Though listed with a $1 "buy now" price on Trade Me, the seller insisted the auction was for the "right to buy" this TV for $5000. A Christchurch man who thought he bought a television for $1 is well within his rights to be annoyed about a misleading price, Trade Me says.Frank Meiritz-Reid bought the 75-inch Samsung smart television with a "buy now" price of $1 from an Auckland furniture store on Trade Me.Elmstone Furniture, trading as "elmstonenz" on the website, had listed the television with the subheading "$1 for right to purchase for $5000".In communication with Meiritz-Reid, the seller insisted he pay $5000, as well as the $1 buy now price."Of course my argument is that he is held committed to the 'buy now' $1 sale," Meiritz-Reid said.READ MORE: * Dealer's mistake sees car sold for $1 * Couple's $48,000 debt listed on Trade Me * Hurricanes tickets swept up in a whirlwind * $1 Lamborghini auction from Trade Me rival - but there's a catchWhen he insisted on the $1 price, the seller became abusive and told him to "learn to read".
The seller posted negative feedback on Meiritz-Reid's Trade Me account, saying he could not read the listing details.Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said the listing was a "cheeky piece of e-commerce" and breached the website's terms and conditions.Users are not allowed to complete a transaction outside of the Trade Me process. Ford said Trade Me did not allow right-to-buy auctions, as it could "create all sorts of mayhem and confusion if we did".It could also be in breach of the Fair Trading Act because the headline price was different to the sale price.Meiritz-Reid would be unlikely to get the television for the $1 listing price, "but that is probably one for a lawyer to advise on", Ford said.Meiritz-Reid should expect to get his $1 back though, "plus whatever the seller saw as appropriate to put things right".The seller's "extremely blatant" practice was unusual, but people did sometimes try to avoid fees, Ford said."If prospective buyers see this sort of shenanigans, we'd be keen to hear from them via the Community Watch 'sheriff badge' that is on every live listing."
Ford said Trade Me had taken some action against the seller, but would not divulge specific details.Elmstone Furniture declined to comment.- Comments have now closedA posterior tattoo canvas, erotic eggplant, dead cat handbag and a desk chair of fertility have all made Trade Me's greatest hits of 2016. The online auctions all either ranked in the site's honourable mentions for exceptional creativity or the top 10 most viewed, which wracked up almost 800,000 views between them. The online auction site's spokesman Logan Mudge said they were constantly amazed at the "endless creativity and entrepreneurial spirit" of their members. "Sometimes they hit a nerve with the public and make the ordinary extraordinary." Some auctions "just have a certain something" which captured imaginations because they're weird, controversial, often borderline in taste terms, Mudge said. They also brought a healthy dose of humour to the question and answer section. "These sellers don't take themselves too seriously and they're good at getting a bit of publicity."
As was the case with the most viewed auction of the year - a creative tattoo canvas. Wellington woman Bailey Price sold a 9cm x 9cm space on her behind for $6500 with a mysterious buyer named Paul winning the honour. As it turned out, Paul is the cousin of American musician "Sir" Ivan Wilzig. ' beneath a rainbow inked on to her posterior. "It was weird, a little bit cheeky and the bottom line is Bailey was great with the Q&A and at drumming up a bit of publicity for her auction," Mudge said. Another controversial auction which racked up more than 55,000 views was the dead cat handbag. The cat had been in taxidermist Claire Hobbs' freezer for a year before being fashioned into a rather unique handbag which set tongues wagging around the world and clocked up more than 160 complaints. However, because they allowed other taxidermy items to be sold they let the auction run - eventually selling for $545, a third of what Hobbs was hoping for. "On the other side of the coin lots of people thought it was cool and interesting and it found a new home with a very keen buyer."
An erotic eggplant on auction also had a happy ending, selling for $115. As did a potato in the shape of a bottom collecting an enormous number of views and interest, Mudge said. 1. "YOUR tattoo on MY butt" - 153,373 views - Wellington woman Bailey needed to clear her debts and will fly to Miami to have her tattoo done next month. 2. "ULTIMATE SLEEP OUT/STUDIO - #NOT YOUR AVERAGE SHED" - 144,340 - An apprentice-made shed sold for charity. 3. "A 'Rare' Potato" - 144,006 views - a Canterbury potato in the shape of a bottom. 4. "Taiaha c1750-1850 King Tawhiao" - 65,995 - the seller withrew the auction for the taiaha after some debated its origin. 5. "Cinderella Pumpkin" - 60,674 views - a giant pumpkin carved and decorated to make a carriage fit for Cinderella. 6. "REAL Glamour puss PURSE" - 55,035 - the most controversial auction of the year was a taxidermy cat purse. 7. Ghetto blaster boombox collection - 54,683 - At $20,000, the impressive boombox collection failed to find a keen collector.
8. "Erotic Eggplant" - 51,683 views - The erotic eggplant which went around the world. 9. "Sledge Hammer" - 30,993 views - Tribal Huk's Jamie Pink listed this sledgehammer with a starting price of $5200 but failed to get a keen bidder. 10. "BUY A DATE WITH US!" - 9544 views - Two Lower Hutt women sold a date in order to raise money to go volunteer in Nepal. "NATIONAL CARPET" - 19,630 views - An unusual carpet portrait of former PM John Key. Sold for $893 "Desk Chair of Fertility" - 18,539 views - The desk chair was allegedly responsible for three pregnancies and the boss decided it needed to go. "Church for $1" - 18,076 views - A Waihi church with a $1 reserve was sold to someone in Wellington and is on its way to the capital. "Ricky Baker's skuxx as hoodie" - 17,852 views - The famous jumper from the biggest movie of the year. "Rob Muldoon's Rail Pass" - 13,840 views - the former Prime Minister's personally signed and embossed gold pass. "DONALD TRUMP" - 12,723 views - a photo and bandana signed by the president-elect which didn't sell.