Robin Majumdar 2.0

Ah, after a nice Angus Burger from McD… a lunchtime article.

Well, Tom Dickson of Blendtec must have been amongst those waiting in line for the iPhone 3G as they’ve pulled off another one of their “Will it blend?” campaigns, only this time it’s with an iPhone 3G. Yes, the point is to display how powerful the somewhat pricey Blendtec blenders are.

This is a classic example of Web 2.0 mashed-up with Marketing 2.0 … brilliant strategy.

Check out the Blendtec iPhone 3G blending video:

As with the first Blendtec iPhone (1.0) that was turned into dust, the iPhone remains and blender are being auctioned off on eBay with proceeds going to the children’s charity Primary Children’s Medical Center.

I guess you could call this the ultimate “unlocked” iphone hehe.

Well, there are export limitations on high tech equipment, but apparently reselling US Milirary Infrared Tabs on eBay is not really an issue…

It takes a bit of ingenious searching on eBay to find the IR tabs & patches, but they’re definitely there…

eBay Canada is having another promotion offering eBay listings for 5 cents today, April 9th, for items listed on eBay Canada only. Another twist this time around is that in order to get the $0.05 listing rate, you must specify a shipping price for your item. Mind you, you should always list a shipping price; eBay has done studies that show the bid rate is much lower when an item doesn’t have shipping specified.

The offer expires at 02:59:59 ET on Thursday, April 10, 2008 - yes we Canadians get 3 hours extra because eBay time is based on the West Coast Pacific Time zone.

The usual exclusions (motor vehicles, real estate) apply. This is a nice opportunity to save up to $5.60 in listing fees depending on the initial auction price you set!

Heads up - it’s that ever so frequent eBay Canada $0.10 listing day - on eBay.ca only and for Canadian residents.

Cool eh?

Well worth it for whatever you have to sell (see the official announcement for exclusions like motor vehicles) because at only $0.10 per listing you can save up to $9.60 is initial listing fees depending on what starting price you set.

Since the $0.10 fee applies to both auction and fixed price listings and can be used for two categories, it’s a great way to also “get your feet wet” on eBay if you’re not yet a registered member.

The promotion ends at 02:59:59 EST February 6th. eBay is in Palo Alto and thus on Pacific time…

Updated July 16 : Blendtec has blended the iPhone 3G (!) and the remains are on eBay - see the video and auction.

Original iPhone article:

This is quite curious… the brilliant marketing ploy by high-end blender maker Blendtec where they blended an Apple iPhone has taken on a strange and mysterious twist.

Blendtec had put up the dusty remains of the blended iPhone as well as a Blendtec blender for auction on eBay and it had gained massive hype and traffic - 53+ bids and over 160,000 views of the auction which at last count was bid up to $1170 or thereabouts.

Well, eBay just announced late last night that they had pulled the auction.

Here is a copy of the eBay notice sent out to bidders on that auction:

(account-sensitive information has been replaced)

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,

Thank you for your bid on the following auction-style listing:

Item number: 170129995323
Title: Apple iPhone and Blendtec Total Blender

Unfortunately, eBay has removed this auction-style listing. All bids or offers on this listing have been canceled. Because the listing was ended, you no longer have any obligation to purchase this item. If the seller chooses to relist the item, you’re welcome to bid on it again.

Listings are removed for different reasons. For example:
- The way the item was listed may violate eBay policy.
- The removal may be part of a separate action taken by eBay that is unrelated to the listing itself.

We hope you understand that, due to privacy concerns, we’re unable to discuss the details of why this listing was ended. However, please note that the removal of this listing should not suggest that this seller’s standing in the eBay Community has been called into question.

For more information on why eBay may remove a listing, please go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/listing-ended.html

For information on how you can protect yourself and help ensure a positive buying experience in the future, visit:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/buyer_checklist.html

We’re sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

eBay Trust & Safety

The net being what it is, I suspect that the truth (or further hype) will be revealed. Perhaps stage 3 in the Blendtec PR hype machine?

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