An Australian man tried to auction New Zealand off over the internet, starting at just one Australian cent.
Six thousand hits and 22 bids later, New Zealand was still a real estate bargain at $3,000.
But it is a joke Foreign Minister Winston Peters could not take.
"I don't think it's fun. I think that kind of nonsensical stupidity, I'll leave to the tabloid media," he says.
The posting said the country's highlights include "the dodgiest America's Cup win ever...and very ordinary weather."
The man trying to sell New Zealand, an Australian living in Brisbane, would not appear on camera but says he has been to Auckland once and did not think much of it.
But before the country could be sold off, Daniel Feiler of ebay Australia says the auction was pulled.
"We have over 1,000 trust and safety people looking at the site and key areas, and clearly New Zealand isn't for sale."
