Those looking to score Brooklyn’s coolest bag of air won’t be able to bid for it on eBay any longer.
A package of “Air from Williamsburg, Brooklyn! HIP COOL BROOKLYN LENA DUNHAM 11211” went up for sale on eBay on July 6th for $39.99. Given the clearly high demand for hipster air, the bidding climbed as high as $20,100 by July 9. However, eBay killed bidders’ dreams of filling their lungs with such prime air when it suspended the seller’s account.
The seller, an editor at Vice Media’s music vertical Noisey, said in an article he posted on the website that an eBay representative told him eBay had “determined” it was in their “mutual best interest to part ways.”
Dan Ozzi, the seller, said the suspension of his account was based on eBay’s “No Item” policy, which bans the sale of “virtual items.” But in his Noisey article, Ozzi rebutted that claim, writing, “Um, air is an item. It is literally the most essential item.”
Other news organizations scrutinized eBay’s actions much more seriously than the entire episode probably demanded.
“Is the fully inflated bag empty>” New York Business Journal wrote on the matter, which Ozzi cited in his post. “Though the actual contents of the bag may have been difficult or impossible to verify, the answer is clearly, no. Perhaps it’s a work of artw Whatever the case, the bag clearly exists, and someone wanted to buy it.”
Ozzi said he is adamant about peddling his breathable product. “I just want to be free to sell my hipster air. If anyone from eBay is reading this, I hope you will reconsider your decision and allow me to spread the hipness of Williamsburg throughout the world.”
He also reminded the highest bidder that if they’re still interested, “please contact me and I will be glad to mail you your item.”
