Olive Garden says no way to $500 unlimited pasta passes on EBay

For some, the Olive Garden unlimited pasta pass is the equivalent of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. The chain sold 1,000 of those passes on its website Monday. And not long after, they started popping up on Ebay and Craigslist, marked up as much as 400%.

It seemed some people were willing to pay as much as $500 for seven straight weeks of unlimited pasta, breadsticks, salad and Coca Cola products.

One big problem: The pass, originally sold for $100, is not transferable.

“The Never Ending Pasta Passes are personalized, non-transferable and not for resale,” Tara Gray, manager of media and communications for Olive Garden told the Los Angeles Times. “We’re working with eBay to make sure buyers and sellers are aware of this.”

That kind of spoils the whole buying and selling thing altogether, doesn’t it? But Gray said the chain would “work with” people who purchased passes on eBay.

“Hospitality is core to who we are,” she said. So “we’ll work with anyone who’s purchased a pass on eBay to ensure they enjoy Never Ending Pasta Bowl.”

She advised calling (800) 331-2729 or reaching out to Olive Garden on social media, then provide proof of purchase, “and we’ll issue a replacement pass in their name.”

A search of eBay on Thursday morning showed around 50 listings. That’s 5% of the people who snagged the 1,000 passes the restaurant sold online Monday.

The passes were being listed with a “buy it now” price of $250 to $500. And in some instances, there were as many as 35 people bidding on a single pass.

I hit my pasta with more than a little Parmesan cheese. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_