File photo of a Chevrolet Corvette C8. It is not one of the cars in the eBay auction. Photo: Adrian Newell / Unsplash
eBay will open bidding at $6 on each of four video game-inspired cars on Thursday, Nov. 5, when actor Sung Kang and automotive creator Hertrech “Hert” Eugene Jr. host a livestream auction at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, according to eBay’s Oct. 29 announcement. The cars are a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette C8, a 2006 Dodge Viper, a 1992 BMW 325i Convertible and a 1975 Chevrolet Nova, and eBay says 100% of the proceeds go to Susan G. Komen.
Bidding starts at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET) on eBay Live, which eBay calls its first marquee vehicle livestream. eBay named the cars rather than describing them: The South Beach Supercar is the Corvette, The Street Icon is the Viper, The Classic Getaway is the BMW and The Hot Pink Hi-riser is the Nova. The company says it sourced them on eBay and customized some with parts and accessories sold on the marketplace. The announcement names no builder, no specific game and no reserve price. eBay’s event page describes a “six-star fleet,” while the announcement lists four cars, so this story follows the announcement.
What a $6 opening bid does and doesn’t mean
A starting bid is where the bidding opens, not what anyone expects a C8 or a Viper to bring. If the cars carry reserves, the seller can decline a high bid that falls short. If they don’t, the car goes to the top bidder at whatever number the room reaches. eBay’s announcement doesn’t say which applies, and the answer decides how much Komen can count on.
The announcement does say who handles the sale. The vehicles are offered through Matchfire, and winning bidders complete the purchase through eBay Secure Purchase, run by Caramel Dealer Services, LLC, an eBay subsidiary. eBay says the service covers payment, paperwork and delivery, with up to $500,000 in purchase protection on eligible transactions, subject to its terms. On a car, paperwork means a title and registration and delivery means a transporter, the two steps a winner can’t finish from a phone during a livestream.
The tax rule for charity auction winners
Winning a charity auction doesn’t make the whole bid a donation. IRS Publication 526, in the edition posted for 2025 returns, says a person who pays more than fair market value for a benefit can deduct only the amount above the value of what they receive. Its own auction example is $600 paid for a week at a beach house worth about that much, which produces no charitable contribution. For payments over $75 that are partly a gift, the publication says the charity must give a written statement with a good-faith estimate of what the buyer received.
Applied here, a bidder who takes the Viper home at its market value gets a car and no deduction. Only a premium over what the car is worth could count, and eBay’s announcement doesn’t say what valuation or statement winners will get.
How the livestream will run
Kang and Hert will tell the stories behind the cars and work the bidders live. Video game cars have turned up on Backfire News before, including a game purchase that ended with a custom Dodge Viper going to a mother. eBay hasn’t published appraisals or estimates for any of the four, so bidders are left with those stories and their own homework.
SEMA dates and where to watch
The SEMA Show runs Nov. 3 to 6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Nov. 3 through 5 are trade-only days, and the show is open to the general public only on Friday, Nov. 6, a day after the auction. eBay’s announcement gives no booth number, and the livestream and a reminder are available at ebay.com/mostwanted.
Komen’s total may hang on the mood of a livestream audience at 3 p.m. Eastern. Would you open a Viper at $6 and trust the room, or set a floor?
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