TRADEME
The Hamilton seller says he listed the item after testing negative for Covid-19 following of the country moving to level 2.
A “Covid free bag of air” has hit $80,000 in Trade Me bids.
The Hamilton seller says he listed the item after testing negative for Covid-19 following of the country moving to level 2.
”After testing negative, I figured I’d share my gift of Covid free air with the world,” he wrote.
“Enjoy this free range, gluten free bag of air from the lungs of a 100% New Zealand made boy lol.”
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1 NEWS
So far no more cases have been confirmed there.
As on Sunday morning, the auction had 92 bids and had over 300 questions from curious potential buyers.
One asked if there were any discounts on bulk purchases, however, the seller said that due to his asthma “my lungs can only make one good bag per day”.
Others asked how they could be assured that the air of 100 per cent Kiwi air.
“I stood next to a tree to make sure the breath I inhaled was all my natural. Due to the fact it came unfiltered from the lungs of a New Zealand born citizen I can assure you that this product is 100% New Zealand made,” the seller replied.
Another asked if the profits of the auction would go to charity.
”If I even claim money for this auction, 100% of all proceeds will be go (sic) to a charity that helps the areas affected most by Covid-19,” he replied.
“However, if this gets even more out of hand, I may withdraw the auction entirely. It’s just a good laugh at the end of the day.”
The success of the auction appeared to have sparked a couple of similar auctions with one Taranaki seller setting a buy now price of $30,000 on their bag of “Covid free air”, stating proceeds would go to an unnamed charity.
Trade Me acting Head of Trust & Safety Logan Mudge told One News that while they’d received some complaints about the listing, a lot of Kiwi’s are enjoying the tongue-in-cheek nature of it.
“Obviously the change in alert levels is serious and concerning, but we also like to see Kiwis having a bit of a laugh and finding some humour in the situation too,” he said.
“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but clearly it’s giving some Kiwis some pleasure”.
According to Mr Mudge, placing a winning bid creates a legal contract between the buyer and the seller.
“We’ll be contacting the bidders if necessary.”
The auction closes on Wednesday.
