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On 24-Jun-08 at 12:07:59 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION UPDATE - AUCTION LAUNCH SUNDAY 22nd JUNE

The launch of the ALife4Sale auction was fun, and took place at noon. There were a couple of camera crews there, and a few friends. The afternoon was a whirl of trying to sort out the eBay auction, deal with the film crew requests, answer the phone as much as I could, talk to friends, all done while still managing to drink a fair quantity of champagne, wine then beer!

We had a couple of small technical difficulties, which my web designer struggled to resolve as soon as the auction started, but we were unable to get the help we needed from eBay at noon on a Sunday. 'Pre-registration to bid" was already confirmed with them, and was supposed to be switched on as soon as the auction started. However, it did not work, and the help centre where my support agent works was closed. We were unable to get any further useful help, and I said it should be no problem, it would be resolved in the morning, before bids got too high.

By the end of the afternoon, bids were at about $300,000, and I thought that would be it. However, by bedtime, it had gone up to over $650,000!! I was staggered. That was way beyond what I would have expected, but looking at the profiles of some of the bidders, I thought there may be quite a few genuine ones in there.  I went to bed, confident that the bids would not go any further, and the pre-registration issues would soon be resolved, as soon as the support centre opened for business.  How wrong I was!!

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On 24-Jun-08 at 14:03:40 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION DAY 1 - MONDAY 23rd JUNE

I was up again at 4am this morning, and on my way to the Channel 9 studios for an early morning appearance. I had a couple of minutes before I had to set off, and quickly turned the computer on to see how the bidding was going - I just burst out laughing - it was at $1.9 million, and as I sat there in dis-belief, it went over $2million!!

I drove up to the studio in a bit of a daze, and discussed this during the interview. I guess now, as I look back at the end of a roller-coaster of a day, I was pretty trusting, or naive, to think these might be genuine bids, but throughout the day I also tried to maintain a realistic and skeptical attitude about it all.  The phone rang a couple of times on the way home, and I did two live radio interviews while driving back down the freeway!

When I got home, both home phone and mobile phone were going constantly. I have no idea how many interviews I did, but every time I hung up, the phone would ring again immediately, and I was off again, usually answering the same set of questions.  Eventually I got a short break, and gave eBay a call, and got some peace by turning the mobile phone off. My helpful support guy soon had the issue resolved, and no more bidding was allowed, other than by registered users.

I left the mobile switched off, which gave me a bit of time to do some other stuff on the computer, such as try to read some emails, and do some more bidder registrations. Calls kept coming in though on the landline, and I only got bits and pieces done.  Two more TV stations called, and their crews turned up at the house, and after a hurried lunch, the phone calls continued. It was all good fun, and I was thoroughly enjoying feeling like a millionaire.

During this time I was trying to get into the bidder details section of eBay, but managed to achieve nothing until I finally gave up and turned the home phone off too, and managed to concentrate on what I was doing.  I think most people don't realise the level of information a seller can access about bidders, and I soon had home phone numbers for all the top bidders. A few entertaining phonecalls later, I had weeded out some definate fakes. It was very satisfying to get a bidder on the line, and tell them who I was. "Oh!" was the usual surprised reply, followed usually by some lame excuse, "My friend must have done it / my eBay account has been hijacked / I've changed my mind." Hmmmmm.  The old "dog ate my homework" excuse!

I wasn't too surprised, and started the drudge of deleting all the suspect bids - there were ALOT! There are obviously alot of very bored idiots out there who need to get a life, but who think it's better to bid on mine with no intention or ability to follow it up.  Eventually, as I worked backwards through the bids, I discovered that the highest bid from a genuinely registered bidder was down at $155,000, and I decided to delete all bids above that. I may have deleted some genuine ones, but if they want to place their bids again, they will be welcome to when they register.  That took several hours to sort out, and I re-emailed all the registered bidders to let them know what was going on, and to apologise for the palava!

It's obviously disappointing, but not too surprising, and there is still a long way to go.  I am getting heaps of email demanding to know what is going on, with bidding going up and down, some even suggesting this is all evidence of a big hoax. The only hoaxers here are the idiots bidding on something they have no intention of following up on.

Anyway, what a fun day, but very tiring. The phones are still off, and I think they'll stay that way until morning. I'm off to bed! Goodnight.

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On 25-Jun-08 at 15:53:25 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION DAY 2 - TUESDAY 24th JUNE

So things seem to be back on track with the auction after the initial excitement of the first 24 hours. With only registered bidders now able to make a bid, things have returned to a more realistic level, and as I write this, the current bid is around $300,000. If you want to make a bid you need to register to do so, and you can do this here:
http://www.alife4sale.com/ebay_Registration.php

Please note the following points:
* You do not need to register to bid if you just want to watch the progress of the auction.
* Nothing is for sale individually, it is all in one single package
* Please give full details as required in your registration form. Your registration will be rejected if you do not.
* And finally, a warning! As a seller I have access to all details about all bidders. If any bid proves to be fake at the end of the auction, I will not hesitate to release all details of that bidder to the world's media!

