Original Sonichu and Rosechu Drawing
The Original Sonichu and Rosechu Drawing is a laminated hand-drawing of Sonichu and Rosechu that Chris is trying to auction off on eBay to raise the funds to buy more Legos. This is the second item Chris has attempted to sell on eBay this year, the first being Bob's violin.
"Freshly thought and drawn on June 1, 2014", this picture also bears Chris's signature, although this is difficult to make out in the full-sized image. The uploaded image is in black-and-white, an apparent anti-forgery method used by Chris to protect his precious artworks from counterfeiting.
First Two Listings
Within the first day of bidding, the bids reached over $10,000 USD. Speculation of troll involvement is mentioned occasionally by Chris's friends on his Facebook post related to it. The first posting was removed, probably due to Chris realizing (or being told) that the he was unlikely to collect on it.
However, the listing returned on the next day, with some extra information added. Chris included a black-and-white picture of the frame he considers so goddamn important, a color closeup of his signature, a color closeup of Rosechu's crotch, and an additional alleged copyright page. Verification of the signature and Rosechu's womanhood caused bids to skyrocket, with bids quickly reaching $15,000 USD. It's important to note that eBay does impose some limits on how much a seller can sell an item for without paying additional fees.
Protecting His Valuable Intellectual Property
Chris also makes some untested copyright claims:
| “ | ALL Sonichu, Rosechu, Cwcville and such material is Copyrighted March, 2000 by Christian Weston Chandler, with Full Paperwork backed up in Washington DC. Any names, persons or characters and such illustrated in the past Original Comic Book Pages, LittleBiGPlanet 1, 2, PSP and Vita Levels under the PSN ID of "Sonichu", and all direct content from the Creator, Christian Weston Chandler, NOT originating from said Creator that may seem similar to anyone past or present, as well as under other respective ownerships, are purely coincidental or otherwise parodic. Ownership of Original characters of Pikachu, Pok'emon and Sonic the Hedgehog are those of Nintendo and SEGA of America respectively. The drawing that is being sold on eBay now is an Original artwork created by the original Creator of Christian Weston Chandler, and is solely being sold as an artwork with no original intent of profit. | ” |
Third Time's The Charm
On the third day of bidding, Chris took down the posting yet again, only to replace it with an identical one (minus the questions from prospective buyers). He also appeared to stop accepting future inquires regarding the item, likely due to misuse of it. He also made another Facebook post, again attempting to assert the authenticity of the item.
The original price was $5,000 Buy It Now or Best Offer, later reduced to $2,500. On Wednesday, June 04, 2014, a scant four days after the creation of the 'Original Sonichu and Rosechu Drawing', Chris accepted a 'Best Offer' of $1,000 for his artwork, however, the buyer backed out the next day. Chris also appears to have removed (or possibly also managed to sell) his father's Stradivarius violin.
Fourth and Fifth Listings
After the previous buyer wouldn't pay up, Chris relisted the drawing on eBay with a $1,000 Buy It Now price and no auction. The sale is also a 'Pay It Now', meaning it must be paid for as soon as it is bought, so there is no chance of anyone 'buying' it then backing out.
Chris later summarized his experiences thus far on Facebook:
| With eBay constantly removing my listing for this SAME, SINGULAR ARTWORK Four Times the past week, and the offer-maker who offered 1,000 on the last listing Totally Bailed! I am super frustrated and I am just SET on one thousand or bust on this SAME drawing what my venture with it having been Really Too Much. And my mother and I REALLY NEED THE MONEY. Please Buy and Pay in Full Now! |
The fourth listing was eventually removed by eBay as a result of Chris asking people to make him offers on the drawing outside of the official eBay interface. He immediately removed the offending clause and relisted it with everything else intact.