Auctions in the News

One thing is for sure, there's no way to make reliable predictions when it comes to auctions! Whatever anyone can imagine putting up for bid, and what people will actually pay never seizes to surprise.

A lock of John Lennon’s hair sold for $48,000 Wednesday in an auction of Beatles’ memorabilia. The auction house had estimated the hair would bring $4,000 to $6,000.

When it comes to entertainment memorabilia, it's interesting to note that of the three leading ladies competing for space in the celebrity gossip magazines, sales on eBay for Britney Spears related items topped those for Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan in 2007. Fragrances were the most popular items sold for both Spears and Hilton.

Right here in Connecticut, there’s an unusual offering of a different sort: electricity. MXEnergy is one of several electricity suppliers in our state’s deregulated market. On eBay, their feedback rating is currently a “0”, but with the high cost of power these days, it will certainly be worth checking back to see how this auction turns out.

Here is an excerpt from their listing:

This auction is for a megawatt of electricty. The retail value is $119.00. The cost of electricity -- like the weather -- is something people discuss but never do anything about. But now, a select group of consumers can name their own price for power.

MXenergy is offering a brand-new megawatt (1,000 kilowatt hours) of electricity in excellent condition, only to bidders who live in Connecticut’s United Illuminating market, which serves customers in 17 municipalities from Fairfield to North Branford and north to Hamden.

An average household uses approximately 10 megawatt hours per year, and bidders have been 'empowered' to set their own rate for electricity.

We are auctioning one Megawatt since a kWh is too small for eBay. So at the end of the auction we will divide the winning bid by 1,000 to determine the kWh rate. The high bidder can purchase their electricity from MXenergy for one year at that rate.

The winning bidder would be required to sign up for MXenergy electricity service in the United Illuminating territory, but unlike other customers, would pay the price set through an online auction.

United Illuminating will deliver electricity to your meter, and it will be as reliable as ever. You will continue to receive one bill from UI and you will still call UI for service or to report a power outage. No hassles, no fuss.

Electricity will be purchased from MXenergy , a licensed supplier of electricity for the United Illuminating Company. They are in no way affiliated with this offer.

As of the end of the day on Wednesday, the auction was bid up to US $247.50, with 42 bids. It ends on Friday. You can view the actual auction on eBay by clicking here.