5-24-08
German authorities have taken custody of a 7-month-old baby boy, after they discovered a posting on eBay offering the child up for sale. The price? A mere Euro, the American equivalent of $1.57. How could anyone pass up such a deal?

Amazingly, no offers were made for the child in the two hours and 30 minutes the ad was posted on a Tuesday. eBay took down the posting and assisted police in tracking down the parents. Peter Hieber, a spokesman for the police in Krumbach, a southern Germany town, said the baby was placed in the care of youth services. Neither the mother nor father was identified.

According to police, the ad read: “Offering my nearly new baby for sale, as it has gotten too loud. It is a male baby, nearly 28 inches long and can be used either in a baby carrier or a stroller.” The infants 23-year-old mother insists the ad was only a joke, and that she wasn’t actually trying to sell her baby.

The police, apparently, don’t have much of a sense of humor. If this was indeed all one big joke, let us hope they gain one and return the poor child to his parents before too much damage is done. If it wasn’t a joke, then help me scrape some couch change together. We’ve rummaged up a bid of $6.83, though it will have to come out of the child’s formula budget. I have a spare stroller that would look perfect with a 28 inch baby adorning
it, and it would be fun to torment my niece by bringing home yet another baby boy to deal with.  Especially a loud one.