The headquarters of eBay in San Jose, California. Photographed on August 5, 2006 by user Coolcaesar.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A safe sold by a Tennessee man for $122.93 on eBay, when opened contained $26,000. Just amazing isn’t it what you can find on eBay. 😀
Of course he obviously thought the safe was empty, he has since said that he felt “like the stupidest idiot in the world”, and of course he asked for some of the money from the person that did buy the safe, and the person said “No”.
Apparently on the Tennessee’s man eBay site, he has a policy which states:
“What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back.”
Magsx2's Blog 
Poor guy!
Hi jmgoyder,
Wouldn’t you be mad at yourself after finding out about the money. 🙂
Yes – grrrrr – you’d think the recipients could’ve given him a bit surely!
There is no chance of that, whoever brought the safe is hanging on to the money.
Would you have given the guy a little bit? I would have (well, just a bit – ha!)
I really think you would have to be put into the situation, it would also depend on if it was the guys safe, where the safe originally came from, but who really knows, thank goodness I will never be put in that sort of situation. 🙂
Most likely I would have. But I guess it would depend on how I felt about the interraction with the seller. I would never be so lucky!
Hi writingfeemail,
I would never be that lucky either, a very strange situation to be in. 🙂
Surely you would check inside before selling (if you could)? And don’t call me shirley.
Hi Bruce,
Apparently he couldn’t get it open, and moved it around a bit and decided it was empty. 😯
Very interesting! What I just cant wrap my mind around is why in the world wouldn’t the seller have looked inside before he sold it?
Hi Laurie,
He said he couldn’t open the safe, he rattled it a bit, no sound, so he assumed it was empty. Obviously the buyer got it opened. 😀
Magsx2 – Therein lies my curiosity. It would have gotten the better of me and I would have persisted until I’d found a way, or enlisted the help of, someone who could open the safe. My thoughts would have run along the lines of, “This safe is locked for a reason….”
There is no way I would of sold a locked safe either, I am with you on that one, if it was empty why would it be locked.
I’m with Laurie on this one.
Hi Frank,
The guy selling the safe said that he couldn’t get the safe open, moved it around decided it was empty and put it up for sale. 😀
People make mistakes. A good person would have given all the money back with no expectations. What he bought, really, was the safe and not its contents. Tell you a lot about the type of character the buyer has.
Hi Colline,
From the phone call from the buyer he said because of what was written on sellers web site is the reason he would not consider the idea of giving any of the contents of the safe to the buyer.
On the buyers web site:
“What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back.”
Even so – a good person would have given the money back. It is a huge amount and I am sure the seller will feel the loss.
I don’t know if the safe originally belonged to the guy selling it, or where he got it from, it is part of the story that is missing.
that’s mean, I would have totally shared with the guy!
Hi mimo,
It would be nice to know the history of the safe, my first question before I handed over any money would be, where did the safe come from?
And somewhere in Tennessee is a wall with a head shaped dent in it.
Oops.
Hi El Guapo,
Oh yes a big dent I would say, and a bit of yelling to go with it. 🙂
Wow how exciting for the buyer – but talk about seller’s remorse! I can’t imagine someone selling even so much as a box – let alone a SAFE – without opening it to see what’s inside first! Great story, thanks for posting it. 🙂
Hi raisingdaisy,
I’m with you, I would of definitely done whatever I could to get the safe opened, it is just unreal to imagine what the buyer felt when he opened the safe. 😀
You’d be kicking yourself, wouldn’t you. That must have been like winning the lottery when he opened that safe! xx
Hi hotlyspiced,
The seller is most likely having nightmares about it all. 🙂
Interesting story!! I have friends who bought a mobile trailer off a lot and had a leak and when they removed a panel found a paper bag with $25,000. They delivered it to the police who kept it for a year to see if anyone would claim it and then gave it back to them. Nothing like that has happened to be at least not yet:)
Hi Peter,
Wow, how lucky is that, good on them. Nothing like that has ever happened to me either, but as they say “never say never”. 😀
Okay, I’m going to see if there are any more safes on eBay right now! Piggy banks or old pocketbooks even – I’ll take what I can get!