Today was another pretty crazy day. I managed to get some sleep last night by turning off the home phone, and leaving the mobile off. The message banks on both phones are full, and I did not have a chance to get the messages off them, due to sorting out the eBay mess, so have no idea whose calls I have missed.

I woke early and turned the home phone on around 6.45am, and it started ringing pretty much straight away, and the first interview was with ABC Radio in Canberra. From then on it was interview after interview, one of the more fun one's being with Australian radio station Nova FM, which had three presenters, and was quite comical and fun to do. So often I just get asked the same questions over and over again, which can get a bit monotonous. The usual ones are:
"What are you doing?"
"Why are you doing it?"
"How much do you think you will get?"
"Who do you think will buy it?"
"What will you do afterwards?"
Of course I understand that each interview is going out to a different audience, but when I hear myself saying the same things over and over again, I think I must sound like a bit of a parrot!

For a bit more on some of the answers I give, you can take a look at this article on the daily blog I write:
http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/auction-ends-in-5-days-who-will-buy-it.html
There is a heap of extra stuff in the blog. I have done a daily blog for 100 days in the run up to the auction, on all sorts of different stuff. You can take a look here:
http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/

TV crews from both Channel 10 and Channel 9 turned up for a while, and did follow up pieces to items they have done earlier, which can take a bit of time.

It's a bit of a juggling act trying to keep up with everything I need to do. I have to keep an eye on bidder registrations, answer the phone and do interviews, check through my email (my inbox currently has over 1000 messages that I haven't had a chance to even look at yet), answer eBay questions (there are currently over 250 of them to look at), drive out to TV studios at 4am, or 6pm, or whenever. And throughout all of this I have to fit in eating, sleeping, laundry, etc. Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining! I'm merely trying to paint you a picture of how crazy it is here at the moment.

I have received a huge amount of email wishing me well, and I thank you all, and apologise that I may not be able to get round to replying anytime soon, but I will read it all, and it is much appreciated.

Towards the end of the day I got a call from CBS in America, and am going up to the Channel 10 studio this evening to do a live link to The Early Show, where it will be Tuesday morning. What a day. Gotta go and get ready....

The CBS link went well, and on the way there I took a call from a TV station in Moscow, who want to book a live link for one of their shows. Amazing! Another long day, and I am up again at 4am for Australian breakfast TV. Goodnight.

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On 25-Jun-08 at 22:00:27 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY 25th JUNE

Another ridiculously early start this morning! Sydney is two hours ahead of Perth, so 7am on breakfast TV there is 5am over here. I was to be on Channel 9's "Today" programme again, live at 7.20am Sydney time, so had to be at the studio by 5am. I dragged myself out of bed, and discovered that I had missed several calls overnight, as I always either switch the phone off, or put it on silent - I wouldn't get ten minutes sleep if I didn't. The producers were getting twitchy, I supposed, as I managed to arrive with a minute to spare! The interview was just a quick update thing, and was over quickly.

After the Channel 9 interview I headed over to Access 31, a local community TV station, where I was on the couch with the presenters. It was the first time I had sat down with the presenters on a live broadcast, all others have been live links to a remote studio, where you are just staring into the black lens of a camera. I really enjoyed sitting chatting on the show, it was all very relaxed and good fun.

After my interview the next guest was a 19 year old girl who had had a pulmonary condition since very young, and had recently had a double lung transplant, and because of a proceedure she had had to have before her operation, had become paraplegic. She had ridden horses all her life, at competition level, and still rides after becoming paralysed, and is competing again in para-riding competitions.

I stayed to watch her talk with the presenters, and she seemed very positive and cheerful, and amazingly determined to succeed through all adversity, and I found her quite inspiring. It certainly puts one's own troubles in perspective when you meet someone amazing like that. I'll put a link to the show, which is somewhere on the internet, in tomorrow's blog on my website:
http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/

As I left the studio, I had a quick chat with some of the next guests that I had met earlier, and as I made to leave, one asked me if I could do her friend a favour. I was amazed to be asked for an autograph, and did so in a bemused fashion, not really sure what to write. As I wrote it, one of the others laughed, "I wonder what that will be worth on eBay?" Thanks Hayley, for being the only person ever to ask for my autograph, I am flattered.

When I got home I emptied messages form both phones, and actually managed to leave both on all day, and get some stuff done on the computer, registering bidders, replying to emails, writing the blog, etc. The phones have calmed down a bit, but I did find myself juggling two calls at once on occassion, and often when doing an interview, the other phone would ring, or I would hear the beeping of a missed call as I talked.

