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Another Wii Email Address Sells for $385

cgi.ebay.com — Why are people so quick to throw away their money? Seller also has two more Wii email addresses for sale. Bunghole.

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bongo 1 year 333 days ago, made popular 1 year 332 days ago

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98 Comments
Who Dugg It?

IcedKirby, on 10/12/2007, -98/+3Who would pay 385$ for something you can get for free? (GMail)
- Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35Wow, I mean just Wow....
- drafhk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41Woah, the obvious train just went flying by. and obviously hit that guy in the face.
- sphinx13, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15If it hit him then he would understand. It just flew right past without him noticing.
- Ramtech, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24i just made the email address...
  
  diggs.r.us@gmail.com...
  
  anyone wanna buy it?...lol
- mstrebe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24The same seller is also listing 30 "T.M.X Elmo 'boxes'", only 5 of which (yeah right) contain an actual T.M.X Elmo. You are bidding on the box, not the free gift it may contain.
  
  Note to self: Ebay is rife with fraud, never use it.
- sockpuppets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I just sold "Idtakeitintheass@gmail.com" to an undisclosed digg bidder- the market is clearly there.
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -34/+1"Who would pay 385$ for something you can get for free? (GMail)"
  Your comment implies that GMail ITSELF is free
- dosterm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10@foolfromhell
  
  No, not really. It was stupid for other reasons.
- Tenetri, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6so, they think their bidding on a wii? I think I'm on to something ;)
- fgsfds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9If the buyer weren't a moron, they would read gmail's ToS and refuse to pay on the grounds that it's a forbidden act, and that the seller does not have the legal right to sell the account.
  
  Then they would complain to eBay about the fraud, leave a bunch of negative feedback, etc...
- breakaway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@mstrebe
  
  |++--QUOTE---
  | The same seller is also listing 30 "T.M.X Elmo 'boxes'", only 5 of which (yeah right) contain an actual T.M.X Elmo. You are bidding on the box, not the free
  | gift it may contain.
  |
  | Note to self: Ebay is rife with fraud, never use it
  | -----
  
  Ebay is full of morons with more money than brains. Use it well.
- slicedoranges, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6It's not fraud... it's natural selection.
- imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Ha! Slice.... EXACTLY. :)
Maccc, on 10/12/2007, -14/+7Why are people so quick to throw away their money? Because they're idiots.
- Tiak, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2Or they think "Oh, that email sounds credible, maybe I can scam people with it"... It's darwinism in action, the stupid people are buying things to take money from the even stupider.
- 2L84ME, on 10/12/2007, -1/+55I'd be surprised if they are actually aware of what it is they're buying.
  
  With the huge description about the *Wii itself* and big, commercial-esqe "Delivered by Christmas" claims I wouldn't blame non-tech-savvy parents, just wanting to give their children a lovely Christmas, to get suckered into this; it's sick.
- EXreaction, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Ya, seriously, that crosses the line. The only place it really says you are only getting an email account is 1 line halfway through the page. Plus it nearly says you can buy the Wii from him...
  
  I wish I could report scumbags like this to Ebay admins and have them permanently banned from it.
- kcpwnsgman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Please do not bid on this item if you feel it or the Wii market is not for you.
  Once item has been delivered, returns will not be accepted. Please be a responsible Ebayer and be sure to read the auction description carefully as all sales will be final and seller will not be accepting excuses for bidders who failed to fulfill their obligations or whose children "somehow" logged onto their account and bid on this item."
- calbff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"I wish I could report scumbags like this to Ebay admins and have them permanently banned from it."
  
