Sell Your Debt On EBay?
Over the weekend, BeThisWay sent me an email with a link to one of the oddest eBay auctions I have ever seen. The auction has ended, but as of my writing this, you can still see the auction. Someone decided to sell their debt on eBay, all $103,245.11 of it. It does include their house and car if you’d like it, but the car, a 2004 Ford Focus, has a $9200 debt on it, so I doubt you’d even break even on that part. Maybe the house.
This is disturbing to me on so many levels. First off, who is going to buy someone’s debt on eBay? Is it even a valid legal transaction? Is it enforceable? What if the house and car sale part are valid but not the debt transfer? Now you just sold your house and car, and you still have over $100K in debt. Oops. I don’t know honestly if any of it is valid, but it seems to me more likely the actual asset sale part would be and not the debt transfer part. Maybe both are. Which makes it interesting for the person who bought the auction for $1, I suppose. If the house was enough to pay off all the debt, you’d think the people would have sold the house to pay the debt off before deciding to list the auction on eBay.
Second, was this really their only option? Was there nothing else they could do but try to get someone else to take over their debt? Was there no other way? Somehow I don’t think so. Have we gotten to the point in this country that if things seems too hard, we want a do-over? They claim in their listing that their debt is average for most Americans. Not that I think over $100K in debt is average, but if they feel they are average, do they think everyone lists their debt on eBay for some random person to take care of it for them?
I feel especially bad for the kids in this scenario. The person posted a picture of their family. What will be the affect on the kids when the family has to move out of their house because they sold it on eBay for a dollar? Next time, at least set a minimum price… really. You have to have other options than running a less-than-informed eBay option. I wish they’d had someone to reach out to that could have helped them with some information before they went this route.
Only in America, I guess.
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April 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Wow — that is unreal. I’ve never heard of a consumer buying another consumer’s debt. Debt collection agencies buy debt from the creditor, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, but this seems a little ridiculous. I doubt it’s legal. If this becomes a trend, eBay is going to have a mess on their hands!
April 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Did you notice that they have another auction that just started recently for the same exact thing. I think she’s just trying to take donations or something. Seems ridiculous. With everyone in debt these days, what makes her any different than the rest of us. Why should someone help her with her debt if she’s the one that got her in it in the first place. Sorry, would much rather donate to needy children. Not someone living in middle-class America.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Ummm this just doesn’t make any sense. Was she trying to get sympathy? Was this just a gimmick? Who would *pay* to take someone’s debt load? So many questions!
April 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I think you nailed it when you said, “Only in America, I guess.”
April 28th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
$100K in debt is below average, if you ask me, considering that most of it is 2 mortgages. They only have something like $12k in “consumer debt” including credit cards and car.
I’ve heard of people auctioning off “habits” before. As in: I’m going to give up smoking. You can buy my habit for $100/cigarette. If I smoke a cigarette, I pay you $100.
I assumed that this was similar, but it doesn’t seem to be. The winning bid, by the way, was $1.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
It seems to me to be a gimmick to sell the house for probably a great deal more than it’s worth. I suppose if you are in danger of losing your house, it’s worth a shot. They say you can sell anything on ebay.
April 29th, 2008 at 12:37 am
It’s no wonder they’re in debt…click on the seller’s id and look at the crap they’ve been buying: postcards, old magazines, fancy maxi pads. Actually, it looks like they might be going Amish!
April 29th, 2008 at 8:35 am
The mind boggles. So the person will get the debt but also the assets….one wonders why she couldn’t straighten out the debt with those same assets. And what they plan to do now.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
It wouldn’t be legal. You cannot sell your credit card debt, for example. The original lender would have to agree to let you off the hook, and that is doubtful. Mortgages are not usually assumable, so it would be an asset sale wherein the person obtained their own financing. It’s some sort of gimmick or a post by a person who is financially naive.
April 30th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I saw the same thing Monica saw; they had the same listing which sold for $102.50. Reading the listing, I saw the following:
Just a note, if you purchase my debt you may have my house and car if you would like. The buy it now price will allow you to have these items,paid in full. The house and car could be sold and you would have a return on your purchase. That is if you would like them, otherwise you could buy my debt and take none of the above. Its up to you.
So basically, they had a buy it now (probably around that $100k price or more) that would get you the house and car. Otherwise, you’re just giving them a donation. Not sure if it’s ingenious, desparate or pathetic…