According to the outlet, some wristbands drew bids of up to £70,000, which equates to about $80,755. The Telegraph reports that the free bracelets were numbered to allow mourners to leave the queue for food or to use the bathroom and return to their place. The bands are also color-coded by day, meaning they would be ineffectual for someone trying to cut the line.
A spokesperson for eBay told Insider that the wristbands are “against our policies and we are removing them from our site.” According to the website’s policy page, eBay can prohibit the sale of tickets to events that are free to the public.
One seller listed their wristband for £350 (about $403), adding in the item description that 100% of the profits would go to the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Other wristbands viewed by Insider are being sold between £25 (about $28) to £200 (about $2,884), and are still open for bids as of Sunday.
According to The Telegraph, at least one seller used soccer star David Beckham, who said he joined the queue on Friday, as a selling point.
“Queen Elizabeth II Lying In State Gold Queue Wristband. Used – see photos from the day! Friday 16th September, 11-hour queue, same day as David Beckham (was about an hour before us). Joined queue before 6am,” the listing description said, per the publication.
Hundreds of thousands of people have waited around the clock to pay tribute to the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall since Wednesday. The Queen’s lying-in-state period will end Monday morning before her funeral at Westminster Abbey. The event is expected to draw 2,000 attendees and billions more viewers watching on television.
Entry to the hours-long queue will close at some point on Sunday, according to the United Kingdom’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It’s unclear when the decision will be announced.