The internet has turned into a colossal, never‑ending garage‑sale‑on‑steroids, and with that comes a parade of truly odd listings. Below you’ll find the 10 bizarre things that have actually been posted for sale online, ranging from a massive whale carcass to a claimed human soul. Some of these offers are probably tongue‑in‑cheek, others may be earnest – the line is blurry, and the absurdity is real.
10 Bizarre Things You Won’t Believe Were Up for Sale
10 Sperm Whale Carcass
In May 2014 a massive, unwelcome visitor washed ashore near Cape St. George, Newfoundland – a 40‑foot (12 m) dead sperm whale. The town was suddenly tasked with disposing of the gargantuan body. After a failed attempt to rent a 50‑ft (15 m) boat for towing, the whale lingered in the surf, growing ever more odorous. Desperate, Mayor Peter Fenwick turned to eBay, hoping to find someone willing to take the carcass off their hands.
Fenwick clarified that the goal wasn’t profit but simply to off‑load the massive corpse. Bids climbed to about $2,000 before eBay intervened, citing a policy that bars the sale of animals – living or dead. Canadian law also forbade the transaction, as the whale was an endangered species. Ultimately, a fortuitous high tide, strong swells, and a westerly wind pushed the whale back out to sea, ending the saga without a buyer.
9 A Human Soul
The idea of swapping a soul for cash might sound like a plot twist, but eBay has a very literal policy against it. When asked why, the platform replied, “If the soul does not exist, eBay could not allow the auction because there would be nothing to sell. However, if the soul does exist then, per eBay’s policy on human parts and remains, we would not allow the auctioning of human souls.”
Believe it or not, people have tried. In 2008 a member of the band Paradigm listed his own soul for £25,000.50 (roughly $37,500 at the time), promising updates on the soul’s condition, a share of his band’s earnings, annual birthday cards, and even a clause allowing the buyer to repurchase the soul for £100,000,000 (about $150 million). The listing was promptly removed, but the story lives on as a testament to the lengths some will go to monetize the intangible.
8 Poop
Even the most revolting bodily by‑product has found a niche market online. Companies like MailPoop.com sell boxes of dog feces as gag gifts, pricing a 2‑lb (1 kg) bundle from a 110‑lb (50 kg) dog at a modest $20, complete with a photo gallery of the dogs in the act. For those seeking a more “serious” prank, ShitExpress.com ships sealed containers of horse, gorilla or elephant dung, often accompanied by a snarky note such as “One steaming pile from me to you” or “I hate your guts.” The note even tries to soften the blow, urging the recipient to reflect on their own behavior before judging the sender.
These products toe the line between novelty and nuisance, but they demonstrate that virtually anything can be commodified when a creative seller finds the right audience. Whether you’re looking for a quirky present or a revenge‑gift, the internet seems ready to deliver a fresh batch of excrement.
7 Belly Button Lint
Garage‑sale enthusiasts often stumble upon items no one else would consider worth a penny. While eBay is awash with repurposed goods like empty egg cartons and used makeup containers, some sellers push the envelope even further. One Baltimore hobbyist posted a trade‑offer seeking a muscle car, motorcycle, rifles, gold coins, or cash in exchange for his collection of multicolored belly‑button lint, each batch sealed in plastic with dates of collection. He warned only serious bidders should apply, a claim that sparked both amusement and disbelief.
The internet is also home to countless other oddities: 72 free Taco Bell mild‑sauce packets listed for $18, a battered iPhone 7 advertised as “Works great and turns on. Just needs the screen repaired” for $500, a rusted “portable fire pit” (essentially a chair base with a fire pit attached) for $100, and a “rare” peanut containing four nuts priced at $500. These listings highlight the eclectic mix of trash‑to‑treasure conversions that populate online marketplaces.
Among the most eyebrow‑raising is the Baltimore man’s lint trade, which reads like a modern‑day alchemist’s catalogue: colorful fluff gathered over months, sealed, and offered in exchange for high‑value items. Whether anyone took him seriously remains a mystery, but the listing perfectly captures the bizarre creativity of internet sellers.
