Well that’s it I’m offically hooked. Can’t wait to get home and find the next
bargain. I think I’ll give this one a miss though….

“I, as emperor of West Virginia, have been appointed as steward of this sale.”
“You are bidding on the ENTIRE STATE of West Virginia. Please note that
this auction does not come with governing rites, nor the inhabitants of said
property. You also may not change the state flag, bird, or so on. This is
merely for bragging rights, or to hang a sign in your garage that says, ‘I own
West Virginia.’ Also please note, you will have every right to succeed from
the union, but that has been tried in the past without much success. I am also
willing to relinquish the seat of ‘Emperor’ FOR FREE!”

The attempt to auction off the state of West Virginia drew 56 bids and nearly
enough promised dollars to fill the state’s projected budget hole before eBay
learned of the joke.

By Tuesday evening, with five days to go in the sale of item number
2372779353, “Entire State of West Virginia,” bidders had bumped the ante
up to just $1 short of $100 million.

Within minutes, the auction was unplugged and the state was “no longer
available.”

“Obviously, this buyer doesn’t have the goods to sell,” said Chris Donlay,
spokesman for the San Jose, California-based online auction company.

You don’t say