kids -- the slot loading Xbox 360 that was shown here just under a month ago is now on the auction block, and the $250 minimum bid means that you're paying a ridiculously small premium for all the blood, sweat and tears that were undoubtedly poured into this creation. Of course, that figure is apt to head skyward in a hurry, but maybe that would encourage you to get off your keister and craft one yourself. No time like the present to beef up that weakening DIY muscle.

[Via Xbox-Scene, thanks Aguiluz]

Modder haphazardly shoves an N64 into a Wii shell

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2008 at 1:42AM

We'll be frank -- there's nothing particularly elegant about the Wii64, but it is unique, so we just have to pay attention. Without any rhyme or reason, this here modder decided it best to gut the internals of his Wii and replace them with the innards of an N64. Of course, he could've just referenced someone else's work for getting an N64 controller to play nice with Nintendo's latest, but we suspect that just wasn't the itch he was trying to scratch. The current bid is just $49.99, so those intrigued enough to actually have it shipped to their house can bid away.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Custom Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 back on eBay

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 7th 2008 at 8:27AM

A few moment's hesitation prevent you from placing the winning bid on that sweet, customized Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 a few weeks back? It's okay, we've all been there -- sitting at the screen, cursor hovering over the "Bid Now" button, wracked with indecision, finally saying "Why not?" just as the timer hits 0. Usually that's cause for a lifetime of bitter regret, but this time you're in luck. The winning bid of $17,000 turned out to be bogus, so the creators have placed the machine on eBay again, ready for you to ponder anew. Now, before you make some snide remarks about $17k being way too much for a tarted up PS3, take a look at the attention to detail here, and remember that 15 percent of the proceeds are going straight to the Child's Play charity -- a factor that should hopefully reduce the vehemence of those remarks by roughly a fifth.