Uri Geller on Ebay [Archive]

Kenny 10 Bellys

19th May 2006, 07:35 AM

Might be worth £1200 just to stand in front of him for a few hours, staring intently at him in obvious disbelief and disgust while he tried to make conversation and be awe-inspiring. Better yet, when the very busy celeb is done spoonbending and calls sometime within the year to visit, you could just say you're a bit busy dowsing for Unobtainium and ask him to come back next year. Either would be good.

Morrigan

19th May 2006, 08:05 AM

Hahahaha, WTF?

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 08:10 AM

He tired this before and it flopped. The only bids were obviously fake pranks.

I think Geller took down the auction before the silly bidding got out of hand.

Was that for charity too?

sat556

19th May 2006, 08:42 AM

Randi should bid on it :D

ImOne

19th May 2006, 09:59 AM

How do you know it's not a real auction. Seller has 100% positive feedback. Some of you seem to be jumping to conclusions without facts to back you up.

I wouldn't risk bidding though.

atari24

19th May 2006, 10:01 AM

Randi should bid on it :D

I think a magician definately should try and win, so they can show up and do the spoon bending trick before Uri has a chance to.

BillC

19th May 2006, 11:44 AM

I've heard him talking conversationally. He's even more full of it than you think.

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 11:56 AM

How do you know it's not a real auction. Seller has 100% positive feedback. Some of you seem to be jumping to conclusions without facts to back you up.

I wouldn't risk bidding though.

Who said it's not a real auction? No-one here said that.

It looks very much like an official NSPCC charity listing, the profile of the seller is here: http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=dreamauctionfullstop

However, if you want to pursue your odd reasoning, you might want to examine the 5 feedback links, they are all invalid links. That in itself could be cause for suspicion, as is that fact that two of the feedbacks are from sellers with only 1 feedback themselves. Also, 100% positive feedback doesn't mean much when you only have 5 feedback in total.

That is just an example, in case anyone did suggest the auction is fake, which they have not. It seems very genuine.

What is being questioned is the validity of Uri's claims in the listing.

I suggest that it is you who is "jumping to conclusions without facts to back you up".

ImOne

19th May 2006, 02:55 PM

Who said it's not a real auction? No-one here said that.

It looks very much like an official NSPCC charity listing, the profile of the seller is here: http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=dreamauctionfullstop

However, if you want to pursue your odd reasoning, you might want to examine the 5 feedback links, they are all invalid links. That in itself could be cause for suspicion, as is that fact that two of the feedbacks are from sellers with only 1 feedback themselves. Also, 100% positive feedback doesn't mean much when you only have 5 feedback in total.

That is just an example, in case anyone did suggest the auction is fake, which they have not. It seems very genuine.

What is being questioned is the validity of Uri's claims in the listing.

I suggest that it is you who is "jumping to conclusions without facts to back you up".

Sheesh, take it easy. If you're looking for a fight you got the wrong guy. I got the impression from this:
"Does this blatantly false advertising violate eBay policy?"

I think they intend to deliver on the auction, but I wouldn't risk it.

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 02:58 PM

Sheesh, take it easy. If you're looking for a fight you got the wrong guy. I got the impression from this:
"Does this blatantly false advertising violate eBay policy?"

I think they intend to deliver on the auction, but I wouldn't risk it.

You take it easy, you're the one who started with the accusatory tone.

I think you'll find the false advertising refers to Uri's claims about his abilities, not the auction.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 03:30 PM

You take it easy, ...
Done.

Nex

19th May 2006, 04:27 PM

It looks like they're claiming the money goes to a (seemingly) worthwhile charity for children.

I almost think it'd be worth it to bid. I mean, the money goes to needy kids, AND you'd get a chance to debunk Geller in person.

Ah, but I see the auction's ended already. :footinmou

Carnivore

19th May 2006, 04:41 PM

Sheesh, take it easy. If you're looking for a fight you got the wrong guy. I got the impression from this:
"Does this blatantly false advertising violate eBay policy?"

I think they intend to deliver on the auction, but I wouldn't risk it.

I was referring to his claims of being proven the genuine article in terms of psychic ability. That seemed to be the drawcard for the auction, the reason why anybody would want to spend time with him or be "lectured" to by him. That claim is false. If someone didnt know who he was but bid on this auction based on the information provided by Gellar, they would be the victim of a deception, even if it is for charity.

