As it turns out, you can't really buy everything on eBay: The online auction site has pulled an ad that originated in Houston offering the friendship of a 16-year-old girl. It seems one of the teen's parents placed the ad, which included a detailed description of the girl and the chance to be friends with her on MySpace — uh, is that really such a big deal? You can be freakin' Coldplay's friend on MySpace, and you don't have to pay a cent.
Richard Pesikoff, a psychology professor at Baylor College of Medicine, called the advertiser a "sociopath," saying he or she was "selling their daughter like you would a loaf of bread." (As it turns out, you can buy a loaf of bread on eBay. And, of course, there's always Bread. But we digress.) Pesikoff also pointed out that the ad could attract "a number of undesirable people," which is certainly true. Before the ad was pulled, someone bid $20 for the girl's friendship, but KTRK wasn't able to contact the bidder.
It's not clear whether the ad violated any laws, but it did break eBay policy barring the sale of "virtual relationships." It's best to stick with Bread.
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
Post a comment (Comment Policy)