6 Single‑Use Plastic Bag
When nostalgia collides with environmental guilt, the result can be oddly marketable. Sellers have listed discontinued relics like VHS tapes, vintage Care Bear keychains, and even a 2019‑model pencil (sans eraser) for $49, banking on the notion that such items are “old” and therefore valuable. One particularly whimsical listing showcased two frozen snowballs claimed to be from the “biggest snowfall in NYC history” (January 2016) with a price tag of $10,000 plus $2,000 for shipping, though no verification method was offered.
In a tongue‑in‑cheek move, an Australian entrepreneur framed a single‑use plastic bag, captioned “We banned single‑use plastic bags this time last year,” and listed it for $250 as “The Last Plastic Bag.” The seller joked that it might take millennia for anyone to feel nostalgic for such a mundane object, inviting future collectors to imagine a world where plastic bags are museum pieces.
5 Harambe‑Shaped Flamin’ Hot Cheeto
Humans love spotting familiar shapes in random objects – a phenomenon known as pareidolia. This fascination has turned snack foods into coveted collectibles. In 1994, Diane Duyser sold a cheese sandwich that seemed to depict the Virgin Mary for $28,000 after preserving it in a plastic case for a decade. The market for such “miraculous” edibles only grew.
One Texas buyer paid $1,350 for a cornflake shaped like the state of Illinois, later hiring a courier to retrieve it from Virginia. Other cornflake curiosities include an “world’s largest” piece that arrived in three fragments and an Australian‑shaped flake that fetched over $200. These culinary oddities prove that geography can be edible.
Religious imagery also appears on food. In 2005, a pierogi bearing Jesus’ face sold for $1,775. Since then, Jesus has been spotted on banana peels, sour‑cream‑and‑onion chips, burnt fish sticks, pizza crusts, and even grilled cheese. One particularly viral piece was a Cheeto shaped like Jesus walking, fetching a respectable sum.
The snack‑scene culminated in 2017 when a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto molded into the likeness of the infamous gorilla Harambe sold for nearly $100,000. The sale came a year after Harambe’s tragic death at the Cincinnati Zoo, underscoring how pop‑culture tragedy can translate into bizarre collector’s items.
4 Country Jacuzzi Hot Tub
Beyond physical goods, the internet also markets services that border on the surreal. Companies now offer “invisible” partners – you fill out a questionnaire, pick a stock photo face, and receive text messages from a fabricated boyfriend or girlfriend. For a fee, the faux lover can even send gifts on holidays, though no intimate content is ever promised.
Other niche services include fake job references, alibi generators, professional wedding guests, paparazzi for a day, and even “rental wives” who will cook, clean, and keep you company – all without any romantic commitment. One seller even posted a self‑deprecating cake‑decorating ad, joking about criticism and promising to improve after “constructive feedback,” complete with a photo of a cake topped by a bizarre winged Joan River‑like figure.
Perhaps the most outlandish offering is a DIY “country Jacuzzi hot tub” advertised for $9,500. The seller proposes cutting a ¾‑inch steel tank in half, attaching a four‑person seat, an air‑tank for bubbles, and mounting the whole contraption over a trench‑fire pit. He claims the water will heat in two hours and stay warm through the night – a steep price compared to a standard Jacuzzi that costs roughly $3,000 less for comparable features.
3 Whiff of Brangelina
Science‑fiction meets commerce in the “air‑in‑a‑jar” craze. In Mel Brooks’ 1987 film Spaceballs, a character opens a can of “Perri‑air” to breathe clean, unpolluted air. Decades later, Vitality Air bottles mountain air from Alberta, Canada, selling eight‑liter containers for $32 after a 2014 eBay sale fetched $169. Similar offerings include British air for $113 and a bag of Brooklyn‑hood air that fetched $20,100.
Celebrity‑linked air commands even higher prices. In 2015, a Ziploc bag allegedly containing air from a front‑row Kanye West concert during his Yeezus tour started at $5 and, after 90 bids, sold for $60,100. The seller boasted that the bag might even contain “Kanye’s breath.” Kim Kardashian famously tweeted, “Wow, he can sell anything!” after the sale went public.