  Personally, I'd much prefer strangling the ***** out of them, but have it your way.
- Strabo4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@calbf
  
  Or punching them in the throat. Then kicking them in the balls. Those people are jackasses.
- imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4They have no balls.
Craga89, on 10/12/2007, -19/+3I'd rather buy an actual Wii...
GGDReport, on 10/12/2007, -25/+2I guessing they were trigger happy and bid thinking it was for the console lol
- zombietuba, on 10/12/2007, -3/+30You're a ***** genius.
- imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Digg is filled with 'em. Maybe they can help me with my taxes this year.
brainboy77, on 10/12/2007, -17/+2read be4 u buy
MuTeD, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2Ohhh I'm so dumb, well thats $385 out of my pocket :(
Saiing, on 10/12/2007, -3/+51I agree that people who fall for this are kinda dumb, but at the end of the day, it's a deliberate scam, it's deception and it's skirting the edges of legality. Someone who isn't tech savvy or is familiar with the terminology could easily be confused by this. We all make mistakes - but you shouldn't have to pay $385 just because this ***** deceived you out of your money.

The people who do this, are the same kind of people who deceive old folks out of their life savings because they're not so sharp-minded any more and can't tell when they're being scammed. They're scum.
- Crizack, on 10/12/2007, -21/+5This isn't a scam at all it clearly says "The item you are bidding on is the e-mail address wiis.r.us@gmail.com". It also mentions to read the auction description before bidding. Whoever bid on this should either learn how to read or not use ebay. I hope they don't get their money back.
- vhold, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Of course it's a scam when all the product images are of something totally different then what is being sold. Common sense.
  
  Also, "NO SHIPPING FEES" on an item that doesn't even need to be shipped shows he intends to deceive.
- Akari, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2It's obviously a scam but whoever bid on it almost deserves it. You have to be really stupid to bid $385 without reading the details finely. It said that the email address was for sale in large letters.
- trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1It's pretty simple, just don't pay it and get a negative score. Though hopefully the person will realize it's just an e-mail address before they shell out the money. THEN they will really be big idiots.
- RidesAPaleHorse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's possible that the buyer paid right away hoping to make sure it was sent out for delivery tomorow. Anyone buying a Wii this late on eBay is desperate to egt one for Christmas morning.
- NivMizzet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Even after they buy it, they are entitled to their money back. It is against Google's policy to resell their property (you don't own that e-mail address...).
- UCFMark, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1It's not really a scam. The seller makes no pretense of selling a wii. The auction says clearly, "PLEASE READ AUCTION DESCRIPTION BEFORE BUYING," and the description states in big letters (very clearly legible and large on my 1400x1050 laptop display) "The item you are bidding on is the e-mail address wiis.r.us@gmail.com." If the buyer actually buys the item thinking that he is getting a Wii, he is clearly a fool. Is the practice deceptive? Surely. A scam? I think not.
- bpapa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1People that fall to prey to this aren't dumbasses. They just don't know the whole story about EBay.
  
  Can you blame them? They turn on their TV and see a commercial with people dancing around saying "you can get anything on EBay!", so they check it out and wow, there's a picture of a Nintendo Wii, awesome! But this auction is deceptive, the seller is a piece of *****, and anybody who has no sympathy for somebody who fell victim to it just because they don't know the dark side of Ebay, this wonderful looking place that they just saw a commercial on TV for, is an *****.
  
  Obviously EBay needs to take a little responsibility here if they promote their site as the holy grail of shopping. I'm sure they do, but if they don't, (I don't know the whole story), I can't wait for the news expose that dismantles Ebay's advertising campaign.
- gomezfreak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It always come back around. Another life form lower than him will give him his just desserts.
  
  I guess some people don't really apply the "golden rule" or have any concept of karma anymore.
R0rschach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Doesn't eBay protect from these kinds of things?
- teamgwho, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15not if auction clearly states what it is, and you happen not to read it clearly. and it's not even like it's in the fine print either. it's in regular font size. The seller is a dick, but he's a clever dick.
- jonshipman, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3because people need to learn how to read.
  
  Have you seen people freak out when a pop up window comes up that says you need to restart your computer? Then you have to explain that they just have to click the restart button and everything will be fine.
- astyler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Ebay does protect against these things if the buyer reports it. The way out is to mention it's illegal to sell gmail addresses.
- R0rschach, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Well I guess after that point it's not the Seller's fault the buyer was dumb.
kolombiankid, on 10/12/2007, -8/+10what a *****
teamgwho, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2the problekm is this auction is 100% legit. the fact that it's an auction for an email is stated in the title, as well as clearly stated in the description. Now does everyone read auctions carefully? Nope. I bet you the ahem *winner* probably is going to be quite surprised, but honestly... I doubt he has much of a case... unless he goes to Judge Judy and they can show a patter of deceit or something. What a scumbucket.
- supershawn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Nope. It's against Gmail TOS to resell addresses...read them. That alone is enough to break this auction (let alone everything else that is wrong with it).
  