In the late afternoon I took a bit of a break and laid down briefly, and was woken some time later by the phone, unsure of how long I had been asleep - I guess I'm pretty tired at the moment. I felt much better for having a break, and am back at the computer after a hastily microwaved meal.

In fact, as I type this now at 7.45pm, I am on hold for a radio station in Houston, Texas. And after this I have to wait up until Fox TV News in New York rings tonight at around 10pm to arrange a time for a phone interview sometime between 5 and 6am tomorrow morning.

It's all great fun though, and all part of a most amazing adventure.

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On 26-Jun-08 at 23:49:44 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION DAY 4 - THURSDAY 26th JUNE

I fell asleep last night while waiting for a call from Fox TV News at 10pm, and was woken at 10.30pm from a deep sleep, feeling very disorientated. I had to go through all the usual answers for the producer, who seemed to know nothing about what I was doing. She then told me that they didn't know whether they wanted me on at 5am, but would ring back later to confirm. How much later? Not sure.

I left the home phone on and went to sleep again, and was woken at 1.30am by Russian TV, and I am now unsure whether I was talking to a person or listening to an answerphone message I was so groggy. Apparently they can not get a satellite uplink from Perth at all, and would I be able to get to either Melbourne or Sydney to go to a studio. I just hung-up I think, pulled the phone cord out at the wall and went to sleep. Sorry Natasha!

I woke early, and checked the messagebank of both phones, nothing at all from Fox. It's a good job I didn't try to stay up and wait for the promised call! I emailled Natasha to apologise, but I will not be flying to Melbourne (it's a 4 hour flight, so that would take more than a whole day altogether, for probably a two minute slot answering the same five questions again!)

Phones have been reasonably quiet again so far, and I'm quite relieved that I don't have to traipse all the way up to the studio again tonight for the Russian link-up. However, I have had a few calls now, many from people wanting to schedule something for Sunday or Monday after the auction finishes. I imagine this is how it feels to be on a small boat in the still calm eye of the hurricane, knowing what is to come!

The rest of the day has gone pretty smoothly, with a couple of phone interviews with journalists from Australia, the UK and from Germany.

I have quietly got on with answering as many questions on the eBay listing as possible, and dealing with a few other enquiries. Just this afternoon I got another call from Channel 9, they want me in early again tomorrow. I felt a bit guilty, as I tried to convince them it wasn't worth while, as there was really no new news at the moment. I mean I know I have to do as much publicity as I can this week, but I could really do with a lie in! Another 4am start is the last thing I need, so it'll be another early night tonight.

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On 27-Jun-08 at 23:49:56 AEST, seller added the following information:

AUCTION DAY 5 - FRIDAY 27th JUNE

I had a very early start again this morning, up at 4am and on my way to the Channel 9 studio for the third time this week. I was last there on Wednesday morning, and there really wasn't much to update, as nothing new has really happened. So I had a chat last night with the producer, and suggested that maybe we could talk about the copycat listings appearing, or the property listings on eBay which are now using the "ALife4Sale" term in their description.

I really don't mind this, and as I said on the show, they say that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I am quite flattered! One of my favourites is the guy in the UK who has listed his life, living in a cardboard box on the streets of Exeter, for sale. His name is Simon "Parky" Kaye, and he has a great sense of humour. Any money he makes from his sale is going to UK homeless charity "Shelter", and I was pleased to be the first to make a bid for Parky's life.

The video of this morning's interview is up on Channel 9's website, and the link to it can be found on today's blog. There is also a link to Parky's sale at the blog here:
http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/auction-ends-in-2-days-daily-auction.html

I got back home at about 6.30am feeling absolutely washed out, and just switched the phones off and climbed into bed, and woke feeling much better about 3 hours later. I had a couple of issues to resolve with TV channels regarding double-bookings for Monday morning after the auction, and one station got very upset with me! It was my fault, and unfortunately we could not reach an arrangement that suited them, so we cancelled the appearance, and I will be on Channel 9 again, same time as usual.

After I got that sorted I had a chat to Scott Baker, from the web TV show breitbart.tv. They did a great segment on my auction a couple of days ago, very well presented, and then Scott contacted me to follow up.  (There is a link to their first show in today's blog). We linked up via webcam and had a good long chat, which was really good fun, and I am looking forward to seeing the show they make.

In the afternoon I did a live phone interview with GMTV in the UK, and dealt with more email, eBay questions, and a few household chores which have been completely ignored so far this week, such as doing some shopping, laundry, and general tidying.

I reckon I am about as prepared as I can be for the last couple of days, and am just hoping that everything continues to go smoothly. Fingers crossed.