EBay flooded with logo items from former Enron workers
By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service
Displaced Enron workers have found a way to supplement unemployment checks. Some are peddling company coffee mugs, worthless stock certificates and other paraphernalia on eBay.
"My son was a former Enron employee and he decided to sell some items basically for the cash," said Ann Forrest, a resident of Waco, Texas, via e-mail. Forrest, an eBay auction veteran, is selling ink pens and other items for her son Jonathan, 24.
Enron golf balls are among more than 2,000 logo items for sale on eBay, the online auction site.
Energy giant Enron filed for bankruptcy in early December, touching off the biggest financial scandal since the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s.
But a few workers are trying to make money off misfortune. There were more than 2,100 Enron items for sale on eBay during the week of Jan. 21, up from just 24 on Jan. 9, eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said.
Most are inexpensive trinkets. Bids for a souvenir Enron baseball started at $5.99 and had run to more than $37 in the hour before bids closed. However, one person was auctioning the EnronShareholders.com domain name for $1,500 or more.
"Definitely, it's sad," said Jose Lazo, a former database analyst at Enron. Lazo is now spokesman for enronX.org, a site that helps Enron employees find jobs and health care.
Workers from defunct companies, such as Pets.com and Webvan, have sold items on eBay but not nearly as many as Enron employees, Pursglove said.
Forrest said much of the Enron stuff should gain value. "The eBay items are all going to be collector items someday and most of them are very lovely," she said.
But Pursglove said buyers should beware.
"Some of these (Enron) items one day might be worth more than they are today," he said. "Others will crash and burn."
