As we reported last month while designating Heene Shmuck of the Week, the former Fort Collins resident planned to auction off his "experimental craft" to earn money for Japanese tsunami victims -- as much as $1 million, he thought. So how much was the winning bid? A lot less.
Here's the auction-ending notice posted on the contest's website yesterday:
The Flying Saucer was sold to the highest bidder at auction and has been delivered. The winning bidder, who resides in Colorado, requested that he not be identified nor the specific amount paid, which was in the thousands of dollars, be disclosed to the media. We thank all those who demonstrated interest in the auction, we especially thank the winning bidder. A donation check has been mailed by Attorney Perry H. Rausher to Direct Relief International, to assist the Japan Relief and Recovery Effort.
Sounds pretty good, right? But according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan, that winning bid in the thousands was actually in the very low thousands -- as in $2,502, from which attorney Rausher deducted a $60 web fee.
We could be seeing the balloon again: The guy who bought is reportedly lives in Aurora. But it's unlikely to attract worldwide media attention -- unless it gets into the jet stream with a kid inside.
Look below to see the video Heene and his wife Mayumi created to pimp the contest -- which seems even sadder and more desperate in retrospect.
More from our Follow That Story archive: "Balloon Boy vomits on the Today show: How much weirder can this story get?"
