How much are wristbands for the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s lying-in-state worth?

[ad_1]

Hundreds of thousands are thought to have made the pilgrimage to the U.K. capital to see the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall, where it was lying-in-state for several days ahead of the late monarch’s funeral on Monday.

Those joining the queue to enter the Hall and pay their respects to the late monarch were given wristbands as “a record of when [they] joined the queue.”

The wristbands, issued by the U.K. government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, came in different colors each day.

According to eBay’s record of sold listings, several used wristbands have been sold in recent days. One was sold on Monday morning for £45,100 ($51,323), according to the records, while others were also sold for tens of thousands of pounds.

It is unclear whether the items sold for this amount or were removed by eBay’s moderators before the sales could complete.

There were still a number of listings for the wristbands active on the online auction site during the Queen’s funeral.

One of them, seen by Fortune, advertised an “unbroken” wristband for the lying-in-state queue, and had attracted bids up to £55,100 ($62,700) by around midday in London on Monday. It soon appeared to have been removed from the site.

Another wristband listing, which has also since been removed, had racked up multiple bids that priced it at more than £40,000.

Earlier, The Guardian reported that some listings had attracted bids as high as £70,000 ($79,700) before being removed.

“These items are against our policies and we are removing them from our site,” an eBay spokesperson told Fortune on Monday.

EBay’s policies prohibit the sale of most event tickets—including those for concerts, festivals, sports matches and theater shows. The rules generally apply to events which are free to attend, like the Queen’s lying-in-state.

Some sellers have tried to find ways around the policy.

One person selling a wristband with an asking price of £14,000 pre-empted the delisting of their “rare” offering.

“This might be taken down by eBay,” they said, before disclosing their email address and phone number.

“If you are interested email… and we can arrange this sale another way,” the seller added.

Many of the listings advertising wristbands from the lying-in-state queue have touted the items as memorabilia or souvenirs rather than tickets.

People are also using eBay to cash in on other items that have marked the Queen’s death and lying-in-state, including newspapers and posters displayed on London’s public transport networks—although the amounts being sought for these are much lower than the wristbands’ asking prices.

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

[ad_2]

Source link