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But how do you explain why some eBay buyer bought one used size-9 work boot? That's exactly half a pair of shoes.

"Somebody stole the left boot so I must sell the right boot," the seller said.

"Now, you might laugh, but realize that this boot, being almost two years old, has seen many places including, but not limited to, Seattle, Washington, most of the state of Oregon, … all of my three kids' [butts] …: and last but not least, the underside of my bed."

The boot sold for $1.25.

Call it cheap humor. But it works.

"With the listing fee, an auction like that is just a laugh," Hartzman said.

But cheap jokes can have surprising payoffs.

When a seller listed "Gross Dentures" for sale, he probably didn't expect the bidding to shoot from $9.96 to $38.99

"They are in gross condition," the seller announced in the product description box that accompanies every auction.

These particular chompers were obtained in an estate sale from a 94-year-old dentist, who apparently had to repossess them from a client who didn't pay his bill. ‘No More Corn on the Cob for Me’

One of the joys of eBay is the ability to contact the seller to talk about his products. In the book, Hartzman has a ball posing as an earnest customer of the bizarre.

Inquiring about the gross dentures, Hartzman tells the seller, "I recently lost a bunch of teeth … No more corn on the cob for me"

He asked if these used prosthetic teeth could be cleaned and used.

"You have to be crazy. I don't want to touch them much less clean them," the seller wrote back. "They still have some of the corn on the cob on them."

Still, the seller says, "If you think you want to use these, just jump on it."

A Human Head for Rent

EBay has rules. You can't auction off a human kidney or souvenir debris from the World Trade Center. They have restrictions on erotica.

But, for the most part, the world is your marketplace. You photograph an item, write a description, fill out a sales form, and you're in business.