With an online auction site such as eBay it’s no surprise that some extremely unusual items will be put up for auction from time to time. We’re always interested in these novel stories, and no more so than in the case of Ian Usher – the man who sold his life.
The real life Robinson Crusoe Ian Usher sold his life on eBay back in 2008 and ended up with proceeds of £216,000. So, he bought his own small tropical island off Panama where he now lives with his ten chickens. Now, his incredible story is about to become the subject of a Ben Fogle documentary.
Despite starting a new life in Australia, Ian Usher was recently divorced, sick of his job and just totally fed up. So, he decided to put his life up for auction on eBay. This included his job, car and motorbike. Six years on he says he’s content living in his self built house and with no electricity – but then he does live on his own private Caribbean island!
Ian is mostly self sufficient growing his own food – but not entirely. Nevertheless, with little need for cash he is able to spend most of his time snorkelling, canoeing, swimming and reading. He’s not a hermit – he still sees ex pats, native Indians and meets up with the local community on a regular basis. His girlfriend who he met last year in London has also joined him on his island. So, he's not completely cut off from civilisation, the nearest town is still 20 minutes away by boat.
It all sounds ideal doesn’t it? His girlfriend Vanessa agrees, saying the only thing she really misses is the cappuccino back in London.
So, the coming documentary about this amazing story promises to be an interesting one. It just goes to show how creatively some people have used eBay.
