Ebay Has Hurricane Memorabilia Aplenty by Courtney Semple

Here's a bright idea: A Hurricane Katrina memorial light switch cover. It'll cost you 10 bucks.

No?

Then how about a Katrina relief bracelet, or several hundred, in as many colors as a box of Lucky Charms?

Not so much?

Maybe a can of Anheuser-Busch drinking water. The can says "Not for sale," but evidently everything has its price. In this case, on eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), it's US$3.75 (plus $4.50 shipping and handling).

 

Redistribution of Tragedy

Since Aug. 29, hundreds of items related to the monster storm have popped up on eBay, the online powerhouse of redistribution.

Type in "Hurricane Katrina" and you'll find T-shirts ("You Loot, We Shoot"), bumper stickers ("My Heart's in New Orleans," $30.43 with shipping), copies of The Times-Picayune and National Geographic , and dice from the very grounded Copa Casino.

Perhaps you'd fancy an elongated commemorative penny, yours for only $1.35, plus 50 cents for shipping. Or a pinky finger splint, from the guy who went outside to light a cigarette during the storm -- yes, he really did -- and got a door slammed on his hand.

But by far the most common auction items are pictures and photo CDs of the damage. Most appear to have been offered by survivors to raise a little cash, usually $10 or so. Can't blame them.

Checking Charities

Baseball cards, artwork and lapel pins are among many items whose sale proceeds will benefit storm relief efforts. EBay vets donation requests through its charity platform, Giving Works, and identifies such items with a blue-and-yellow ribbon symbol. If sellers want to raise money otherwise, they must post an authorization letter from a charity.

One writer's contribution to hurricane relief is a poem about Katrina's devastation, 8 x 10 and framed. The first four lines are shown on the site; through Friday night, the bid was $5, plus $8 shipping.

Then there's the deer-hunting weekend in Alabama , led by the Quality Deer Management Association and sponsored by Valley Creek Outdoor, with proceeds going to the Red Cross. Bidding Friday rested at $1,125.

After a weekend like that, you might need to clean up a little, and what better way than with some Fleur de Lis Katrina soap?

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," the item says, "Primal Elements has created a new soap inspired by the spirit of the Gulf Coast, named Fleur de Lis Katrina. May we remember and pray for those souls who were lost in this catastrophic natural disaster."

No matter how you sell it, amen to that.