19 Jul 07 eBay pulls auction for blended iPhone dust and Blendtec blender.

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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Tags: Blendtec blendes, eBay, iPhone dust, Marketing, SEO / SEM, Web 2.0