A $100 note for sale on Trade Me has become the most viewed auction of the year, with four days still remaining before it closes.
Photo: RNZ
Ashburton man Robbie Shefford listed the note as a joke, advertising it as an unwanted Christmas gift.
"I was given $100 for xmas, don't want it so selling it" the auctions description said.
Mr Shefford said the idea came about when he was having a joke with his brother.
"Boxing Day is the day all the kids put all their unwanted Christmas presents on Trade Me to get money to buy the stuff they really wanted. And we decided wouldn't it be funny if someone put $100 note on Trade Me with no reserve of $20 and a buy now of $150."
He was surprised at how much attention it had received, he said.
"It's a bit of a joke that people are having a laugh at and that's sort of the main thing."
With the bidding heating up, the proceeds would be going to charity, he said.
"If the buyer follows through I will make a donation to Ronald McDonald House."
"My daughter's three-and-a-half months, she spent five weeks in the neo-natal unit in Christchurch and we stayed at Ronald McDonald House. They've got extremely good facilities there so it's just my chance to give something back to them."
Trade Me spokesperson Logan Mudge said staff would be keeping an eye on the auction to keep it running smoothly.
"Well just be making sure that there aren't any shenanigans going on with the bidding process and we'll be following up with some of the bidders, particularly given some of these bids are pretty high for an $100 note, to make sure they're aware of their obligations and remove anything that's a bit of mucking around."
Bids of more than $5000 were made last night but were removed by Trade Me this morning after staff made contact and found they were not genuine.
"We try to keep these running for the seller and because they're fun and interesting. This particular seller has captured people's imagination and he's taking a bit of the mickey out of these unwanted gifts and we want to see a bit of a result for him."
As of Tuesday morning there were 4883 unwanted gifts listed on the site with the top listings including selfie sticks, socks and Adele CDs.
Top Auctions of 2015
The $100 note is the most viewed auction of the year, despite having four days still to go on the auction.
As of 7.50pm today it had 182,200 views.
- Second place - A listing by an exasperated mother who was sick of Countdown collectable cards titled "Millions of bloody awful f***ing Countdown cards". Received 133,714 views.
- Third place - An amphibious Subaru Impreza. Received 96,373 views.
- Fourth place - a spot on Kent's couch in Lower Hutt for the Super Rugby Final. Kent didn't have Sky so coverage was delayed and you had to share the couch with his cat. Received 59,346 views.
- Fifth place - a West Coast listing titled 'Grumpy Warriors Fans jerseys'. Received 56,474 views.
An amphibious Subaru for sale was one of Trademe's most viewed auctions of 2015. Photo: Trademe
For those hoping to make a splash in the Trade Me visit list, Logan Mudge said there was no set trend, but it all comes down to doing things differently.
"It can be random but it's also all about taking something mundane and putting a twist on it or taking a current event and doing something a little bit different like selling a spot on your couch for the Super Rugby final when the tickets are on sale. Or selling the collectable Countdown cards but explaining just how exasperating they are to have around the house, making noises or making rubbish."
"These people get into and they write a good description and they're really good on the Q&A and our members get into that. They share it, they get involved, they put up a question about it, and it seems to go from there," he said.
The $100 note auction closes at 5.47pm on 2 January.
