An online auction that’s been going on for nearly a week may have ended in a $1 million payday for the winner.
Auctioneers from San Diego-based LiquidationOnline.com had posted an online auction on Saturday afternoon for a $2,000 “candy box” that they hoped would sell for $1.5 million.
The winning bid was for the box, which they believed to be in mint condition.
It was sold on Tuesday night for $3,100.
In a statement, Liquidation Online said the auction was canceled because the winning bidder had not paid their entry fee and no payment was received by them.
“Our primary goal at Liquidation was to find a winner in an online auctions,” said Liquidation CEO Mark Ladd.
“We are very disappointed with the outcome and are looking into how to recover the $1,000 payment.”
The winning bidder was not identified.
Ladd said they had been in contact with a “limited number of winners” in the past and had purchased some other items.
“This time, they won, so we can take the money and donate it to the charities of their choice,” he said.
The auction was the first of its kind in the country.
It had raised more than $3.5M by the time the auction ended.
Ladsgate TV reported that a buyer had sent a $200 check to the auction house, but the seller, a family friend, did not respond to a request for comment.
The seller had also not responded to several requests for comment by the Associated Press.
Laid-off employees of San Diego’s largest newspaper, The Daily Bulletin, are trying to find jobs at other newspapers, which are struggling to survive the economic downturn.