THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

Flakey sale nets Virginia sisters $1,350

This March 2008 photo provided by Melissa McIntire shows a corn flake next to a dime. Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night March 21, 2008 for $1,350. Melissa McIntire, 23, and her sister Emily, 15, listed the corn flake on eBay last week, but eBay canceled the auction saying it violated the Web site's food policy. The sisters restarted their Ebay auction, advertising a coupon redeemable for their corn flake, instead of the cereal itself. This March 2008 photo provided by Melissa McIntire shows a corn flake next to a dime. Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night March 21, 2008 for $1,350. Melissa McIntire, 23, and her sister Emily, 15, listed the corn flake on eBay last week, but eBay canceled the auction saying it violated the Web site's food policy. The sisters restarted their Ebay auction, advertising a coupon redeemable for their corn flake, instead of the cereal itself. (AP Photo/Donald McIntire, HO)
Email|Print|Single Page| Text size +
March 22, 2008

CHICAGO—Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350.

"We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23. "There's a lot of relief involved."

The winner of the auction, which lasted more than a week, is the owner of a trivia Web site who wants to add the corn flake to a traveling museum.

"We're starting a collection of pop culture and Americana items," said Monty Kerr of Austin, Texas. "We thought this was a fantastic one."

Kerr owns TriviaMania.com and said he will likely send someone to Virginia to pick up the flake by hand, so it won't be damaged. This isn't the first corn flake that Kerr has tried to buy. He said he purchased a flake billed as the world's largest, but that by the time it was delivered it had crumbled into three pieces.

McIntire and her sister Emily, 15, listed the corn flake on eBay last week, but eBay canceled the auction saying it violated the Web site's food policy.

The sisters restarted their Ebay auction, advertising a coupon redeemable for their corn flake, instead of the cereal itself.

The McIntires said they'll likely use the money for a family vacation.

Copycat items have popped up on eBay, including corn flakes shaped like Hawaii and Virginia. There's also been a potato chip shaped like Florida, and Illinois corn flake paraphernalia, including T-shirts and buttons.

more stories like this

  • Email
  • Email
  • Print
  • Print
  • Single page
  • Single page
  • Reprints
  • Reprints
  • Share
  • Share
  • Comment
  • Comment
 
  • Share on DiggShare on Digg
  • Tag with Del.icio.us Save this article
  • powered by Del.icio.us
Your Name Your e-mail address (for return address purposes) E-mail address of recipients (separate multiple addresses with commas) Name and both e-mail fields are required.
Message (optional)
Disclaimer: Boston.com does not share this information or keep it permanently, as it is for the sole purpose of sending this one time e-mail.