Sale of royal lock to collector puts an end to hairy debate
Being banned from selling a lock of Princess Diana's hair on the Trade Me website didn't stop Matarua man Bruce Gotobed from making a sale. Mr Gotobed, a former Jesuit priest, made headlines last month after his online auction of a lock of the late Princess's hair was shut down by Trade Me. The story caught the attention of national and international media and resulted in the hair's sale to another New Zealand collector. Mr Gotobed had owned the lock, which is encased in a frame along with a photograph of Princess Diana, for about two years and he listed it for sale on Trade Me about a year ago. The auction was removed last month after Trade Me determined it breached its ban on body parts. Trade Me business manager Mike O'Donnell said at the time that there had also been complaints about the auction. About a week after the ban Mr Gotobed was approached by a private collector from Napier who had read about it in the newspaper, he said. Not wanting to cash in on the notoriety of the item, Mr Gotobed said he sold the hair for the $650 price which had been listed on Trade Me. He also sold a similar piece from John F Kennedy to the same collector. "They've gone to a good home so I guess that's all I was worried about," he said. The sale ban had attracted interest from media in the United Kingdom, Paris, Italy and Slovakia. It also created debate on Trade Me message boards about whether the hair should have been allowed to be sold on the site.
Being banned from selling a lock of Princess Diana's hair on the Trade Me website didn't stop Matarua man Bruce Gotobed from making a sale. Mr Gotobed, a former Jesuit priest, made headlines last month after his online auction of a lock of the late Princess's hair was shut down by Trade Me. The story caught the attention of national and international media and resulted in the hair's sale to another New Zealand collector. Mr Gotobed had owned the lock, which is encased in a frame along with a photograph of Princess Diana, for about two years and he listed it for sale on Trade Me about a year ago. The auction was removed last month after Trade Me determined it breached its ban on body parts. Trade Me business manager Mike O'Donnell said at the time that there had also been complaints about the auction. About a week after the ban Mr Gotobed was approached by a private collector from Napier who had read about it in the newspaper, he said. Not wanting to cash in on the notoriety of the item, Mr Gotobed said he sold the hair for the $650 price which had been listed on Trade Me. He also sold a similar piece from John F Kennedy to the same collector. "They've gone to a good home so I guess that's all I was worried about," he said. The sale ban had attracted interest from media in the United Kingdom, Paris, Italy and Slovakia. It also created debate on Trade Me message boards about whether the hair should have been allowed to be sold on the site.
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