A couple of months back we reported that a baby had been taken into care by social services pending an investigation surrounding the child’s parents.

At the end of May, German police got several calls from people who had seen a listing on internet auction site that read,

“Baby — collection only. Offering my nearly new baby for sale, as it has gotten too loud. It is a male baby, nearly 28in (70cm) long and can be used either in a baby carrier or a stroller.”

The starting bid was set at €1 ($1.57) although no bids were placed during the few hours the ad was up. A German newspaper quoted the woman as saying, "It was only a joke. I just wanted to see if someone would make an offer. They’ve taken my son to hospital and I’ve got to take psychiatric tests next week."

The story got quite a bit of attention from readers across the web. There were those who, like the parents, thought of this as nothing more than a joke. However, there were also those who felt that whether the couple was guilty of child trafficking or posting fake auctions on eBay, what they did was wrong.

The Associated Press reports that the baby has been reunited with his parents and that during the duration of time it spent in care, it was never away from its parents for long. Otto Gaschler, deputy chief of youth services in Unterallgau, said both parents had access to the child and slept at the facility where their child was being cared for during the investigation.

ebay made headlines last week when a man by the name of Ian Usher sold his own life on eBay. For more information on Ian visit alife4sale.com. These pages document Ian’s plans to sell his life (house, car, job, friends) to the highest bidder. For information on what Ian is doing now visit 100goals100weeks.com.