Spurned eBay lover off to pursue 'dog' of his dreams

Published on Sunday 24 October 2004 00:46

WAS IT one of the biggest internet hoaxes in history or the genuine story of a spurned lover seeking revenge?

Whatever the answer, the tale of the ungrateful wedding guest who sparked an eBay bidding phenomenon by auctioning his invitation claiming the bride-to-be was a "dog", has transfixed the nation’s internet surfers.

Yesterday, the saga came to an abrupt end when the anonymous seller, known only by his eBay sign-in Twinklydog, withdrew the sale at the last minute.

Although he had labelled the bride a "dog", his final eBay message claimed he was in fact in love with her and was on his way to try and stop her going ahead with the marriage.

Bidding for the wedding invitations had spiralled from less than 200 to more than 1m, prompting eBay to warn that the item was likely to attract hoax bids.

The sale had been due to end yesterday, but the seller decided to "pull the auction" and go to the wedding, in Aberdeen, instead.

It appeared from a message that the bride referred to was in fact his former girlfriend and he claimed he was going to the wedding to try to get her to put a stop to it and marry him instead.

Twinklydog, who is thought to be from Colchester, Essex, did not respond to Scotland on Sunday’s requests for an interview and it remains unclear whether the auction was genuine or an elaborate hoax.

The invitations, which were put up for auction on October 13, were accompanied by a sales pitch which went: "I’ve been invited to the wedding of a mate of mine who I used to know really well until he started going out with the girl he’s going to marry. She’s a dog. They’ve stupidly invited me to their wedding, but I don’t want to go."

Within days it became clear word had spread about the auction and several generous bids flooded in, spiralling up to 1m at one point.

However, Twinklydog’s final entry revealed he had decided to call a halt to the auction and contained an apparent admission that the reason he had been so reluctant to attend the wedding was because the bride was in fact his ex-girlfriend and he was still in love with her.

The entry read: "Most of you have hit the nail on the head, you know. I still love the old dog, despite what she did to me.

"It’s a bit of a gamble, but I’m going to pull the auction, go to Aberdeen and see whether she’ll put a stop to this sham of a wedding and marry me instead. Hope you understand. The cab’s outside, I’ve got to go."