A safe bet, or why you should always check the content of containers you sell on ebay, or how to prank somebody who sells you something on ebay

Umm. Wow. A guy who has since proclaimed himself “the stupidest man in the world” sold a safe on eBay. He couldn’t get it open, he assumed it was empty. Then the buyer left a line of feedback claiming that when he’d opened the safe he’d found $6,000.

“bought locked safe opened it and found $6,000.00 dollars in bills”

The internet inflated this figure and the story went viral.

Anyway. Here’s the listing, and the opening two paras:

“WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE AD BEFORE BIDDING ON OUR ITEMS. IF YOU ARE INTERNATIONAL BIDDER, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A SHIPPING QUOTE, BEFORE BIDDING. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS UNIT OR ANY ITEM I HAVE FOR SALE, PLEASE CALL ME TOLL FREE AT 1-888-300-8838 . THANKS……..JIM

HERE IS A MAJOR FLOOR  OR IN GROUND SAFE. IT LOOKS LIKE TO BE A  7″ DOOR MEASURED ACROSS. IT IS A COMBINATION LOCK UNIT. IT IS VERY HEAVY. THE BASE OF THE UNIT MEASURES 9 1/2X9 1/2. IT STANDS 14 1/2″ TALL. IT IS A HEAVY DUTY SAFE. IT WEIGHTS ABOUT 60 POUNDS BY ITSELF. IF YOU CAN USE IT, GO AHEAD AND BID ON IT. I DID NOT GET THE COMBINATION FOR THE UNIT .SO YOU WILL HAVE TO CONTACT THE MAJOR SAFE COMPANY TO GET THE COMBINATION OR FIND SOMEONE THAT CAN OPEN THE UNIT UP./”

The all caps are so bad they make my eyes bleed. That may have been the motivation for the buyer, because it turns out, according to the seller, that this was a prank:

“Reply by j****e (Feb-16-12 15:29):
He was playing a practical joke the safe was empty there wasnt any money in it”

Anyway. Most funny stories turn out to be pranks these days. But the ones that get mainstream media coverage first are my favourites.