From Lenta.ru:
Russia removed from bidding on eBay
An ad for Russia has been removed from the online auction site eBay. This occurred approximately an hour after news broke about the unusual item. No comments have been made on the incident by the poster or by eBay.
The auctioneer’s rules do not forbid selling a state, but the eBay administration reserve the right to delete the item for a number of reasons (for example if the seller does not actually own the item offered for auction). At the time the listing was on the site, Russia was valued at 100,000 dollars.
Russia was listed on eBay on the 26th March. The starting price of the item was one US cent, and until news about the item broke, no buyers were interested, but then visitors began to bid.
In the description of the item, it was stated that the country had been “officially in use” over the last thousand years and is currently in “good condition”. Via links on the item, you could find photographs of the Kremlin, cheerleaders for the national sports team, a “Topol-M” missile launcher, and a political map of the country.
The poster, a resident of the Bashkiri city of Belebey, stated that Russia would only be delivered to an address in the USA. Bids were accepted from a number of regions. The bidding was due to close on the 30th of March.
Comments from Rambler News:
ddktdkk ddktdkk:
Removed from auction
Decided to sell to retail
Владимир Комашинский:
A normal Russian wouldn’t sell their country …
Михеев Алексей:
iPhone wanted to offset his losses in Cyprus
Кот ЧетыреждызабаненыйЧеширский:
You’re too late man, grandfather Botox has already made sure she’d never sell for a fair price.
вот он я:
Madness … it’s even funnier that the auction was running for an hour and nobody had bought Russia))) But who needs a country that’s been pillaged with two clowns in charge?
Супер Юзер:
You can’t sell what’s already been sold …
111666-1 @: (responding to above)
In Russia, anything’s possible))
Александр Грищенко:
How much was it going for?
Виталий Ковин: (responding to above)
100 roubles per square metre.)
Патриот Патриотов:
Russia has been withdrawn from bidding because everyone and everything there was sold a long time ago.
Валерий БОЛОТОВ:
Well, as the old saying goes: in the market, there are always two idiots – one’s selling, the other’s buying.
Creator Profile:
Too late. It’s already been sold.
Сергей Алексеевич:
This joker’s too late. Everything’s been divided up and sold off already.
Тюфяк Вороватый:
For sale: a family estate with stupid serfs. Total area: 170,754,000 sq. km. , 140,000,000 serfs, the plot has water, gas, electricity. Deposits of oil, coal, gold, silver, large deposits of iron ore and other minerals. Vast forests and arable land, huge reserves of fresh water. Partial infrastructure and small manufacturing sector (needs repair). Atomic weapons and energy. Quiet neighbours. Population, army, FSB and law enforcement demoralised and ready to be evicted. More: Moscow – Red Square. Ask Dima [Note: Dmitri Medvedev]. Price to be agreed. Available for sale to retail.
P.S. Stop asking Dima. All questions to me. Vova. [Note: Vladimir Putin]
Konstantin Krutskih:
Russia was sold back in December 1991.