Soul for sale goes to Hell

A WANGANUI man's soul that was up for auction on TradeMe has gone to Hell - the pizza company, that is. The man calling himself Walter Scott, 24, put his soul up for auction on June 30, offering a framed deed of sale for the winning bidder who would become the "lucky owner" of a "slightly-used soul".
"It hasn't actually done anything for me my whole life. I can't see it, touch it, or feel it, but I can sell it, so I'm going to palm it off to the highest bidder," he wrote on the site.
However, at 9.40am yesterday. the auction was pulled about three hours before it was due to close.
Mr Scott's auction had received 32,000 hits and more than 100 bids, including one of $5000.
Hell Pizza marketing head Rachael Allison said the company had been following the auction yesterday morning and was all set to make a bid when it was pulled. The company felt sorry for Mr Scott, and by 4pm had tracked him down and offered him $5001 for his soul, which he accepted.
"We always strive to embrace the very personality that has made us loved by so many pizza eaters, and this is great," she said.
"The idea of selling your soul fits well with our brand, it's what we're all about & If a person's game enough to sell their soul, then it deserves a good home."
Ms Allison will hand over the money to Mr Scott in Wanganui today. In return he will give her a contract outlining details of ownership and a signed certificate.
The pizza company was not sure what it would do with the soul when it got it, or where the certificate would be displayed, she said.
Yesterday TradeMe trust and safety manager Dean Winter told the Wanganui Chronicle Mr Scott's auction was pulled after they received "dozens" of complaints about it from members, ranging from concerns about a breach of terms and conditions, to doubts about whether anyone could sell their soul and whether one could be picked up.
"While we tried to leave this one up as long as possible &It; gets to the stage where we have to listen," he said.
TradeMe also had concerns that a sudden $5000 bid from a new account was probably fake and that Mr Scott would not have been paid.
Attempts by the Chronicle to talk to Mr Scott yesterday were unsuccessful.