If given the choice, I think it’s fair to say every child would spend thousands of pounds if it meant they’d get the toy of their dreams.
After all, if you don’t have a job and everything is paid for by mum and dad (ah, memories), as well as being seven years old with no concept of money, what’s a couple of grand?
When one boy in Sydney, Australia, saw a rare toy on eBay which he’d wanted to get his hands on for quite a while, it didn’t matter that it was AU $10,000 (US $6,700; £5,500).
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He went on a child's equivalent of a joy ride, tapping away gleefully at the screen until the purchase was complete.
As reported by 7 News Sydney back in 2019, the seven-year-old boy purchased the eye-wateringly expensive collectible toy when he saw it for sale on eBay.
The toy, a rare gold ‘Billy Banana’, was part of the Coles ‘Stikeez’ range, of which there are only 100 released around Australia.
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The boy’s mum Donna Jacob, 47, said the seven-year-old is a huge fan of the toys and had asked her previously if he could have one. But because of the costly price, Donna had to tell her son the banana was off-limits.
Regardless, the youngster was desperate to get his hands on one and so when he saw the toy for sale on eBay, he bought it for $10,000 – using his mum’s credit card details which had been automatically saved on the computer.
Upon receiving a confirmation email from eBay shortly after the purchase, the 47-year-old realised what must have happened.
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The mum told 7 News: "I think it’s just ludicrous this could happen. It’s certainly nothing we’ve budgeted for and nothing we can afford."
According to Donna, she contacted the seller to explain her situation, but he ignored her pleas and refused to reimburse her for the money lost.
The 47-year-old said PayPal had a similar response, referring to the purchase as ‘friendly fraud’ and telling her the chances of getting her money back were slim.
Donna says she repeatedly contacted her bank, eBay, and PayPal but was bounced back-and-forth between each one.
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She said: "Between PayPal and the bank, there should be at least one stopper that says, 'Hang on, this isn’t right’… and no one did."
Luckily, eBay eventually agreed to refund Donna, citing ‘unique circumstances’.
The company said: "eBay understands there are unique circumstances in this case. As a result, the buyer will receive a refund for the purchase."
The mum, despite being relieved, called for stricter protocols to be put in place to prevent things like this happening.
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I can imagine she put a parental lock on all golden banana-related content going forwards.
Topics: Money, Parenting, Australia, Shopping