London – Waiting to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin gave some subjects more than personal satisfaction: bracelets used to control the tail in the public queue have been auctioned off on eBay.

The party did not last long, however, as the website banned the sale after some reached R$400,000. As the last day in the queue is this Sunday (18), it happens when the forbidden visit is over.

The bracelets are numbered, not reusable, and had a different color each day of Queen Elizabeth’s (14) visit to the coffin, which began on Wednesday. Auction site Gumtree has also banned the app.

Bracelets let you line up and line up after Queen Elizabeth

Similar to wristbands worn at events, wristbands allow people to step out of line to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom without losing their seat.

Many have posted on social media the success of what has become a symbol of tribute to the queen, either to confirm to their friends that they are indeed in line or to congratulate the monarch.

2022-09-16 HM Queen Elizabeth is on the 2nd world stage, lying in State at Westminster Hall for 70 years of service to England.@Royal family
God Bless the King pic.twitter.com/CIiB3C3rtf

— Jennifer Quinton Chelley (@JenniferChelley) 18 September 2022

But the most greedy subjects found a new function for them: to sell them as “part of history” to those who did not want to face the miles-long line to acquire them.

The story began appearing on social media and eventually made news on TV and newspapers, causing online auction sites to ban the sale.

An unused bracelet for the Queen to lie in the state queue is now on sale on eBay for £350 ???? pic.twitter.com/iCAiSgRZAe

— Greg Heffer (@GregHeffer) September 16, 2022

The Guardian newspaper reported that the cheapest bracelet was listed for £10 (about 60 reais), but auctions bid up to £70,000 (more than R$400,000) before bids were removed by the company’s platform.

Although the sale was interrupted, Sky News found that about ten bracelets following the Queen Elizabeth’s had been sold by Saturday afternoon (17), but did not specify the price for those sales.

eBay justified the ban, saying the procedure was against their policy:

“These items are against our policies and are being removed from our site.”

In fact, the platform’s policy prohibits the sale of most event tickets, including those that are free to the public.

Each bracelet has a disclaimer that does not guarantee access to the Queen’s coffin and is “absolutely non-transferable”.

They also have the acronym LISQ (Lie in Case Queue), which can be translated as queue for the public to wake up.

State Bedtime takes place before the Funeral Service scheduled for Monday (19).

According to Sky News, the gold bracelet in the photo worn on Friday (16) had an offer of £2,550 (more than R$15,000) before being removed from eBay on Saturday.

To increase the value of the sale, the seller added photos from the trip (including the London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben) and information that the bracelet is from the same day as David Beckham’s visit. He was about an hour ahead of her.

Also Read | David Beckham spends 13 hours queuing and Queen Elizabeth II. He gets emotional as he bids farewell to Elizabeth.

To enhance their bracelets, vendors presented them as “part of history”, putting pictures of them on their wrists or emphasizing that they were able to remove them intact without breaking the seal.

Besides Beckham’s visit, other arguments of appreciation are the day of vigil next to the coffin for the queen’s children (Friday 16) or grandchildren (Saturday 17).

Also Read | II. ‘Historic vigil’ of grandchildren before Elizabeth’s funeral dominates media this Sunday

Historical newspaper prints continue to profit on eBay

If bracelets can no longer be sold on eBay, the sale of historical editions of newspapers is also in full swing.

Sky News has learned that a copy of the Sunday Times reporting the Queen’s death has been offered for £500 on eBay. The profit is exorbitant: two hundred times the £2.50 value the edition sold on 9 September.

While the offer has yet to receive any bids, the seller told Sky News it was able to sell another copy the same day for £300.

Other ads are offering the Queen’s Death Edition of The Sun for £50. The profit is smaller but also significant: more than 60 times the tabloid’s original cover price of £0.80.

To make the sale more attractive, some offer packs containing historical editions of several newspapers. Eight tabloid collections, including The Sun, The Star and The Daily Mail, are worth £350 on eBay.

But it’s not just bracelets or newspapers that want to take advantage of items linked to the queen’s death.

A seller is offering a coin for £26,000 to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Anniversary celebrated on Facebook Marketplace in June.

The value is 52,000 times its nominal value of £0.50. Despite the general surprise, the death of the queen makes some people happy.

Also Read | To weigh or to market? 3 in 5 Brits think brand praise for the Queen is ‘not from the heart’