The Sale of the House of Usher: Part 1

Let me begin with a long overdue apology to all readers. As always, your support is greatly appreciated and absolutely necessary to the success of this blog, and for that we hope to regain your love by providing daily articles and all the other features you've seen today for the rest of the summer and hopefully beyond. But this plea for forgiveness begs one obvious question—what could have POSSIBLY been more important than writing regularly on PopSense? Well, a few days ago I would have staunchly defended my actions of focusing on schoolwork, family requirements, and my general well-being, but such concerns suddenly seem petty and irrelevant in light of my recent discovery. Thanks to Ian Usher and his unusual endeavor, I am forced to reconsider. I, and we, must ask ourselves, what exactly is the point? For what purpose do we build up our material and emotional lives if they can disappear at the click of a button. We ask ourselves the one question that never before seemed to have an answer, but just might now; what is a life really worth?


Ian Usher, living comfortably in Perth, Western Australia, using the Internet to its fullest extent, is marketing the ultimate product on ebay...his life. At age 45, Usher, ripe for a mid-life crisis, isn’t blowing his retirement fund on that Rolls Royce you pass at the dealership everyday on the way to a dead-end cubicle job, instead he’s bolstering his bank account by giving it all away. But this isn’t a pick-and-choose deal. What you see is what you get, that’s right, everything in his life is for sale in one big package deal, the whole kitten caboodle (wow, caboodle is a real word?!). House, car, jetski, motorbike, entertainment center, spa, a job, friends (indirectly), if it’s his... it’s yours.

The concept may seem funny and an early symptom of insanity, but this is no joke. His website is beautifully constructed, answering any and all questions that a prospective buyer or bystander could possibly have (on a literal level at least, see: my next post for more). From promotional videos to the FAQ section, Usher understands the weight of his decision and has done his homework to make this work.

For what it’s worth… after taxes

“At noon on Sunday 29th June 2008 I am going to depart this life…” Amidst the epic commercialism of it all, the poetry of Usher’s exit cannot be forgotten as the banner fades in and out atop the page.
“… LIVE ONLINE!!”
I digress.

The auction begins on Sunday June 22nd and fittingly starts at 1 Australian Dollar (.95 USD=1 AUD). Seven days later, this dastardly dare devil from down under will walk away with only the clothes on his back, his wallet, and his passport.

“It could ALL be yours”
“Everything I have and everything I am”
Sounds enticing, no? A bit frightening too. There’s something exciting and terrifying about someone seemingly just like me or you giving it all away, disproving life’s value by actually giving it a value.

Born in England, later moving to Australia with his wife Laura in 2000 (more on her later), Ian tells his entire life story to all. As much as this, and many of the site’s aspects, may technically be a way of making prospective purchasers comfortable with their product, I can’t help but feel a growing attachment to Usher. Mixed feelings of questioning his motives and applauding his efforts make it all the more intriguing.

The three bedroom, two bathroom home comes fully furnished (obviously) along with some pretty neat accessories that Usher markets with such passion that it is difficult to imagine him parting with them. The house itself is valued between 400-420,000 dollars and many of the rooms look like a screenshot from the Sims. This now-single bloke shows off his bachelor pad with a level of professionalism that convinces me that this is the right decision for him… or at least that he should become a real estate agent after all this.

Either way, he’ll need a new job, since he’s actually giving his away in the process as well. The owners of Jenny Jones Rugs have extended the offer of a two-week trial period to the buyer to work as a “rug store assistant”. Heavy lifting of the Oriental’s finest and customer service with nagging old ladies, sounds like a dream come true. In reality, however, this poses the first of far too many questions—will the winning bidder really need a job?

It’s all been done… but not like this

While questions of the future will dominate my next article, let me close off today by taking a quick look at the precedents set by previous life-entrepreneurs.

Just last year one man planned to sell his life in the same way that Usher’s project details, but the offer was far less enticing.
His reasoning was also mind-numbingly frustrating, a classic case of, “protest against mass consumerism, saturation advertising and the obsession with money”… coming from a man who is selling his life for a dollar value. This social genius never seemed to have followed up on his plan, unfortunately.

In 2001 we encounter the slightly more reputable work of a Mr. John D. Freyer who sold all of his items on ebay… one at a time. After what must have been months of 10-cent bidding on Power Ranger action figures, hand-me-down sweaters, and crusty old toothbrushes, Freyer capitalized on the situation by calling it art… the age-old secret to all things seemingly pointless. After Freyer sold everything, (including his website to the University of Iowa Museum of Art) he kept up correspondence with the buyers, and even ventured out to visit all of his objects in their new homes. He then, of course, wrote a book about it. We can only hope that Usher remains true to his intent and avoids the extremely tempting capitalist possibilities.

Tomorrow we’ll examine Usher’s motives, the public response, and what we might imagine the lucky winner of this bid to actually be like. The questions are endless, and in the spirit of Usher’s attempt at answering one seemingly unanswerable one, so too shall we try our luck with a few of our own.