Man Submits Drawing Of Spider Instead Of Payment For Overdue Account

A hand-drawn digital picture of a seven-legged spider which became the subject of a widespread viral email has reportedly sold for $15,000 on eBay.

The spider story begins with an email exchange between an Adelaide man and an unnamed utility company.

The man, David Thorne, owes the company $233.95.

Instead of paying up, Mr Thorne sends the company a picture of a seven-legged spider which he "values at $233.95".

“ trust that this settles the matter,” he writes.

Click here to see how the exchange ends.

Mr Thorne, contacted by email, told ninemsn the exchange was legitimate and that the bill remains unpaid.

"I have changed [the company's representative's] last name and not mentioned the actual business name but apart from that the email correspondence is verbatim," he said.

"And no, I have still not paid the bill.

"The part about me having no money is also true."

A domain search of Mr Thorne's website reveals it is based in South Australia.

Visit his website here.

After the exchange hit inboxes, the “original” drawing was put up for sale on eBay by a Swedish man.

"David Thorne was … kind enough to give the spider to me," eBay user “Andreas” says.

"However, this spider is driving me nuts. Also he's lacking a leg and thus is useless to me."

The listing shows there were 18 bids for the drawing, with a starting price of $233.95, and that it was sold for US$10,000 ($15,000).

The buyer is now obliged to pay because they have entered a legal contract, according to eBay spokeswoman Sian Kennedy.

"What people decide what they want to pay for items is up to them … it’s a binding contract, even if it’s a picture of a seven-legged spider," Ms Kennedy said.

"People can sell whatever they want on eBay and an email attachment is a physical product — it's not offence, or illegal, so if they can make $15,000 from it, good luck to them."

It would be highly unlikely the seller had registered separate accounts and bid on the item to increase its value, she said.

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