8:25am Tuesday 1st November 2005
By Paul Leat
A PRACTICAL joker who booked a Caribbean holiday before splitting with his girlfriend has failed in a bizarre attempt to sell her ticket on an internet auction site.
Jon Reed, 30, of Oakridge Road, High Wycombe, was stuck with two tickets for an all inclusive no-expenses-spared trip to Antigua after the break with his girlfriend, and had the unusual idea of advertising the spare ticket on eBay.
The item on the website was viewed close to 30,000 times in just ten days, before staff at the company deemed the advert illegal and removed it just hours before the auction was due to finish.
The internet company sent a message to Mr Reed informing him that his lot breached their human body parts and remains policy, which makes it illegal to sell people as part of the auction.
The highest bid made at that point was £600, although Mr Reed, a contracts manager, said many people had emailed to say they had been waiting to put in a last minute offer.
He said: "I was really looking forward to the last hour as it was getting exciting. I had so many people saying they were interested. I guess that is just the way it goes."
The holiday, which cost £2,500, included flights and hotel accommodation with a private beach and sports facilities.
The idea to place the advert on the internet came after a conversation with a friend.
Mr Reed said: "I was chatting to a friend who suggested I sold both the tickets.
"I then rang him back and joked that I could just sell her half and it went from there."
Hundreds of people contacted Mr Reed about his offer, and he claimed he was prepared to go away with anyone as long as they were female.
Mr Reed has now tried his luck by placing a new item on the site offering a night out with dinner in Wycombe for a lucky lady.
All the money made from the auction will go to charity.
Mr Reed is now resigned to going on holiday on his own, but claims the stunt may yet lead to romance.
He said: "I have had so many e-mails from people. I've got about 250 dates lined up, that should keep me busy for a year or so."
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