If a minor actor made the same offer on eBay by claiming to be an Oscar winner, would you be OK with that, regardless of where the money went or if it was a "genuine offer"?

ImOne

19th May 2006, 05:07 PM

I was referring to his claims of being proven the genuine article in terms of psychic ability. That seemed to be the drawcard for the auction, the reason why anybody would want to spend time with him or be "lectured" to by him. That claim is false. If someone didnt know who he was but bid on this auction based on the information provided by Gellar, they would be the victim of a deception, even if it is for charity.

This is where you will have a problem. You haven't proven Gellar is not psychic. The fact is there is evidence that he is. That some people keep saying he cheats does not make it true, even if it is true.

If a minor actor made the same offer on eBay by claiming to be an Oscar winner, would you be OK with that, regardless of where the money went or if it was a "genuine offer"?
If it was true yes I would be fine with that. This is easlily verified so is not a good analogy.

If I was selling photographs that I took while levitating 500ft. in the air you would have no way to prove I was lying. That's just the way it is, like it or not.

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 05:09 PM

Where is the evidence that Gellar is psychic?

gruk

19th May 2006, 05:14 PM

Where is the evidence that Gellar is psychic?

Well, in theory, I could claim I buried some, inside a shoe box, in my back yard.

But I guess there's less hard evidence painting UG as psychic than there is evidence alleging he isn't.

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 05:21 PM

I'd say there is evidence Gellar is psychic, but it is also evidence that could be explained by cheating. There is also positive evidence that Gellar cheats, at least some of the time. So either he is psychic but only does things that he also does by cheating, or he just cheats.

So the evidence for genuine psychic ability is very, very weak.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 05:24 PM

Where is the evidence that Gellar is psychic?
You don't know this?

I'm not going to be a gopher and get sucked into a useless argument. You can just go to wikipedia and punch in uri gellar to get started. That is if you're actually interested in the evidence. I suspect you're more interested in something else, because the evidence is easy to locate.

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 05:26 PM

You don't know this?

I'm not going to be a gopher and get sucked into a useless argument. You can just go to wikipedia and punch in uri gellar to get started. That is if you're actually interested in the evidence. I suspect you're more interested in something else, because the evidence is easy to locate.

You made the claim, you produce the evidence.

Saying "go and Wiki it" doesn't wash round here. Nice try, but you have to back up your assertion that there is evidence that Uri is psychic.

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 05:29 PM

Hmm...I think I know what ImOne means. Gellar has convinced some people he is psychic with his tricks. But the evidence is overwhelming that he's a cheater and a fraud. He has never done anything that could not be done by cheating, and he cheats--that is not in question, he's been caught many times.

Carnivore

19th May 2006, 05:30 PM

This is where you will have a problem. You haven't proven Gellar is not psychic. The fact is there is evidence that he is. That some people keep saying he cheats does not make it true, even if it is true.

If it was true yes I would be fine with that. This is easlily verified so is not a good analogy.

If I was selling photographs that I took while levitating 500ft. in the air you would have no way to prove I was lying. That's just the way it is, like it or not.

I wasnt actually making an issue out of whether or not Uri is psychic. I think the analogy I used of the actor making a false claim to bolster their auction is a fair one, precisely because it is verifiable.

Uri Gellar made a specific and verifable claim about the "proven" nature of his psychic powers and the people and organizations which had "irrefutably" verified this. This claim was simply untrue. I see the auction has now ended. If whoever made the winning bid wasinfluenced to do so by Gellar's claims in the auction, that person has been defrauded.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 05:39 PM

You made the claim, you produce the evidence.

Saying "go and Wiki it" doesn't wash round here. Nice try, but you have to back up your assertion that there is evidence that Uri is psychic.
No, I don't have to back it up. My reputation is evidence enough.:D

Wasn't it at stanford U. they did tests on him. He impressed the testers. Now I don't claim to know if Gellar is psychic or not. What I do know is that certain psychic phenomena do occur.

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 05:45 PM

No, I don't have to back it up. My reputation is evidence enough.:D

Wasn't it at stanford U. they did tests on him. He impressed the testers. Now I don't claim to know if Gellar is psychic or not. What I do know is that certain psychic phenomena do occur.