  Prohibited Actions
  
  In addition to (and/or as some examples of) the violations described in Section 3 of the Terms of Use, users may not:
  
  * Generate or facilitate unsolicited commercial email ("spam"). Such activity includes, but is not limited to
  o sending email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act or any other applicable anti-spam law
  o imitating or impersonating another person or his, her or its email address, or creating false accounts for the purpose of sending spam
  o data mining any web property (including Google) to find email addresses
  o sending unauthorized mail via open, third-party servers
  o sending emails to users who have requested to be removed from a mailing list
  o selling, exchanging or distributing to a third party the email addresses of any person without such person's knowing and continued consent to such disclosure
  o sending unsolicited emails to significant numbers of email addresses belonging to individuals and/or entities with whom you have no preexisting relationship
  * Send, upload, distribute or disseminate or offer to do the same with respect to any unlawful, defamatory, harassing, abusive, fraudulent, infringing, obscene, or otherwise objectionable content
  * Intentionally distribute viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, corrupted files, hoaxes, or any other items of a destructive or deceptive nature
  * Conduct or forward pyramid schemes and the like
  * Transmit content that may be harmful to minors
  * Impersonate another person (via the use of an email address or otherwise) or otherwise misrepresent yourself or the source of any email
  * Illegally transmit another's intellectual property or other proprietary information without such owner's or licensor's permission
  * Use Gmail to violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others
  * Promote or encourage illegal activity
  * Interfere with other Gmail users' enjoyment of the Service
  * Create multiple user accounts in connection with any violation of the Agreement or create user accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses
  * Sell, trade, resell or otherwise exploit for any unauthorized commercial purpose or transfer any Gmail account
  * Modify, adapt, translate, or reverse engineer any portion of the Gmail Service
  * Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or on the Gmail Service
  * Reformat or frame any portion of the web pages that are part of the Gmail Service
  * Use the Gmail Service in connection with illegal peer-to-peer file sharing
- swizzley, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Auctions like these are clearly scams, and it drives me nuts to see them on the front page of Digg all of the time.
  
  eBay would close the sellers account (and block him) once this is reported to them, PayPal would refund the money (and place the rest of any balance on hold), and of course a credit card company would approve a charge back. The seller might get the $ for a day, but it's not going to stay in their account.
- ThankTheCheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2generally speaking, I don't tend to trust ebay items with 29 exclamation points.
- teamgwho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@supershawn. I was not aware of that fact about gmail addresses.
DRTED, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9I bought a WII e-mail, payed four hundred for it, totally worth it, i feel like LUIGI
LeafsScore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7The point you're missing is that just because someone bidded for a wii email address, it doesn't mean they're going to pay for it.
- trib4lmaniac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If they were so bid-happy in the first place, I doubt they would put much thought into it.
  The seller would likely have whisked off a quick congratulatory email asking them for a quick payment for a quick delivery without mentioning the fact that they had just won an auction on an email address.
cvecve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The seller also has a TMX 'mystery auction'.
- supershawn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's a violation as well. it is a "drawing" type auction- even though the seller tries to make it sound otherwise. He's lucky if he will have his Ebau account for another week- they will ban him soon. Serves him right- retard.
Petrie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Pfft...Wii-mail...
InfinitySnatch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2What a douche. He goes on about shipping the item and receiving the item when all he'll do is email it. I can see how some people would mistakenly bid for it when he talks about shipping and all that *****.
- EXreaction, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The problem is, an ass like that can come back pretty easily. If he makes 2 accounts and buys a few cheap things from himself, he can up his own feedback for both accounts. Then go on to make something crooked like this again.
  
  I wish it was possible to perma-ban someone. But the internet is to anonymous.
  
