$3 Million eBay Bid Is A Fake
February 28, 2008 | by Christopher Nickson
The winning bidder in an auction of three million records came from someone whose identity had been stolen.
Paul Mawhinney should have been a happy man. Or at least moderately happy. After all, his eBay auction for the item he’d called the World’s Greatest Music Collection had ended with a winning bid of $3,002,150 from an Irish buyer. It was hardly the $28.5 million he’d once been offered for it – a deal that fell through – but at around $1 an item, it was a definite bargain for someone.
Except it wasn’t.
The winning bid proved to be a fake, even though Mawhinney claimed the bidder had put down a deposit of $300,000 and his bank had confirmed the funds were there. But, the Guardian reported, Mawhinney was contacted by eBay officials to say the bidder’s account had been suspended as not legitimate.
It turned out that the person who really owned the account had been a victim of identity theft.
"He claims he went to an internet cafe and got the e-mail with the invoice from us and wondered, 'What the hell is this?'" said a representative for Mawhinney.
It was another example of fate seemingly conspiring against Mawhinney unloading his collection, which he’s been trying to do for the last 10 years. Even negotiations with the Library of Congress had fallen through. But he’s hopeful of success, and already in talks with new buyers.
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