Canadian computer consultant Peter de Jager and Houston-based Internet marketing company Tenagra had been attempting to auction off year2000.com on the eBay site.
The auction of the domain name ran on eBay from December 22 until January 1, garnering 13 bids ranging from US$1 million to US$10 million. The owners and an eBay investigative unit determined that the highest bids were hoaxes. The bidders had used an e-mail address that was no longer in service or indicated affiliation with a company that, when contacted later, knew nothing of the situation, according to Tenagra CEO Cliff Kurtzman.
"You wouldn't expect someone to make a US$10 million bid and not contact you," Kurtzman said.
Kurtzman said the next legitimate bid weighed in at US$2 million. But that unidentified US$2 million bidder said he saw the higher bids on eBay, thought he had lost out on year2000.com and put his money toward another venture, according to Kurtzman.
Kurtzman said the remaining bids hover around US$1 million, which was the required minimum bid for year2000.com. He said that he and de Jager are still accepting private offers and have decided not to pursue another online auction for year2000.com.
"eBay is a great site. My wife and myself use it to buy lower-priced items," Kurtzman said. "But it looks like it wasn't suited to this kind of higher-dollar item."
eBay officials were not immediately available to comment.
