EBay has pulled a fake auction for a pair of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) Goggles. The bidding went as high as $17,000 which is more than ten times the headset’s actual value. Its approximate value is $1,500 which Google sources confirmed last week, at which Google is selling Google Glass to developers and a handful of lucky people who has won its “creative explorer” contest, which ends today.
The vendor, ‘bla7kcat’, hails from Cleveland, Ohio, and claimed to be an ‘early adapter’ [sic], one of the 8,000 people to be given a chance to buy an early pair if they can come up with a really good application.
“I’ve been selected as an early adapter for Google’s upcoming release. You are buying a brand new unopened pair of Google’s Project Glass glasses. I will be personally attending and picking up my pair in either Los Angeles, or New York at Google’s Project Glass launch event, which will take place sometime after February 27th.”
According to the Project Glass website, Google hasn’t begun selecting volunteers. They’ll start sorting through applications tomorrow, after the entry period closes on Wednesday, and notify winners in mid-March.
Problems would occur even if the offer was genuine as EBay has violated its presale policy for goods that aren’t yet in the vendor’s hands and in addition, the terms of the Google competition prohibit anyone else from accepting the prize, handing it over immediately after receiving it might be frowned upon too.
Before it was pulled, the auction reached a price of $15,900 – while the price for Google Explorers will be $1,500 plus tax. And with more than 30 people bidding altogether, what this episode does show is the huge eagerness of users out there.