  EDIT: Oops, I could have sworn I was replying to supershawn above...
brocoma, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Some people might think they are buying the email address and a "free wii collectors item". Some people might think the "free wii collectors item" is the wii itself. I think that is the part that will scam the most people.

Bottom line is the guy is a jerk.
jarvolt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You know it's funny, I was going to make a Wii-themed email that incorporated my current username: wiivolt. Clever, I thought; then I came to my senses and realised that, of course, it was taken. It's sad that there are people out there that take usernames just because they think they can profit off them.
Rockmaninoff, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2The really sad thing is that there were NINE bids on this auction...doesn't say too much for us as consumers in terms of intelligence. I really hope that GMail T&C crap doesn't follow through for the buyer; he deserves losing $400 if he's THAT stupid.

Caveat emptor...
funkysandman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This guy is going to find out about karma...typical *****
epileet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5dont blame the guy, idiots need to learn these lessons on thier own
HumanWaste, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Chances are, people are not buying these e-mail addresses for themselves, but for their businesses (points at item description).

Here's a quote:
"The item you are bidding on is the e-mail address wiis.r.us@gmail.com which will allow you to show your potential buyers just how much you love Nintendo's new system!!!"

Though it's something that doesn't hold much interest within the context of the average consumer, there are people out there who need those types of official names.

Just trying to look at the situation from all perspectives.
- joeguy1590, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3it's a gmail address...for $385 you can get your own domain name and make as many Wii***@ addresses you want. So from all perspectives the bidder is still an idiot.
- EXreaction, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Nah, for $3 a month you can get some pretty nice hosting, a domain, and a bunch of email addresses at it...
  
  Although...I could make my emails look like they come from no-reply@nintendo.com if I wanted...or whatever the heck I want. It is pretty easy to do actually, though you won't receive anything at the address, only send. :P
- HumanWaste, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's all true; that bidder is pretty foolish for paying that much for something so seemingly insignificant. However, in my original comment, all I did was state the logic behind one such bidder.
stepanstas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2too bad that google has no way of contact, i would be the first to tell them.
It would be really funny (since google reserves the right to delete any account) if google deleted the account that is bid on
so, how can i report this?
- oirvine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5https://services.google.com/inquiry/gmail_security3
  
  This will let you report gmail address for sale.
godd4242, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5the guy should be ***** sued, he falsely advertised. He has a picture of the Wii game system, a description of the Wii game system. He just throws an e-mail in at the top. He misinformed the bidders on ***** purpose

goddamn scumbag

I dont think the bidder knew it was just an email address, i think he thought it was the actual game system. Yes "wii" har har know whatsup, but some 40 year old housewife who couldn't defrag her harddrive if you paid her?
its a scam
;__;
diggmeup, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1scum
Lut3s, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'll have it be known that going through the seller's recent history shows that he bought a beginner's guide to lucid dreaming.

I thought it was funny.
superpotential, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0what a vumpumberry. goddamnit.
CptCarnage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Not to mention the starting bid was $299. This guy is pure scum, anyone who didn't read the entire auction would think it was a Wii.
JonnyTrombone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I spent a lot of my senior year in High School helping grade papers. There were so many grammatical errors, I tend to auto-correct in my head and continue on. The auction is titled "Wii brand new e-mail inside," and I first read it as "Wii, brand new. e-mail inside." I can understand if some people make that mistake, then get too excited and bid.
Orat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Note the auction is not in the video game consoles section. It is in the section called "Advertising Opportunities". I suppose the presentation of the auction could be misleading to old people, small children, and the mentally retarded but I would not call it a scam. This doesn't mean I don't think the seller is an asshat, however.
fatmuffinman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The term is "obtaining financial advantage by deception" in Australia and can result in up to 10 years jail, no doubt there would be similar in US or wherever this seller is based. Hopefully that would then result in him being the proud owner of bubbaownsyourass@gmail.com
- Calcheesmo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@stealthgear...
  
  there's a difference between marketing something and marketing something falsely...
  
  the main reason this is BS is because you picture the item you are selling, the fact that the picture is not of an e-mail address, but of a wii, makes this auction false to begin with...you don't put a picture of something random and sell that....if you buy something from k-mart they don't sell you a baseball in a box with a picture of an mp3 player on it. They put a baseball in a box with a damn baseball pictured on it...and then the box describes what is inside, not an mp3 player and then mention a baseball...
  
  ok, you are right, k-mart could do that....but they don't....because people hate you if you do because it's dishonest
vishusdelishus, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Honestly - I don't agree with this at all, however I am not a dumbass. People who fall for this get what they deserve, I'm sorry to admit. All it takes is a 25 second scan through the auction and it's pretty obvious you're buying a gmail address (and a ***** one at that).

