The link seems to be broken.... and I won't even begin to mention how creepy RamV10's comment is.

I dunno why it's creepy.. he said he wanted her to be older :) Made me laugh in any event.

This kind of thing is so sad. I think RamV10 was just joking. Lighten up.

@MustyBuckets: seconded.

@RamV10: Too bad we don't have a "This week in comments" feature here like there is on Kotaku, because you'd get my nomination!

What's curious to me is what in their situation leaves them unable to pay down 100k.

::checks paypal balance::

sorry bro'

Why do they still owe 9K+ on a 4 year old car?

If you read the ebay posting closely you will see that it is actually the wife who posted it, only reason why I mention it is because the article says its the guy who posted.

Working link:
[cgi.ebay.com]

The auction was likely written by the woman, not the man. From the itemized debt list:

"credit card husband's
credit card self"

And the writing style feels like "mom did it."

It's sad they feel driven to this action for relief. Their debt is relatively mild considering it includes their mortgage.

Amateurs. I had a little over half of that in just credit card debt seven years ago (due to a bad choice of girlfriend followed quickly by a 13-month stint of unemployement), which I finally paid off last year. I know people are desperate for quick fixes, but seriously -- put in a little hard work, bite the bullet and things will eventually get better. These people owe next to nothing compared to a lot of people out there.

Is that you, Mitch Hedberg?

@Katharine: They probably went to the car dealer and said "I want a car with a payment of $xxx/month and that landed them in a 6+ year loan or possibly a balloon payment. It is unfortunate as the car is only worth about $8000 fully loaded (leather, sunroof, automatic everything, chrome wheels etc. in PERFECT condition with below average miles).

The sad part is, even if someone were to "buy their debt", and the buyer took their jome and their car, the family would be back in the same situation again as the average home price in Erie PA is about $92K, and they will likely purchase another car which combined will put them back at about $103K in debt as they will get NOTHING from the sale of their home.

@Rachacha: Dang it...and the buyer took their HOME and their car...

@PunditGuy:

I agree.
I had much more credit card debt five years ago - approaching 20 grand. I paid it off this year. And the ad was placed by the wife, not a "man". Having a house and all that and only being in debt a hundred grand seems like nothing. Of course, they are in Erie, Pennsylvania. Actually, I just looked at it again and think it's probably a plant by eBay to drive up clicks.

@RamV10: This isn't Fleshbot creep-o-the-week.

Wonder if I can get someone on Ebay to buy me a house?

What sports teams do you root for in Erie, PA?
would it be Cleveland? Pittsburgh? Toronto??

i live in washington and in some neighborhoods, that house would be closer to 200,000 itself (more if in seattle). am i the only one thinking "that's a damn good deal!"

although the neighborhood doesn't look too great. perhaps the value isn't that great because of it.

**am thinking perhaps the value would be more in nicer neighborhoods of pennsylvania

@mgy:
LOL XD

@8abhive:
it's definitely the wife, not the husband. plus, I don't know a man who would have the username "destiny222"

Perhaps the fact that 10% of the auction goes to a hospice for the terminally ill sheds some light on why this auction is happening...

so what happens if I bid $1 and win? Do I get the house and car?

It's too bad he's not selling that mullet, too.

I'll take the daughter. Gimme the other two as well, they might turn out alright.

Reminds me of [gimmeadollar.net] from way back...still around too.

@goodywitch:

Greetings, friend. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you've got the power inside you right now. So use it. And send one dollar to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay! Eternal happiness is just a dollar away.

I would bid on getting the parents both a makeover. Those hair styles are brutal.

I don't get it. They don't owe their debt to sell it. The people/corporations they owe the money to own their debt. I don't see how selling their car and house on ebay for $1 will help their situation in the slightest.

oops, the first 'owe' should be 'own'

@christoj879: yawn.

I wish I found this gimmick charming, but I just find it cloying and pathetic.

Odd that no sob story detailing why they need someone to take over their debt "to prevent stress and heartache" is mentioned.

They should try harder.

Don't you get it? The wife IS A MAN!!

Aww, darn, they fixed the OP...

even more interesting (or frightening), go through her feedback and see what kind of stuff she buys...

You know someone will buy it -- look at all the people that bailed out that lady who put up a website (Save Karen or something) about her massive amount of credit card debt.

