A clever eBay user started a trend: selling Jim Carrey paraphernalia by advertising that proceeds for the sale will be used to purchase a gun.

The phenomenon started when an eBay user going by the name of “astrobuzz” listed a “Jim Carrey Autographed 8X10 Photo So I Can Afford a Gun!”

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The listing, explained the user, was in response to Carrey’s Funny or Die video in which he disparages gun owners, Second Amendment advocates and deceased Oscar winning-actor Charlton Heston, who once headed the NRA.

The item for sale is a black-and-white photo of Carrey with the inscription, “Spank you very much!” and is an autographed reprint. While identical items on eBay sell for about $8 and rarely attract more than a couple of bids, astrobuzz had attracted a hefty 103 bidders who by Wednesday afternoon had driven the price up to $860.

Then, the item’s description suddenly changed late Wednesday, and the bids disappeared. The seller’s detailed description of his reason for wanting to sell the item was gone, including all references to the gun he wants to purchase.

As of late Wednesday, the description for the Carrey photo being sold by astrobuzz read: “I’m selling this Jim Carrey autographed B&W photo (mint condition) for purposes I cannot explain because it might be against eBay’s Terms & Conditions.”

The response to the original listing, not surprisingly, had attracted copycats. User “paradisecarwash,” for example, had posted the same item with a similar description and had garnered a $50 bid, and “Morpheus _2080″ went the extra mile: For a minimum $50 bid, an eBayer could buy the photo plus a Dumb and Dumber DVD, and he even posted a photo of the gun he wants to buy.

Some eBayers were promising to join the NRA with money they get for their Carrey collectibles, and some promised to pursue classes and apply for a concealed-carry permit.

But late Wednesday, the word “gun” had been stripped from the descriptions of all of the Carrey items listed at eBay.

EBay did not respond to a request for comment.

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As for astrobuzz, he (or she) had become a bit of an eBay sensation among gun enthusiasts, who turned the “Questions from other members” section at the bottom of his listing into a bulletin board of political commentary.

“In the hopes Carrey will see this: I will NOT be seeing KICK-ASS 2 when it is released,” one person wrote. “I would just like to encourage the winning bidder in this noble cause to bring the prize to the range for proper disposal,” wrote another.

All of the comments, though, also disappeared late Wednesday.

Kick-Ass 2 opens Aug. 16, and there is evidence that more than 40 percent of conservative moviegoers will shun a film for political purposes.

Carrey sparked huge controversy with his Funny or Die video, as well as a series of tweets, one in which he calls those who are against more gun control “motherf—ers.”

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