Ever been to a pawn shop? Ever hocked an old ring or a bracelet? The State of Illinois is essentially doing the same thing starting on Sunday, and your grandma's abandoned property is what's up for grabs. The treasurer's office is using their digital presence on the World's Biggest Swap Meet to bring in some extra cash for the holidays, and you too can be a part of it. more ›

While many in the country celebrated Barack Obama's election, some haven't been so happy. We talked earlier about Obama overload and many who voted against Obama continue to bemoan the fact that the media has crowned him some sort of new Messiah. This...will do nothing to quell their complaints. A piece of toast baring a likeness of Obama has found its way to eBay. The toast, located in New Jersey, is currently at $205.00. Says the toast-owner, "Barack Obama has miraculously appeared on a piece of toast I was preparing for breakfast. This is a one-of-a-kind item to celebrate his win as US President. The item is one piece of Wonder Bread that has been toasted. Nothing has been added to the bread - no butter or oils." But what about a sprinkling of "Change Cinnamon?" more ›

Did crime take a holiday to celebrate the home town senator's election? Nope. Among some of the criminal mischief going on about town: more ›

A Sox fan would never stoop to this level... more ›

Happy is the morning when there's an e-mail with the subject line "you guys like vintage Chicago stuff, right?" sitting in our inbox. more ›

But if terrifying vintage dolls aren't your bag, maybe you'll enjoy some old Cubs gum. Never opened! [eBay]
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We love weird old Chicago stuff: the "frightful effects of dope addiction," a 70s White Sox radio, Marina City charm. more ›

Because those Ticketmaster fees just aren't enough of a pain in the ass, the City of Chicago is suing websites eBay and StubHub, claiming that as "reseller agents," the sites are required to an amusement tax on sports and cultural events tickets sold on the sites under a Chicago ordinance. If the city succeeds, future purchases on these sites could see an additional tax of up to 8% tacked on to the price. The two websites have vowed to fight the lawsuit, issuing a joint statement:

"We do not believe that the City's Amusement Tax applies to either eBay's or StubHub's business models nor do we believe that the Amusement Tax can properly be assessed here. We intend to fight this litigation vigorously."

We've all got a bad case of the Fridays--perhaps because we're so pysched for the Media Slam this weekend. We need some awesome stuff to get us through the rest of the afternoon.... more ›

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Remember when we told you about that quasi-Illinois-shapped corn flake? Well, it sold yesterday. $1,350. Only $50 more than what we told you bidding had topped last Monday. But in between, Ebay cancelled the auction, saying it violated their food policy. So the two sisters who listed the flake instead listed a coupon redeemable for a corn flake shaped like Illinois. more ›

We have to admit that we, like many, have been burned on eBay before. Whether it was a new driver to improve our woeful golf game or a set of Precious Moments figurines, it's happened to us all and we storm off in a huff, a little angrier and $50 down. But imagine paying thousands of dollars for an alleged Picasso on eBay and finding out that it was not only a fake, but that someone connected with the forgery purposely jacked up the bids. more ›

Like many school-age children, Chicagoist was definitely one to doodle in our notes. We filled many a sketchbook, inviting our friends to even add their own stuff, which we have to remember to check up on, in case any of those drawrings are eBay-able these days. We even kept random notebooks just because we liked particular sketches, especially at the expense of first-period Econ. As years passed, our illustrative skillz fell by the wayside, which explains why fellow female Sarah Becan is so, so much better than we. more ›

Everyone is to blame for album sales being down except the actual industry itself. Who gets the spotlight for bringing down the sales this time? It’s the media and those promo copies they receive in order to review albums before they hit the street. Everyone remembers the Jack White/Q101 fiasco a few weeks back after Electra played Icky Thump in its entirety and then (surprise!) the album showed up on file sharing sites three weeks... more ›

Earlier this week, accompanied by armed guards, and carefully escorted onto American soil, the first shipment of iPhones began to arrive. The creator of the ubiqitous iPod, has the PR buzz (or Reality Distortion Field) in full effect, and we can't remember so many people ever caring so much about a cell phone. No one really got excited about the new Blackberry (even if they are promoted by John Mayer), and when an updated TREO... more ›

Jojo Baby, the doll-maker, drag queen and owner of Jo-Jo's Closet made a gruesome discovery Tuesday night as he was picking up mannequins he had bought off eBay from Bucktown resident Brian Sloan. According to Jojo, there were human skulls being boiled in Brian's apartment. Brian says he bought them legally to sell on eBay, and though the police have confiscated the skulls, no charges have yet been filed. more ›

Did you guys hear about that watch that made it to eBay? It was Gary Familglietti's and was from the Bears' 1940s championship. Well, Al Baisi Jr. played for the Bears in the '40s and got a watch after the 1946 championship but lost it, so he bought Familglietti's watch on eBay for $8,100. Remember how they kept saying, "Don't worry, there will be a parking garage and restaurant ... just as soon as... more ›

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like... more ›

If you’re getting married soon and have packed your rings up for safe-keeping until the big day … you might want to double-check your hideyhole. A pair of wedding rings was found at a bus stop downtown last Wednesday. Marcellus Smith, a rush hour commuter, saw the rings gleaming on the ground at the State and Lake bus stop. Initially thinking they were a penny, he queried a CTA worker as to what he should do with them, who told him, “Try and find who they are.” … We’re going to let that one go for the sake of our blood pressure. more ›

We just came across Find Nearby, a site that helps you find what you're looking for in your local area. The site maps out where you can find a certain item for sale on Amazon, eBay, craigslist, and local retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Target who have the item in stock. Seems helpful sometimes when you don't want to wait for across-the-country or around-the-world shipping. And if you're a gaming nerd, you're in for some extra lovin' — there are special search sites for finding a Wii or a PS3. more ›

Cheer up, Rex. You didn't win the big one last night, but soon some kid in Africa will think you did. A couple weeks ago, Reebok printed 288 championship T-shirts and hats for both the Colts and Bears to hand out during their postgame celebrations and become the instant must-have item for fans. The NFL then donates the losing team's schwag to a relief organization for developing nations. Never missing one second of a merchandising... more ›

As the world holds its breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans... more ›

Oscar fever has got us doing cartwheels all over the Chicagoist offices, as well as placing more than a few friendly wagers over who will be taking home those expensive doorstops come February 25th. But that’s not the only thing going down in the film world at the moment. A little gathering in Park City, Utah called the Sundance Film Festival has been underway since last week. And lest you shrug your shoulders indifferently just... more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into... more ›