Okay, now you're going to have to back this up. There is no GOOD evidence for any psychic phenomena. There have been no solid tests that showed Gellar to be anything but a cheat. You have been deceived, and we will be happy to help you out, but you cannot expect us to take you word.

Carnivore

19th May 2006, 05:45 PM

No, I don't have to back it up. My reputation is evidence enough.:D

Wasn't it at stanford U. they did tests on him. He impressed the testers. Now I don't claim to know if Gellar is psychic or not. What I do know is that certain psychic phenomena do occur.

If you dont have to back up your assertions I dont have to take them seriously. Out of morbid curiosity, what psychic phenomena do you think occur, and what is your evidence to support it? (assuming you need anything more than you're reputation.)

ImOne

19th May 2006, 05:58 PM

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 06:02 PM

Randi has collected reams of evidence that Gellar is a cheat. I suppose you want someone to link to it?

If you have telepathy and precognition, then you should be able to win Randi's million dollar prize. If you don't want to do that for some reason, you can demonstrate your powers some other way. Until you do that, we will assume you are either a liar or deluded. If lots of other people had been demonstrated to have telepathy, then we'd be more inclined to believe your claim, but so far no one has ever been show to be telepathic.

Carnivore

19th May 2006, 06:09 PM

Funny no one has offered any evidence that Gellar is a cheat, in spite of the number of times it has been asserted.

Telepathy and precognition do in fact occur. I have had personal experience with these phenomena, on more than one occasion.

Cool! Personal experience of paranormal events gives you an enormous advantage over people without such experience - you know it is real. Tell me, does your experience suggest any way you could devise a test or demonstration of telepathy and precognition that would convince a sceptical audience? Or, if you are able, why not apply for the million dollar challenge? If you could prove once and for all that telepathy exists, the world would be your oyster.

ETA curse my slow typing skills! Christine beat me to it.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 06:21 PM

If you have telepathy and precognition, then you should be able to win Randi's million dollar prize. If you don't want to do that for some reason, you can demonstrate your powers some other way.

I would be happy to win a million. I wouldn't say that I have telepathy and precognition. I will say that I have had it from time to time. I may experience it again, or maybe not.

Until you do that, we will assume you are either a liar or deluded. If lots of other people had been demonstrated to have telepathy, then we'd be more inclined to believe your claim, but so far no one has ever been show to be telepathic.
Liar or deluded are your only options since you are so sure they don't exist. That doesn't change the fact that they do occur.

I don't expect anybody to believe it without proof. I have proven it beyond any doubt to two other people.

tkingdoll

19th May 2006, 06:24 PM

There are mundane explanations for perceived psi phenomena. Why are those not good enough?

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 06:38 PM

How do you know you just didn't make a lucky guess? Everyone gets lucky from time to time.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 06:44 PM

This has nothing to do with guessing.

I probably answered most of the question you might have in this post. (http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=1597923&postcount=29)

ChristineR

19th May 2006, 06:52 PM

You haven't given a lot of detail ImOne, and I understand that you wish to protect people's privacy. But from you description, I would say guessing--or more accurately, deducing from known information--was the explanation.

ImOne

19th May 2006, 07:37 PM

You haven't given a lot of detail ImOne, ...But from you description, I would say guessing--or more accurately, deducing from known information--was the explanation.
I just answered the questions, which was quite a few.
Guessing or deducing is not a sufficient explanation for how I could describe objects and events that I should not have been aware of. That was the undeniable conclusion of the other party. Same thing from the other side of this. The events and objects described by the person that actually had the experiences could not have been a guess as to what I perceived. There was simply to much detail over to long a period of time to be coincidence or guessing. At first we thought we had found two inconsistencies but after looking more closely at the accounts everything was exactly the same.

I have no need or desire to change your beliefs on these matters, and I would be very surprised if that were to happen unless you had personal experience with these phenomena.

westphalia

19th May 2006, 07:58 PM

drfrank

20th May 2006, 09:45 AM

To ImOne:

With respect to Gellar and the very unreliable testing done in the past, I refer you to Project Alpha (http://skepdic.com/projectalpha.html), and the ease with which a couple of amateur magicians completely fooled supposedly objective and professional researchers.

If Gellar thought he could reproduce any of his feats under controlled circumstances he'd be the first in line to come and shove his magic powers in Randi's face (closely followed by Sylvia Browne and John Edwards).