Seems like there would be some legal issues in bidding at all. From the way I look at it, a really generous person might bid negative 100k, and then be saddled with 3k of the family debt. If I bid the pay it now, I would be in effect, giving them 100+k to be saddled with their debt of 103k (200+k). Alas, I have little interest in additional debt, and have an even smaller amount of extra money.

@raleel: RamV10's comment is creepy to me, even with the precision regarding the age of the girl, because I find creepy the idea of people being bought or sold like merchandise.

But creepy and funny are not mutually exclusive. (Yep, I've got a dark sense of humor.)

I don't really understand how this would work. Are you buying the right to owe that money, or are you just paying the debt. "Buying their debt" seems to imply the former.

Bet the kids LOVE all their friends knowing their bidnezz now...

How much would the seller's fees be on this if somebody bought it...

@eelmonger: The latter right? No sane person would pay money to get into debt?

@DeltaPurser:
$4.00 insertion fee + 8.75% of the initial $25.00 ($2.19), plus 3.50% of the initial $25.01 - $1,000.00 ($34.12), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1000.01 - closing value) so by my calculations it would cost you $1574.12 for someone to take your home, your car and $35K in random debt
$4.00 + 2.19 + $34.12 + (.015 x 102,254.10) = $1574.12 Ref: [pages.ebay.com]

This is disgusting. Without knowing more about their "unfortunate situation" that they seem to have done to themselves, at MOST someone should offer to help them cut costs and develop a budget.

The internet is not a street corner for panhandlers.

whoa they can't even pay off 100K in debt? i have about that much debt cause of my house, and even I don't have a problem making the payments, and i'm sure i make much less then them because i'm single...1 income.

based on past purchases and desire to leave it all behind, I bet they're starting their own polygamist community.

@RamV10: agreed.

How long before eBay removes this listing?

@Squeezer99:

well, it's hard to pay off 100K in debt if you don't have a job. you're assuming they make anything at all. I look at their pic and assume he's a slack ass who makes his wife sell their life on ebay.

anyone else noticed that 10% of purchase price is going to be donated to Hospice of Erie"... maybe there's something more going on...

@matuszek: Click thru the woman's feedback number to see what she's purchased recently. Pretty weird stuff.

I don't get it. Why would anyone buy this?

She's basically asking someone to take over their bills, but I'm not seeing the upside for anyone that takes them up on the offer. "Yay! I paid these people $100,000 so that I can pay off their bills! Go me!"

Collection agencies buy debt from the creditors for less than the loan amount, but that's only because they then try to collect it from the debtor. Does this mean that whoever buys the debt would have to try to collect the money from them?

im so tempted to bid one dollar lol

this is so sad.....

I think it's bizarre that people are looking at the $103k figure and then passing judgments about how easy it is to pay off. Finances are, clasically, a purely relative thing. If their earning potential is very high, then 100k might be nothing. If it's very low, it could be a mountain.

@Pasketti: There's nothing to "get." They're not actually proposing a sale. They're just seeking a cash donation. :-)

To all of you saying you paid off your debts easilly, how many kids do you have? Makes it easier doesn't it?

@pine22: "im so tempted to bid one dollar lol" you do and you'll probably gonna win, which means that although you get their house and car, you also assume their debt (aparently, not sure how legally binding this is, or even how one would go about transferring credit card debt). Unless the house is worth less than the mortgage and the car is a beater, I'm not sure what the family is getting out of all this. They lose their house and home, but they also have nothing left at the end of the day. Unless they walk to work and start renting, they're gonna accumulate debt the very next day.

Looking at her eBay purchasing history for the last few months, she has been buying Amish/Mennonite-type clothing and bonnets, as well as sewing patterns, in sizes for adult women and children.

Hmmm... are they planning a flight to a religious community/cult where they will no longer have to be concerned with the accumulation of further debt once they rid themselves of their current burden?

If you are the winning bid you assume all the debt from the family.

So you, not the family, are the hook for all debt.

This is the same as buy/taking over car payments.

When they say "2nd part to home loan", is that a nice way to say "second mortgage"?

Why do people with so much debt so often ratchet it up by taking out a 2nd or a 3rd mortgage?

Whenever you see people taking additional mortgages, it rarely seems to result in actually lowering their overall debt, which makes me wonder why they do it.