Ghost in a box sold on Ebay

[AlienX]

I clearly recall a fellow JREF contributor trying to sell "his soul" on E-Bay.

E-Bay prevented him saying that you were not allowed to sell "body parts". How they could classify a soul as a body part i'm not sure but they did.

So why can you sell a "ghost" which using the same criteria is a "body part" on E-Bay as this is against Ebays selling rules and the item should have been delisted.

Wonder how Ebay can justify preventing people selling souls via their system when we have a case here of essentially the same thing.

AX

[Kopji]

I think our jref guy could get it done with some minor marketing changes.

The guy selling the 'ghost' actually had it locked in a box. This probably a great idea - people think they are getting something tangible for their hard earned dollars or yen or pounds... :arrow:

The trick would be to sell the soul in an unusual old box or other item. This is known as 'stigmatized' property or real estate (an interesting web search btw).
Add some colorful documentation from helpful friends and neighbors willing to go along for free. If you are in a fraudulent mood, split the profit with them.

I'd get an article about it published in a local paper somehow. 'Man Loses Soul to the Internet' might be a catchy special interest headline for a slow Friday. Use the framed printed article as evidence. (Yeah I know, but good enough evidence for someone who would buy a soul on e-bay).

[AlienX]

So by that argument you could sell anybody part via the same method. Simply put the part in ...erm say a cooled medical transfer box for example and sell the box with the part.

Technically the person selling the soul was selling something tangible - a document stating that the buyer owned the soul. Same thing really.

AX

[TheBoyPaj]

I'm having trouble reconciling the idea of a JREF member attempting to make money by conning the gullible. I mean, we all denounce Sylvia for her tricks but selling your soul is just a slightly more novel way of doing it.

Of course, maybe you all criticised him at the time. I wasn't here back then.

[AlienX]

It was a skeptic testing out Ebays rules as they were selling various "magic" items, religuos items and stuff like homeopathic water etc etc.

This was a topic covered in the commentary a few weeks ago and on the boards:

http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31861&highlight=soul+ebay

for one thread - just do a search with soul ebay.


AX

[Beanbag]

You're missing an excellent opportunity here: soul delivery via Internet. All you have to do is compose an audio file that contains the specific resonances of the soul for sale, and then do a "pay per download" deal. They download the file and write it to a CD. The soul is now contained in the CD. A lot of musicians claim they've put their soul into their work, ya know.

Hey, Beneviste claims he can deliver homeopathic remedies by a similar process. He sends the specific vibrations by way of the Internet to your sound card, where you've attached a plug with a couple turns of magnet wire wrapped around a bottle of water on your end. The rumor is that he takes PayPal.

The beauty here is that you're actually delivering something. The greater beauty is that since it's digital, you can sell as many copies as the market will bear.

Regards;
Beanbag

[AlienX]

Originally posted by Beanbag
You're missing an excellent opportunity here: soul delivery via Internet. All you have to do is compose an audio file that contains the specific resonances of the soul for sale, and then do a "pay per download" deal. They download the file and write it to a CD. The soul is now contained in the CD. A lot of musicians claim they've put their soul into their work, ya know.

Hey, Beneviste claims he can deliver homeopathic remedies by a similar process. He sends the specific vibrations by way of the Internet to your sound card, where you've attached a plug with a couple turns of magnet wire wrapped around a bottle of water on your end. The rumor is that he takes PayPal.

The beauty here is that you're actually delivering something. The greater beauty is that since it's digital, you can sell as many copies as the market will bear.

Regards;
Beanbag

Hmm where does the average person at home have access to Ultra Pure Water?. Even homeopaths supposedly use at least deionised water (as apparently the ion interfere). I'd love to measure the resistance of some so called ultra pure homeopathic solutions, if they are not at least 18 m ohms then the water used is essentially contaminated on a massive scale with imuprities.

AX

[Rolfe]

Originally posted by AlienX
Even homeopaths supposedly use at least deionised water (as apparently the ion interfere).That's interesting. I wonder how they think homoeopathy worked for Hahnemann, then, since I'm damn sure there was no such thing as deionised water available at the beginning of the 19th century.

Rolfe.

[Beanbag]

Try "distilled water". Done in a quartz apparatus, it comes out fairly pure.

Regards;
Beanbag

[Kopji]

Someone once asked me once how people stupid enough to try and buy a ghost on e-bay could access the internet. I suspect their kids are helping them. A surprising number seem to have something called web-tv. I've never seen one but maybe it can access via a couch and remote control.

I like to think that I'd have an ethics dilema selling ghosts on e-bay, but I dunno - if suddenly people started sending me thousands of dollars I might donate 10% to charity and go on a cruise with the rest. The world would be a better place and heck, they would have just spent the money on a psychic reading or charged crystal anyway...

(Years of practice justifying what whatever I am doing is 'good').

[Virgil]

Originally posted by Beanbag
Try "distilled water". Done in a quartz apparatus, it comes out fairly pure.

Regards;
Beanbag



usually, its double distilled out of quartz, but you are correct.



however, wouldn't the water in contact with quartz pick up the homeo crap properties of the quartz?


virgil

[Beanbag]

Originally posted by Virgil

however, wouldn't the water in contact with quartz pick up the homeo crap properties of the quartz?


virgil

Ahhhh! But you could combine the homeopathic qualities of the water with the natural crystaline properties of the quartz apparatus.

It's two! Two! Two frauds in one!

Regards;
Beanbag
(If you're running one scam already, why not pile a few more on and multi-task?)

[TheBoyPaj]

Then one drop of the quartz-empowered water could be used to run my new time-machine.

[patnray]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "de-ionized" a misnomer. I believe "de-ionized" water is prepared through ion exchange where undesirable, low solubility ions (such as calcium and carbonates) are replaced with less troublesome, highly soluble ions (such as sodium and chlorine). Since the concentrations are measured in parts per million, the residual salt is not noticeable or objectionable in most applications. But if homepathy relies on "de-ionized" water containing NO ions, then they have yet another problem to explain away...

[Rolfe]

Originally posted by Beanbag
Try "distilled water". Done in a quartz apparatus, it comes out fairly pure.Back on the homoeopathy question, does anyone know if Hahnemann used distilled water? Assuming it was available then - no doubt the technique is simple, but did they know of the advantages of the process?

I can't find any information about how homoeopaths now or 200 years ago decide which stock solvents are pure enough to use. When you ask, it's as if they'd never even considered the question.

Rolfe.