Need A Jumbo Jet? China’s E-bay Can Help You With That…

In a first for not just China, but the entire world, Alibaba’s online auction website, Taobao, has successfully auctioned off two Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets for a combined $49 million.  The jets were bought by Chinese cargo airline SF Airlines after they were seized by courts during Jade Cargo’s bankruptcy proceedings in 2013.  According to the South China Morning Post, the successful online auction was conducted after six failed private auctions.

Two Boeing 747-400 Freighters were sold on Tuesday on Taobao, the online shopping platform owned by Alibaba, for a combined 322.8 million yuan (US$49 million), reflecting the first time such jets were sold via online auction in China, and possibly the first-ever globally at online auction.

The sale was concluded after six failed attempts at offline private auctions organised by the seller – a state court – in the past few years.

SF Express, China’s largest private courier, bought the jets from the Intermediate People’s Court in the southern city of Shenzhen, which seized them after Jade Cargo International filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Three Boeing 747-400s had been put up for sale on Taobao’s judicial auction arm from Monday to Tuesday. One of the jets parked at the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport went unsold, with a starting bid of 122.6 million yuan.

According to rules on Taobao’s auction site, bidders were required to make security deposits of 6.1 million yuan, 6.7 million yuan, and 6.8 million yuan for the respective jets before the auction.  The winning bidder now has 15 days to send payment in full according to Taobao auction rules.

Last year, Concord Aerospace, a Florida-based aerospace company, tried to sell a Boeing 747 jumbo jet on eBay, with a starting bid of US$300,000. The aircraft’s four jet engines had been removed and its electrical components had been stripped…needless to say, the plane didn’t sell.

And, for our next item, this entire Chinese Ghost City, complete with dueling horse statues, can be yours for an opening bid of just $10…any takers?