eBay users auction off Columbia debris

NEWS US web users have reportedly been offering debris from the Columbia shuttle, which ripped apart on re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere on Saturday, killing the seven crew members, on internet auction site eBay. Other users of the popular site have been offering various lots of Columbia-branded memorabilia - hoping to cash in on the tragedy over the weekend. A search for "Columbia shuttle" returned 1,011 items on eBay late Saturday. Only a handful of these had been available before the disaster, with the majority being posted in the immediate aftermath. However, eBay moderators appear to have been quick to crack down on the sale of such items. One lot was described as 'Columbia space shuttle debris' with a starting price of $10,000. However, clicking on the link returned a page with the message "invalid item," an indication it had been pulled by eBay or the seller. Meanwhile, prices on items listed for sale prior to the crash were soaring. A Columbia belt buckle described as 'very decorative' had jumped from an opening price of $9.99 to $315 by late Saturday. Although the buckle was listed on 26 January, all 16 bids were made after NASA lost contact with Columbia. By comparison, an auction for a similar buckle ended on 26 January without drawing any bids. Additionally, a one-ounce silver coin commemorating Columbia had been bid up to $202.50 on Saturday. An apparently identical coin, listed by the same seller, attracted no offers before its auction closed on 18 January. It had an opening price of $9.75. Other Columbia-related items fetching high prices Saturday on eBay included a sheet of stickers ($168), a $5 commemorative coin ($1,951), a beer stein ($185), a Christmas tree ornament ($41), a t-shirt ($46.51) and a patch ($30). With one exception, all bids on these items were made Saturday.