N.J. Teen Goes on $2.5-Million EBay Bidding Spree

A New Jersey teen, armed with his parents’ password and a taste for mischief, bid more than $2.5 million on art, furniture and cars on EBay Inc.’s Internet auction site before being caught and permanently logged off.

The 13-year-old, who was identified in news accounts as Andrew Tyler of Haddonfield, N.J., bid $1.2 million on a doctor’s office, $35,000 for a “real Viking ship from Sweden,” $24,500 for a red 1971 Corvette convertible and $400,000 on a bedroom suite that once belonged to Canada’s first prime minister, among other items. Reports said he used his parents’ EBay password to access the online auctions.

EBay, the Internet’s top auctioneer, wouldn’t confirm the boy’s name, but said it appeared that a minor had placed bids in violation of company policy. The San Jose-based company said the youth also apparently placed bids to drive up prices.

“It’s sort of weird that it’s so open to everyone. They don’t ask you for your credit card or any proof that you’re over 18,” the teen told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Spokesman Kevin Pursglove said EBay received only one complaint from among the owners of the 11 items on which the boy bid. The owner of former Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald’s bedroom set became suspicious during the bidding and called EBay, Pursglove said. The boy placed winning bids on the Corvette, wrestling magazines and other items.

Pursglove said EBay occasionally encounters “deadbeat bidders,” people who fail to pay for the items they won in bidding. The items’ owners can choose to pursue the phony bidders or to list the items again on EBay.

Online auction firms such as EBay conduct millions of auctions a year, and making sure bidding stays honest is difficult, Jupiter Communications analyst Fiona Swerdlow said.