Even the infamous power couple Brangelina made it onto the market. In 2010, a jar claimed to hold the exhalations of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as they walked by a red‑carpet event sold for $523. While there’s no proof the jar actually captured their breath, the transaction illustrates how far collectors will go to own a literal “piece of fame.”
2 Crypts Near Marilyn Monroe’s
Celebrity memorabilia has always been a hot market, but the obsession extends to the dearly departed. In the 1960s, Beatle fans turned everything they touched into souvenirs: ashtrays, bath mats, even the water from a pool they swam in, dubbed “Beatle Water.” Their sheets were cut into 7,200 squares, each sold with a certificate noting which Beatle slept on that patch. Recent auctions have fetched $150 per set of four swatches.
Modern oddities include Scarlett Johansson’s used tissue sold for $5,300, Justin Timberlake’s untouched French toast at $3,154, Lady Gaga’s fake fingernail for $13,000, and William Shatner’s kidney stone reaching $25,000. Britney Spears’ memorabilia ranges from a chewed gum sold for $14,000 to a half‑eaten egg‑salad sandwich at $520 and a pregnancy test for $5,000.
Marilyn Monroe’s posthumous items are especially macabre. In 2010, three of her chest x‑rays from a 1954 hospital stay were auctioned: the frontal view fetched $25,000, while each lateral view sold for $10,000. Monroe rests in a mausoleum at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, sharing the space with a crypt above her purchased by baseball legend Joe DiMaggio during their brief marriage.
After DiMaggio’s divorce, he sold the crypt directly above Monroe’s to entrepreneur Richard Poncher. Upon Poncher’s death in 1986, he requested to be buried face‑down so he could forever gaze upon Monroe. His widow, Elsie, honored this wish, turning his coffin onto its back. In 2013, Elsie sought to clear a $1.6 million mortgage by auctioning Poncher’s crypt with a starting bid of $500,000. Bidding surged to $4.6 million, but the highest bidder backed out, and the remaining 11 bidders above $4.5 million also withdrew.
Another widow later listed a nearby crypt for $250,000, but received no offers. Meanwhile, Hugh Hefner purchased the crypt next to Monroe’s for $75,000, sparking outrage when he was buried beside her in 2017, given his magazine’s unauthorized use of Monroe’s 1948 nude photograph.
1 Grandma’s “Denchers”
Online marketplaces can become battlegrounds for personal drama. In 2008 a woman discovered a condom wrapper and a pair of unfamiliar panties on her bed, presumably her husband’s. Since eBay forbids the sale of used intimate items, she posted a photo of the pair, noting the wrapper was “size small,” and later attempted to auction her husband’s Harley Davidson for a mere 99 cents. A shock‑jock’s wife similarly tried to off‑load his $45,000 Lotus Esprit Turbo for 77 cents in 2013.
These cathartic listings often contain humor and spite. An Oklahoma City resident advertised her husband’s riding lawnmower for $500, quipping, “It’s got fewer miles than his girlfriend. Barely used unlike his cheap girlfriend… It’s a lawn tractor. Not sure what that means; the only plowing he did was on her.” Another seller offered a free $1,600 couch‑loveseat set that was a month old but riddled with rips, boasting, “We fought, I moved my stuff to a storage unit, he bought new couches, I murdered them all… We made up, hahahaha.”
In 2016, a British woman fled with another man, absconding with her husband’s vehicle while leaving behind a 2004 Smart Roadster she deemed “an absolute disgrace of a car fit only for a person with little or no dignity.” The husband sold the roadster and other personal belongings on eBay, claiming he’d use the proceeds to fund drinking and hire a prostitute.
Fast forward to 2020, a woman browsing a used‑fashion marketplace fell in love with a T‑shirt modeled in a bedroom. After contacting the seller, she realized the bedroom belonged to her boyfriend. The seller apologized and, astonishingly, asked if she still wanted the shirt.
Finally, a grandchild, fed up with a grandma who habitually borrowed money and never repaid, listed her dentures on Facebook Marketplace for $100, describing them as “very clean, like new.” The bizarre ad underscores how family feuds can spill into public listings, turning even dental prosthetics into auction items.