Going once, going twice ...

Going once, going twice, going thrice … and sold to a surprisingly credulous media.

Having spent the better part of a decade monitoring quirky academic stories for a couple of international news outlets, and having been taken in by the odd one as well, we feel pretty confident in wagering that the story of the Northland teenager who auctioned her virginity for $45,000 is almost certainly no more than an excellent publicity gimmick.

In what has been among the year’s odder business news items as well, hundreds of media were today reporting that an anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest bidder on a local auction site, posting under the name of "Unigirl" and saying the money will pay her university fees.

Unigirl closed the deal earlier today, reportedly after receiving an astronomical (and frankly unbelievable) 1200 bids.

Is this column the only one a bit sceptical as to whether anybody in his right mind would part with $45K for a roll in the hay with somebody too shy to supply so much as a photograph of herself?

Well, no, as David Farrar also asks:

I am sceptical that an auction of sex with a 19 year old girl, even a virgin, would fetch $45,000. Maybe if they had photos up showing a super model, but this was an auction that gave almost no details of the seller.

And 1,200 bids makes me suspicious also. Is there proof of this?

Now maybe it did happen, but I would be less suspicious if it had occurred on Trade Me as you can see winning bids, and their commission structure means that the seller has to pay more money when bids are higher, so they only want genuine ones. Again the ineed site (off memory as it won’t load) charges a flat listing fee I think.

Hmm. Wethinks congratulations are less in order to the doubtless fictitious bidder for Unigirl’s alleged charms than the marketing geniuses at her chosen auction site.

Nice one, chaps. Too bad about those who fell for the jape.

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Going once, going twice ...