7 Big Ticket Splurges on eBay

Since the online auction giant's founding in 1995, millions and millions of items have changed hands through its interface. Most of them probably sold for no more than a few dollars, but some have been truly, ludicrously expensive. Here's a look at some of the priciest items ever sold on eBay, plus some other noteworthy big ticket splurges and a few recent jaw-droppers.

A Gigayacht
When Fort Lauderdale boat maker 4Yacht fires up its eBay account, it doesn't mess around. In 2006, 4Yacht claimed to have sold the most expensive item eBay had ever seen when it auctioned off a 50% deposit on its as-yet-unbuilt "Gigayacht." The 50% deposit sold at a Buy It Now price of $85 million. The 405-foot steel yacht sounds like it was worth every penny of its eventual $170 million price. The plans included 10 multilevel VIP suites, a theater, a workout room, and a helicopter garage. When the auction closed, it was widely speculated that Russian billionaire and Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich had purchased the giant boat to add to his considerable personal navy. If you're scoring at home, using eBay's current fee schedule, the final value fees alone for such a large auction would amount to over $1.2 million.

Gulfstream II jet
Prior to the sale of the gigayacht, the record for eBay's most expensive item was believed to be held by a Gulfstream II private jet that was sold in August 2001. A Texas-based airline dealer sold the jet to an African charter company for a whopping $4.9 million. And yet, the seller still only got a single point of positive feedback for the transaction.

A Condotel

At the time of this writing, the most expensive item on eBay that currently has bids is a 131-room condotel in the heart of Kissimmee, Florida. The convenient-to-Disney hotel is just 18 years old, sits on two acres of land, and even has its own maid's bathroom. It's got quite a bit of time left, and the bid is currently a hair north of $1.5 million. Of course, even if you can convince yourself that giving a user who's never completed a sale millions of dollars, nothing will quell your nagging worry that the term "condotel" is an egregious assault on the English language.

A Castle
Of course, not all bidders value proximity to Epcot above all other attributes. If you're looking for something a little more regal, you can purchase what's described as a "big castle" in Wroclaw, Poland. Although the reserve price has not yet been met on this hundred-year-old castle, the bidding has been furious and has already reached $350,300. Really, that's a small price to pay for the ability to give directions to your house that include "Turn left at the sign"¦yeah, it's the castle"¦"

Sonnets
Did you lose your copy of the sonnets of 15th-century Italian poet Matteo Maria Boiardo? Too bad you're a week late, or you would have been able to replace it on eBay last week. A copy of "Sonetti e Canzoni" sold on Wednesday for a whopping EUR 155,000, or roughly $242,200. Think about that the next time you complain about your textbooks being too expensive.

Black Betsy
You might remember baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson as one of the central figures in the Black Sox scandal in which White Sox players allegedly threw the 1919 World Series. Gambling accusations aside, Jackson was a mighty batter, and his bat Black Betsy was always perched on his shoulder. In August 2001 Betsy went to auction on eBay, and she shattered the record for bat prices by closing at $577,610, nearly doubling the former record of $320,000 held by a bat Babe Ruth had used to club a home run in 1929.

The birthplace of a punchline's designer
Selling someone the Brooklyn Bridge is a beloved joke that's tricked its shared of rubes throughout the years. Now, you can get one step closer to the real thing by buying the birthplace of J.A. Roebling, the German engineer who designed the bridge. The house, which is at least 200 years old, is located in Mulhausen, Germany. You can pick it up for just $14,741,150. Bad news for international buyers, though: the page tells me that the 3,300-square-foot home cannot be shipped and is only available for local pickup.

Ethan Trex grew up idolizing Vince Coleman, and he kind of still does. Ethan co-writes Straight Cash, Homey, the Internet's undisputed top source for pictures of people in Ryan Leaf jerseys.