Auction fever

I've learned tonight that some people get a bit crazy when bidding on auction sites. It wasn't us, don't worry. Joanne and I have been selling a couple of things we had left from the Buckley weekend on Trade Me, namely a dog-crate and a playpen. The playpan cost us around $180 brand new. It was used for one day and we hoped to get maybe a third of that back. I went for just over $100 so we've got to be happy with that. A fair price for buyer and seller, I'd say. The crate, however, is another matter. Watching as the closing time of the auction approached, the price just kept leaping up. $90...$100...$125... All the way to $155. It cost us brand new £158. The person who won the auction could walk in Animates and buy exactly the same item, but brand new, not used, for three dollars more than he will pay us. And we detailed the purchase price on the listing too so it's not like he didn't know. At least he lives in Chch and so won't have to pay postage too, eh?