eBay is a magical place where dreams go to die and come back as slightly used vintage waffle irons. It’s part thrift shop, part time capsule, part black hole. And while most folks use it to buy sensible stuff like secondhand phones or old DVDs, there’s a special corner of eBay reserved for the truly bizarre.
1. Haunted dolls Yeah, this is a thing. People pay actual money for dolls that are supposedly haunted. You’d think the point of a haunted object would be to get rid of it, not sell it online like it’s a lightly used Fitbit. The listings are wild too. “This doll whispers at night and rearranges furniture.” And yet someone out there is like, yes, perfect, I’ll take two.
2. Empty boxes Not vintage boxes. Not collectible packaging. Just… empty boxes. iPhone boxes, PlayStation boxes, cereal boxes. Why? No one knows. People say it’s for display, or resale, or storage. But also, maybe they’re building tiny forts. We don’t judge.
3. Dehydrated water Yup. A sealed can labeled “dehydrated water.” You open it, and surprise—there’s nothing in it. It’s a gag gift, obviously, but the kicker is that people actually leave reviews. “Tastes great when rehydrated.” “Lightweight and easy to store.” Absolute chaos.
4. Air guitars Just to be clear, you’re paying for literally nothing. Some of the listings even say, “You are bidding on the idea of an air guitar.” Which somehow makes it worse. And yet, people buy them. Maybe out of irony. Maybe because they lost a bet. Maybe because the internet is a weird place.
5. Celebrity toast Someone once sold a piece of toast with Britney Spears’ face toasted into it. And someone else bought it. There are entire subgenres of listings where food looks like Jesus, Elvis, or random pop stars. You can’t make this stuff up.
6. Slightly cursed paintings These are usually listed as “not responsible for paranormal activity” and come with backstories about headaches, flickering lights, or cats hissing at the wall. People still bid on them. Maybe it’s the thrill. Maybe it’s bad judgment. Either way, they keep selling.
7. Imaginary friends for sale No joke, there are listings where people are selling their childhood imaginary friends. Descriptions like, “Timmy enjoys board games and hiding under beds.” Honestly, for the right price, I’d adopt Timmy. He sounds fun.
8. Dust from celebrity homes Some folks claim they collected dust from a famous person’s house and now you can own a tiny ziplock bag of it. Do we believe them? Not really. But someone did, and they paid $42. Welcome to the internet.
So if you ever feel weird about something you bought online, just remember: someone out there bought an invisible guitar and a haunted potato. And they probably left a five-star review.