Bridgeville, California, the EBAY Town, Is For Sale Again
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Bridgeville, California, the town made famous when it was sold on EBay 5 years ago, is for sale again. The former Pony Express stop has had a checkered past. It gained great notoriety after the sale on EBay, was resold to a gentlemen who eventually committed suicide, and is now up for sale again.
The asking price is 1.3 million dollars for the town.
The picturesque but dilapidated village on the Van Duzen River gained international notoriety five years ago when its 83 acres were put on the cyber-auction block _ the first town ever up for auction on eBay.
The town was once a hub for a local stagecoach route and a stop on the Pony Express. It now includes eight houses, a post office and a cafe.
Daniel La Paille, 25, a Los Angeles entertainment manager and college student, bought Bridgeville in August 2006 for $1.25 million from Orange County banker Bruce Krall.
Krall had purchased the former timber town for $700,000 after the buyer in the original 2002 eBay auction backed out. Krall re-listed the town on eBay last year, saying he couldn’t continue to afford making restorations.
La Paille raised hopes among residents when he brought in work crews to repair many of the town’s homes and began building a park. But in November, La Paille shot himself in the chest in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, and town improvement efforts soon faltered.via WTOP


Comment by havensofmanhattan on 2 July 2007:
This is still one of the craziest things I’ve seen for sale on eBAY.
Comment by Rhea on 2 July 2007:
I was all set to pony up the money until I saw the last owner offed himself.
Comment by Doug Quance on 2 July 2007:
This is a story that just keeps giving…
Keep us tuned in, Tom.
Comment by Louis on 6 July 2007:
How many the current population of Bridgeville?
Pingback by In hiring another eBay exec as CTO, is Move looking to become… « 4realz.net on 14 March 2008:
[...] Estate has largely failed to win over public interest beyond the occasional newsworthy listing (like when a town comes up for auction!), so I think it is an interesting question to ask what an eBay team might do differently this time [...]
Comment by Teresa on 30 July 2008:
I basically grew up there……I miss it…..in a strange little way. Very small. I think under 30 residents in Bridgeville (stated on some website). But its a very beautiful area, that I can remember. Swimming with my friends in the swimming hole on a hot summer day. I haven’t been there in years. Strange it was on Ebay..