Good for him for making $385. I wish I was as unscrupulous.
daxsymbiont, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1and to actually *pay* for that scum makes you twice the idiot to have bidded.

most countries have laws against blatant scum and you can just take your money back.

this was not just a fancy advertisement, it was obviously deliberate.

i know some ads don't differ much but there's still a line to cross.
ConservoHippie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Anyone try contacting the buyer and telling him how he can get out of it? It'd be a good Christmas deed (I lack an ebay account).
sjta, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1No better way to teach morons than to have then blow cash like that.
- Calcheesmo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Too bad we don't teach morons by making them read books about being grammatically correct.
villageid, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Nothing like a little thievery to celebrate the holidays. I'm surprised he didn't include "fall out boy iverson nuggets jersey ps3 angelina jolie nude photos" in the subject line.
- villageid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0"fall out boy iverson nuggets jersey ps3 angelina jolie nude photos" in the item title. (sorry for the two-parter)
colpridenyc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Does the guy have to describe the item with all exclamation marks? Does that realy make me want to buy the item when he is so desperate? No!!!
SydneyBristow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You have to admit that it would be interesting to see the expression of the buyer when he/she finally figured it out.
Sikon327, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The funny thing is, the seller's feedback was all positive.
I figured, "let's see the horrible things people are probably saying about him/her," and I look and everyone's saying "A++," and "A***" (I'm assuming that means "A+++"), so I guess that would turn a few heads (if anyone really monitored specific EBay users, that is).
animaniacsrule, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1***** these ppl.

time to open up some new ebay accounts and leave some $1000 bids on these email addy auctions
Erasmus354, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I actually saw this auction about 15 mins before it was slated to end. There was still only one bidder for 299$. I contacted that guy and let him know that he was just bidding on an email address. I checked my inbox this morning and found 4 frantic reply's from languy asking how to withdraw his bid.

I guess I am glad some other idiots came along and overbid him. It just goes to show you that people really dont look at what they are bidding. The seller even listed this in the correct section of ebay, the advertising opportunities section.
AMD64MM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sickening, this also happened to me (hate to admit my stupidity) They had it in fine text at the bottom of the page. I just simply refused to pay for it, and the scumbag didn't even threaten legal action or complain through ebay.
lostradamus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ebay buyers should be able to flag fraudulent auctions like this one and get them off the site. Craigslist has had the flagging feature for years. Feel sorry for the poor schmuck who fell for this one.
alteratti, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd rather buy the real thing twice.
pkchukiss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They should do something like how Google patrols its AdSense programs. The moment something ambiguous comes up, they disable it as soon as possible to protect their advertisers against fraud from bad clicks. Ebay could have done something about this, if not for the fact that they benefit from such a shady act.
mattyxo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well... I just finished reporting the seller. I felt like a mom when I did that but I think it's karma - maybe one day something bogus will happen to me and I won't realize it, but some nice soul out there will help me out.
surrealpath, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hate reading something like this. A couple of years ago I bought something fairly expensive (a Dell monitor) on eBay right in time for Christmas. Granted, I read the auction about 50 times over and everything turned out fine. But I can picture someone wishing to give their kids a gift for the holiday season and getting ripped off in such a manner. Can only hope the buyer is aware before they pay.
jetsetter883, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i don't quite understand how this is illegal. the item up for auction is clearly stated in the description. he is not selling the actual email address but rather the rights to use it. is that illegal?
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Another Wii *Email Address* Sells for $385

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Another Wii Email Address Sells for $385