Hi AA,
I think there maybe a few people thinking the same thing, it would be nice to open something up and discover a heap of money. 😀
The buyer’s lucky day. How ridiculous not to check inside before selling that safe. I guess the seller has learned his lesson. 😉
Hi adinparadise,
Oh yes he would of learned his lesson, and a hard lesson at that. 🙂
Fantastic …. the seller should have tried to open the safe himself. I wish I got something extra – all what I have bought on Ebay – brilliant … the buyer should keep his money.
Hi viveka,
I agree, he should of checked before he sold, there is no way I would sell anything that is locked I would have to see inside.
Yes, of course … that’s a lot of money he lost out on. Brilliant story – thanks for sharing it. I bet all Ebay sellers will check things twice.
I totally agree, it will be a long time before anybody sells anything that is still locked. 😀
If not .. they are real stupid. *smile
What a great story – interesting moral dilemma! The seller may feel a loss but really, he had no idea the money was there. So the money was never really his, if you look at it that way! 🙂
Hi The Scumptious Pumpkin,
True, but I would also like to know where he got the safe from. 😀
I would have given half the money back to the seller. My conscience wouldn’t have let me keep all the money.
Hi Margie,
I would definitely like to know where he got the safe from in the first place before I thought about giving him any money. 🙂
Just me, but I would have given at least 25% of the money (maybe not 50%, because the guy was just not smart for not looking inside first) to the seller. No doubt about it. I’m just not that greedy.
My wife and I bought a transistor radio at a garage sale for $40. Put it on ebay and it sold for $975. It was one of the first groups of transistor radios to come out. That’s the best we’ve done. 🙂
Hi mj monaghan,
Good deal on the radio, I have heard of things like that happening at garage sales as well. 🙂
ohhhhh geez!! How lucky! =D
Hi The Squishy Monster,
Very lucky indeed. 😀
I can’t blame the seller for feeling bad or for asking for a portion of the money. I have a hard time, though, believing that a man who would sell a locked safe for almost $200 and have a policy of “what you see is what you get” and “no refunds” would give some of the money back if HE found it. Glad he is just swallowing the loss and going on. I have seen some really dumb lawsuits and this would have been one.
Hi kindredspirt23,
I agree, I also doubt if the shoe was on the other foot he would give back any of the money. 🙂
Kindred Spirit has a great point. The seller took a very hard line about refunds, and I doubt he would have been at all flexible or understanding if he had been the one to have found the money. You pay your money and you take your chances is more likely what he would have said.
Hi Naomi,
Oh yes it is buyer beware these days, in this case the buyer got more than he expected. 😀
Lucky guy! I usually end up having to pay more, or find something missing from whatever i have bought 😦
Hi Madhu,
Yes there have been a lot of people that have been caught out, he was very lucky, I would of loved to have seen his face when he opened the safe.
What a wind fall and i bet the last owner is kicking him/herself big time especially with the policy of no returns, no money back. This is definitely a case of finders keepers loses weepers :-).
Hi Windsmoke,
Unreal isn’t it, I think my jaw would drop to the ground if I opened something and it contained all that money. 😀
What a story, Mags! Life truly can be stranger than fiction. 🙂
Hi This Sydney Life,
Well said, it certainly can. 😀
Hi Mags, thought I’d say hi to a fellow Aussie. One man’s trash is another man’s bankroll. At least it wasn’t body parts!
Hi the curtain raiser,
A lot better than body parts. 😆
Thank for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Yikes! Hadn’t thought of that!
off to ebay to buy me a safe lol!
Hi a diamond uncut,
Yes there will be a few checking out the safes I should imagine. 😀
Wait. Where is my safe? Did my husband sell it on eBay?
Hi robincoyle,
He just might have, you never know, definitely needs investigating. 😀
I am grilling him about it right now.
This is an interesting story … and so are the comments here. Imagine to sell a safe that you don’t know how to open, and also to buy a safe that the seller don’t know how to open?!
Hi reb,
It is unreal isn’t it to even think about selling a locked safe, but the seller did get it open, but he didn’t say how, it really boggles the mind a bit. 😀
Omigoodness!! I don’t know how I’d live with myself after that :S
Hi Cafe,
I think there will be a few sleepless nights for the seller. 🙂
I couldn’t sell a safe without checking inside first!
Hi Fergienoto,
It does seem rather silly to sell a locked safe, I doubt it will ever happen again on eBay. 🙂
Just stopping by to say hello , to the bright and beauty of your blog.
