John Freyer

For some reason Ebay has inspired more than its share of goofy pranks and not-quite-legit satirical auctions—we still get a chuckle over the guy who tried to sell his soul to the highest bidder. But a few people have crossed the line from prank to performance art, including John Freyer, an Iowa grad student, graphic designer, and snowboard instructor. Tired of the clutter and kitschy junk that was starting to overwhelm his life, Freyer decided to go one step beyond an everyday garage sale and sell off all his possessions on the online auction site—a Slinky, a canned ham, a beat-up green couch, and more. As each item sold, he recorded the details on his own web site, allmylifeforsale.com, capping off the project by selling off the domain name itself. The truly inspired part is what he did next: Using the proceeds from the sales, he took the project off the Internet and on the road, traveling around the country visiting his old possessions and the people who now owned them. Initially he wrote up these experiences as an online travelblog, and those writings have now been collected and expanded into a book, like his website titled All My Life For Sale . Designed by Freyer himself, it’s a quirky look at the American love of material goods, casting a clever eye on the way we define what is junk and what is treasure. If it’s true that the things you own end up owning you, Freyer is a free man. Ruminator Books, (651) 699-0587, www.ruminator.com