Auctioneers sweet on hurricane relief

It's not only the "World's Most Expensive Donut," it's likely one of the sweetest and most satisfying.

The going bid is now $5,200 for a glazed donut put up for sale on eBay by a Houston radio station to raise money for victims of the hurricane that rampaged the Gulf Coast this week. All proceeds will go to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.

In addition, the winner bidder of the Shipley donut--if he or she is local--will get to appear on The Roula and Ryan Show in the Mix 96.5 studios. Bidding ends Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.

For those lacking a sweet tooth, there are hundreds of listings on eBay to benefit hurricane relief efforts, ranging from Mardi Gras beads to flags, Cajun recipes, t-shirts, domain names and other collectables.

It should be noted, that bidding for the donut got up as high as $20,000 earlier in the week. But eBay had to cancel and relist the auction because it was not put in the appropriate "charity" category.

eBay, celebrating its 10th birthday this weekend, runs its fund-raising auctions on a new "Giving Works" platform with help from the nonprofit MissionFish.org. The two organizations join a long list of technology community members working to assist with hurricane relief efforts.

It's certainly not the first time eBay's auctioneers have responded to world disasters and news events. They sold thousands of dollars worth of goods earlier this year for tsunami relief efforts. And when Jennifer Wilbanks, aka "The Runaway Bride," triggered a nationwide search after disappearing with cold feet days before her wedding, a piece of toast carved with Wilbanks' likeness sold for close to $20,000 on eBay.



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