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Bidon bidding war – Wiggins water bottle going for £60-plus on eBay

Auction site makes it easier to get hold of memorabilia wherever you are - buy at what cost?

A bidding war has broken out for a Team Wiggins water bottle being auctioned on eBay with the highest bid currently standing at £64.21.

Described as “unique” the bidon, which is not signed, is far from that – the team itself will get through thousands in the course of a season, many jettisoned at the roadside and scooped up as souvenirs by appreciative fans.

Moreover, one was sold on eBay just last week – and went for around a quarter of the price bidding on the latest identical bidon has reached.

The eBay user selling the latter, who has the user name WiggoWiggoWiggo on the auction site, is also offering for sale a set of Team Wiggins racer cards from last month’s Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic.

Bidding for those has reached £26.05, and with both auctions closing this afternoon the vendor stands to make close to £100 for both items, if not more.

In recent months, according to the vendor’s feedback on eBay, they have also sold a number of items connected to Wiggins’ successful attempt on the UCI Hour Record at the start of June, including at least five Rapha caps celebrating the event.

Of course, eBay and other websites have united potential buyers and sellers of items worldwide in a way that was simply not possible before the advent of the internet, and if someone wants to fork out more than sixty quid on a Team Wiggins bidon, so be it.

It's also a way for people who can't be at an event in person to be able to get a souvenir, as with those Hour items. And given the seller has 100 per cent positive feedback, there are some very happy buyers out there.

But arguably it has also made it more difficult for those who for example want their favourite athlete to sign an item as a souvenir to obtain that autograph – with access to star names becoming ever more restricted, even impossible, in some sports.

Many cycling fans will hope that their sport, which enables them to get closer to the big names than is the case in any other sport – and also to ask for and often get promotional items at the team bus – doesn’t follow suit.

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments below.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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16 comments

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madonepro | 9 years ago
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Hey, I was using the toilets after the finish, and Brad was in the next stall. Managed to get a 'sample'.

Selling it on ebay for £10K, you'll get his dna, possibly some medications and all you have to do is 'take the piss'.

 103  3

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Airzound | 9 years ago
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If there is any liquid left in it …………. you could analyse it. Just saying.

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ratattat | 9 years ago
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I have a Sky cap signed by WIGGINS ..unfortunately BERNIE EISEL decided to sign it too so its probably worthless lol

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Cheesyclimber | 9 years ago
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It's a bit like buying a bunch of cheap Garmins from Aldi and then flogging them on eBay for a profit

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two20 | 9 years ago
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It's the newbie's rite of passage. You buy a 64cm frame, wear pants under your bib shorts, and put deep heat on your soft bits. Take your bidon with pride to club night and watch the stifled laughing from all and sundry. In a few years time you can do this to the next crop.

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velodinho | 9 years ago
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Roadcc Breaking News:
Person sells something on eBay that is not worth the money.

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vonhelmet | 9 years ago
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A fool and his money are soon parted.

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MikeOnABike | 9 years ago
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P.T. Barnum said it best, "There's a sucker born every minute."

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pwake | 9 years ago
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"In recent months, according to the vendor’s feedback on eBay, they have also sold a number of items connected to Wiggins’ successful attempt on the UCI Hour Record at the start of June, including at least five Rapha caps celebrating the event."

So he was the one who got them; they'd all gone by the time I got there! The bar steward.

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Leeroy_Silk | 9 years ago
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Conversation coming to a living room soon.

(Wife) "what's in the package?"
(Happy ebayer) "it's one of Bradley Wiggins' bidons I bought off ebay, it's mega rare, can I mount it on a plinth and put it on top of the tele?"
(Wife) "erm, no. Not really its just a cheap bit of plastic. It's pretty awful actually. How much was it?"
(Slightly less happy ebayer) 'sheepishly' "just over £60. But they're mega rare, it'll be worth a fortune soon!"
(Vexed wife) "HOW MUCH?!? Are you f@£king stupid? You're an idiot. I don't ever want to see that thing again!"

Bradley Wiggins prize bidon gets put into a cupboard never to be seen again...
The end.

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don simon fbpe replied to Leeroy_Silk | 9 years ago
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Leeroy_Silk wrote:

Conversation coming to a living room soon.

(Wife) "what's in the package?"
(Happy ebayer) "it's one of Bradley Wiggins' bidons I bought off ebay, it's mega rare, can I mount it on a plinth and put it on top of the tele?"
(Wife) "erm, no. Not really its just a cheap bit of plastic. It's pretty awful actually. How much was it?"
(Slightly less happy ebayer) 'sheepishly' "just over £60. But they're mega rare, it'll be worth a fortune soon!"
(Vexed wife) "HOW MUCH?!? Are you f@£king stupid? You're an idiot. I don't ever want to see that thing again!"

Bradley Wiggins prize bidon gets put into a cupboard never to be seen again...
The end.

But darling, you never said a word after I spunked 10k on a Pinarello.  2

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Leeroy_Silk replied to don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
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@Don Simon. £10k? Don't you mean £599.99  105

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don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
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If people are shallow enough to put famouses on pedestals and then pay over the odds for goods they belong to these stars, good luck to them.

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Beatnik69 | 9 years ago
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I can't see it doing too well in 'Four Rooms'

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MattC3156 | 9 years ago
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No one is forcing them to pay that. As said above, if people are stupid enough to pay over the odds then that's up to them. Good on the seller for making some cash!

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harr1y | 9 years ago
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Is this the best that you can do for a headline .... who cares is the answer ... if people are dumb enough to pay over the odds because a pro has allegedly used the item then more fool them

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