German services seize 'eBay baby'

The child (not pictured here) has been placed with youth services
Authorities in Bavaria, southern Germany, have taken a seven-month-old boy into care after his parents offered him for sale on eBay "as a joke".

The unnamed child was advertised as a "nearly-new baby" with a starting price of one euro (£0.80, $1.6).

Police have launched an investigation into possible child-trafficking by the infant's father, 24, and mother, 23.

The mother told a German newspaper: "It was only a joke. I just wanted to see if someone would make an offer."

Speaking to Bild, she said she was also being made to undergo psychiatric tests.

'Gotten too loud'

A police spokesperson in the Bavarian town of Krumbach said the mother had also told police the offer had been a "joke".



"That's not yet clear," the spokesperson added.

"Detectives are investigating on suspicion of child-trafficking."

Police were alerted by a number of internet users across Germany who had seen the offer in the auction website.

According to the police, the posting read:

"Offering my nearly new baby for sale, as it has gotten too loud. It is a male baby, nearly 28in (70cm) long and can be used either in a baby carrier or a stroller."

No offers were made for the child in the two hours the advert was showing, police said.

EBay deleted it but assisted police in tracking down the parents, the Associated Press adds.



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now thats ridiculous to think someone would ACTUALLY put a child for sale on the worlds most common auction site.
Come on people, how pathetic!

that some sick joke i mean even to think about selling your own kid

its jus wrong how people could do that to an innocent child....and expect the public to accept it as a 'joke'...thats jus all wrong!!

Ouch... sounds like it was a clearly a joke, but of course with a baby involved, the social services in Germany can't take any risks.

I saw a thing in the hospital the other day, about child traficking, an NSPCC advert, it seem's it may well not be as rare as one might think!!

oh i know, i think its quite common, jus like slaves though, they are more common than everyone thinks, even though it was abolished in 1833, through out the british empire......but it still goes on today....its jus hidden better....

the thing is, is in the country i used to live in, saudi arabia it was common to sell babies as slaves, but they did it for animals and that sorta thing, but if u did this you would never be able to find or see ur kid again...... thats why its stressed upon the western civilisation there to keep your kids close to you, the younger they are the more they are wanted.....sick really.......