Mom tries to sell kids on eBay

An Australian woman is being investigated after she offered her two young children on the internet auction site eBay.

The woman, in her early 30s, from Geelong in Victoria, wrote a “lengthy sales pitch'' that included photographs of her son and daughter, both aged under 10. Several people placed bids for the children.

The page has been taken down and the woman's children could be taken into permanent care.

Victoria police have decided not to charge the mother, who claims the act was a joke.

However, police sources told the Sunday Herald Sun they were disturbed by the incident and in particular the bidders who tried to obtain the children.

Police are continuing to focus on the people who bid for the children while welfare officials continue investigating the family.

“Investigators from Geelong were notified last week that a mother was trying to sell her two children on eBay,'' a police spokeswoman said.

“Photos of the children, a boy and a girl both aged under 10 years, were included in the sales pitch.''

The page was posted on Wednesday and was active until late morning the next day.

“The mother wrote a lengthy sales pitch that was very interesting reading,'' a police source said.

“She said the page was created as a joke, but what worries us is the people bidding on the auction.

“Who knows who these people are. They could be paedophiles or anyone. It's extremely disturbing.''

Officers contacted eBay, and the auction was removed within two hours. - The New Zealand Herald