The Local Germany

Baby who was auctioned on eBay taken away from father

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 11:12:46 +0200

A German court ruled on Thursday that a man who put his one-month-old baby up for sale on the online auction platform eBay should only be allowed contact with the child under supervision.

Police question parents of baby offered for sale on eBay

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 13:40:43 +0200

An ad posted on eBay purporting to be selling a month-old baby for €5,000 has sparked outcry and an official investigation.

Man goes viral with story of girlfriend hating car

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:09:19 +0100

The rambling musings of a father-to-be on an ad to sell his green Opel Tigra on Ebay (“because girlfriend said so”) have created a new star. Now Opel says they will send him a brand-new vehicle.

Merkel's first Golf sells for €10,000 on Ebay

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:49:00 +0200

A man from North Rhine-Westphalia bought Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first “west car” for slightly more than €10,000, after an initial auction produced too many ridiculous bids and was cancelled, the Bild newspaper reported Monday.

Fake fancy phone buyer set for compensation

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0200

A man who bought a fake luxury mobile phone via Ebay for €782 stands to get €23,000 in damages after the German Supreme Court ruled that the €1 price was no indication that it was not a real one.

Heavy metal band claims German Ebay ripoff

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:21:00 +0100

A member of the well-known American heavy metal band Mastodon has claimed that a German boy ripped him off in an eBay internet scam.

Hewlett Packard spends $13 million to fire CEO

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0200

IT giant Hewlett-Packard is paying Léo Apotheker a hefty settlement for his 11 months work, it emerged Friday. The German former CEO will receive around $13 million (€9.5 million) and get his move back to Europe paid to boot.

eBay blocks online retailers' Cuba products

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:40:00 +0200

Online auction site eBay and its subsidiary PayPal are prohibiting German merchants from doing Cuba-related transactions, prompting accusations the company is violating European law

Copy of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for sale on eBay

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:37:00 +0200

The head of a Shakespeare troupe in Berlin has been forced to auction off on eBay a life-sized replica of the famed Globe Theatre used in a film by Hollywood director Roland Emmerich.

The eBay diet

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:54:00 +0200

In the latest installment of Portnoy’s Stammtisch, The Local’s column about life in Germany, Portnoy purges years of junk with a 30-day eBay program that works better than any diet.

eBay snaps up online shopping club

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:13:00 +0100

US online auction giant eBay said Monday that it has agreed to buy brands4friends, Germany's largest online fashion shopping club, for $200 million (€150 million) in cash.

Snow pile for sale on eBay

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:19:00 +0100

As the snow keeps falling in Germany, an enterprising man in the state of Saxony has decided to auction off a huge pile of the white stuff on eBay. But the winning bidder will have to arrange their own delivery.

Berlin Wall checkpoint up for auction on eBay

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0100

Just after the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, pieces of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing between East and West Berlin go up for sale Tuesday on internet auction site eBay.

eBay eliminates nearly half of its German staff

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:37:00 +0200

Internet auction website eBay announced on Thursday it was eliminating 400 of its 1,000 jobs in Germany due to restructuring its European customer service operations.

UEFA Cup's 'Paper Wad of God' up for auction on Ebay

Wed, 20 May 2009 17:09:00 +0200

A fist-sized wad of paper that sparked controversy during a UEFA Cup semi-final between Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen two weeks ago is now for sale on internet auction site Ebay. The auction ends Wednesday night.

Court rules in favor of man who sold Porsche for €5.50

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:33:00 +0200

A German court ruled on Thursday that a man who accidentally sold a Porsche 911 on eBay for €5.50 will not have to pay the buyer damages after refusing to deliver the sports car.

Auction sparks big interest for Saxon 'village' on Ebay

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:52:00 +0100

The interest for a single-property village in Saxony placed on the internet auction website Ebay is growing fast, according to its seller Alexandra Schmidt.

Police search 140 German homes for illegal ebay goods

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:20:00 +0200

German police searched more than 140 apartments for stolen electronic goods in a nationwide search for illegal ebay dealers, a police spokesperson told daily Berliner Morgenpost on Monday.

German parents who tried to sell baby on Ebay go free

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:21:00 +0200

The German parents caught offering their baby for sale on Ebay will go unpunished, prosecutors in Memmingen said on Thursday.

Kate Moss hair extension lost in Berlin for sale on eBay

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:47:00 +0200

A blond lock of hair that British supermodel Kate Moss reputedly lost in Berlin is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for an anti-drug charity, the Berliner Zeitung reported on Thursday.