Hi Stefan,
That is very nice of you, Thank You it is appreciated. 🙂
Unfortunately, I can’t get the video to load for some reason so it’s lucky you did a good explanation. I think the chap who sold the safe sort of shot himself in the foot. When he did all that “no money back” – he made himself sound a bit of a grabber – or is that just me?
Hi loonyliterature,
I am sorry to hear you couldn’t see the video, but it does say basically what I have said in my post.
Yes apparently his eBay site going by the news video had a lot of things like that on it, I assume to cover himself in case somebody is not happy with their purchase, but it has backfired big time. 😀
It really is a shocker – I cannot start to think how much that guy must want to kick himself.
I think there maybe a few sleepless nights for this guy. 🙂
To be honest, Magsx2, I think it will be a long time before he recovers – I wouldn’t like to be his family, I bet he never shuts up about it.
I totally agree.
Now I’m encourage to get stuff on Ebay. Lucky man. It’s just weird that the man who sold it never got curious of what’s inside the safe cause I would. Great post.
Hi island traveler,
I agree, I also would be very curious and would have to open it, there is no way I would even think about selling a locked safe. 🙂
It does pose a few questions. Like why he had the safe was it his that he stuffed with money or did he buy it at an auction? I think line about no returns as is he kind of shot himself in the foot. It would have been nice if the buyer sent him a little bit of cash but I wonder if the shoe was on the other foot if he would have sent the buyer some cash or would he have said all sales are finial. See it does pose a few questions. :+)
Hi Starlaschat,
I agree, a lot of questions not many answers. i really don’t think he would of given any of the money back, I just have that feeling, and with what was written on his eBay site, well he really shouldn’t expect the buyer to either I don’t think. 🙂
The safest thing he could of done to save face and feel better would have been to concider he was giving the buyer a gift. It’s all about money and greed anyway, giving back half would have showed a just and fair spirit, sad the buyer didn’t.
Christian Love from both of us – Anne
Hi Freedomborn,
It is a very unusual circumstance these two have found themselves in, the buyer not wanting to hand over any of the money I think has more to do with what the seller had stated on his eBay page, but I think sharing the money would save a lot of sleepless nights on both sides.
Yes agreed magsx2 but it is still all about greed instead of being fair, regardless of stated terms fair is fair…. both lost!
Thank you for visiting my Blog, I can honestly say now when I reply to your comment , I have enjoyed visiting your Blog and sharing, thank you.
Christian Love Anne
I would find it hard not to share the money. I would feel like a bit of a ratbag if I didn’t. What a story, though. It’s like a plot from a movie!
Hi Selma,
I think the stupidity of it all is rather funny in a way, who on earth sells a locked safe, I agree it a bit like a plot for a movie. 😀
This reminds me a little of the tale of my uncle. In 1946, there was a lot of US Army surplus equipment on sale, and, for his forestry business, bought two ex-Army 6X4 Chevrolet trucks for £10 each. In the back of one of the trucks were some large crates … which contained three brand-new motor bikes, which he sold on for £20 each!
Hi Keith,
Wow, I bet he was more than thrilled with that purchase. 😀
So was my Dad … he bought one of the motor bikes!
That did work out well. 😀
You hear these sorts of stories about antique furniture – old desks with hidden drawers or armchairs that have had gold coins hidden in their stuffing. The fortune is usually found when something is being repaired or re-covered. When it’s a family item that is being readied for a sale because the owner needs the money, it’s a good story because (s)he can keep the piece of furniture after all. However, it is often something that has been bought by a dealer and it is the dealer who is restoring it or having it restored. It is surprising how often something like this happens. I’ve never heard of someone selling a locked safe, though. That sounds just plain stupid. He doesn’t deserve to get any of the money. Do you suppose that it was drug money? As well as that, if I had been the buyer, I’d have kept quiet about it. He’s obviously a bragger.
You make a good point about the buyer, it would of been better all round if he hadn’t of said anything, but then you would be wondering if it was stolen money, it is a hard one. 🙂
I would be mad if I sold that without checking it! But I would have got it opened in the first place. Can’t really blame the guy for not sharing. But I agree with the above comments, I wouldn’t have said anything in the first place.
Hi Michael,
I’m with you, there is no way I would of sold a locked safe, what on earth was this guy thinking, or I should say he wasn’t thinking at all. 😀