The Clipper Beer Can Story
by Daphne
eBay Staff Member

"If you don't know what you have, put it on eBay-eBay will tell you!"

This piece of wisdom has become the new motto for a seller who, last November, had an eBay experience that dreams are made of.

This seller, who asked that her identity remain anonymous, was the subject of many discussions on various eBay Discussion and Chat Boards in the eBay online community. Her claim to fame? The beer can she listed turned out to be a highly collectible steel flattop Clipper beer can from 1941 in excellent condition.

The final price? $19,000!

When asked if she'd known the value of her item before she listed it, she replied, "I had no idea. I listed it, because it was the easiest thing I had available that I could take a picture of. At first, I figured I'd be happy if I got $5 for it!"

After photographing the item, she did do a bit of research before listing it, and she found a similar item that was going for $800.

"I assumed that since the other beer can was older (1930's), it must be worth more than mine. I started to put a reserve price of $75 on it, but then backed out at the last minute before saving the description, because I was afraid of the added costs and hassle if it didn't sell."

She put her research to good use, though, using the item description for the other beer can as a model for her own.

"I ended up listing it with a starting bid of $19.99, because that was the starting price of the other can."

It was 9pm when she listed the can and went to bed, unaware of the excitement her listing would cause while she slept.

"The next morning my girlfriend called me," the seller continued. "She said, 'Have you seen what your listing is doing?'"

The seller hadn't checked her listings yet that day, so her girlfriend said, "You'd better sit down before I tell you."

In less than 24 hours, the beer can was already at $1,000.

Over the next several days, a fierce bidding war raged on. Most of the bidders dropped off when the price exceeded $15,000, the seller noted.

"I was just very fortunate to have an item that appealed to a great bunch of very serious collectors."

She talked with several of them on the phone when they called to ask her questions about the beer can, and she talked to them about their collections.

"They told me that my can was important both for the beautiful graphic and the era (World War II). What made it most valuable, though, is its condition."

Found in a crawl space of a building the seller was remodeling a few years ago, the beer can was in a virtual time capsule, where it sat for almost 60 years undisturbed and protected from the weather and other elements that normally corrode items of this vintage and material.

"I thought the graphic was pretty and unusual, so I put it away in a box and forgot about it," the seller explained. "I had no idea it was valuable."

"I received hundreds of emails about this listing from all kinds of well-wishers!"

Unique visits to the listing exceeded 50,000, and as the price climbed to astronomical heights, eBay's boards buzzed with excitement.

"I was so nervous that the item would not live up to the high bidder's expectations," the seller confessed.

Fortunately, the high bidder, who also wishes to remain anonymous, could not have been more pleased.

"It was the last item he needed to complete his collection, and the condition was even better than he expected. He even sent me a gift basket for Christmas!", she remarked.

When asked about her future plans for eBay, she said she was hooked.

"I'm staying with eBay!"