Zoe Pemberton, 10, from Clacton in Essex was annoyed with her grandmother, Marion Goodall and decided to put her up for sale on eBay. There was no reserve price set, but bids ended over $3,500. Zoe stated her grandmother “was annoying me” so she placed her up for sale.
Zoe stated her grandmother was, “rare and annoying and moaning a lot” along with “very cuddly and loves word searches.” When asked why she put her grandmother for sale, Zoe states she was on the laptop and her grandmother was complaining. She got the idea to put her up for sale and did it as a joke. Due to human trafficking laws, eBay removed the post, stating, “While no doubt Mrs Goodall would have fetched a princely sum, eBay does not allow the listing of any human being on the site.” Prior to the posting being removed, Mrs. Goodall had gotten a total of 27 bids.
Zoe was visiting her father, who also cares for his mother, Mrs. Goodall. She had just gotten out of the hospital and was asking Zoe for a lot of help with doing simple things like getting her a snack or something to drink. Because Mrs. Goodall was unhappy and Zoe was annoyed with having to do everything for her, Zoe took it upon herself to put her grandmother for sale on eBay to cheer her up. Zoe’s father says he could hear her asking her grandmother various questions, like favorite foods, drinks, hobbies. He didn’t have any idea what she was up to, or that a 10 year old even knew how to post an ad on eBay!
I know there are many times my kids would put me on eBay in a second. It is a funny story, and amazing that someone so young can easily navigate a system created for use by adults. If she could easily put her grandmother for sale, what else could she put up for sale? Keep your prized possessions locked up safely, you never know when your fifth grader might want some extra cash and puts them up for sale.
