Gentlemen, Rev Up Those Bids!
She became the darling of the racing world this past month and nearly became the first female to win the Indy 500. Not unexpectedly, 23-year-old Danica Patrick became an overnight sensation on eBay this week and sellers are wasting no time taking advantage of her fame.

Currently, there are 215 active Danica auctions on eBay.

The most interesting find this week was the "Danica Patrick Wood Engraving in Red American Alder Hardwood" auction by Modern Etch, LLC. No, it's not a joke.

Really - this is for sale. (eBay photo)

"She has become a smash hit among racing fans for her talent and beauty as a formula one race car driver," says the listing.

(We must point out that she's an Indy Racing League driver, not F1. And this guy claims to be a fan?)

"This wood engraving was done using high powered laser to capture the detail. This is a close up of her in her fire protective racing hood. This is truly a special offering and is high quality. This would look awesome displayed on a small stand," it continues.

We bet it would look great on any mantle. Bid on it before you lose out. For the low price of $16.50, how could you not want it?

Millions of lonely bachelors were devastated upon hearing the news that brainiac socialite Paris Hilton got engaged this week to her Greek boyfriend — also named Paris.

Despite the Simple Life star being taken off the market, the good news is that you can still pretend she's the love of your life. How so? We discovered a 5' 8" cardboard stand-up of Ms. Hilton available for auction!

"These incredible looking life size movie stand-ups would make an excellent gift to you or a loved one. This standup would look great in so many places your game room, kitchen, garage or office," says the description.

The kitchen? Well, perhaps it would be appropriate to have the blonde looker next to you as you cook dinner for the "two of you" and pretend to hear her say "That's hot!" as you sample the spaghetti sauce.

If Ms. Hilton isn't your style, be sure to check out the other stand up celeb auctions by power seller buywhilesupplieslast. If you're a big football fan, you can score a stand up former/future Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Maybe you can get him to show up at training camp this summer.

This will look hot...in your garage! (eBay photo)

eBay News this Week
As reports of Internet and eBay fraud have become regular stories in the news, eBay highlighted its efforts in cracking down on fraudulent "participants" on its Web site — not something you normally see them acknowledge.

On Thursday, eBay pointed to some recent successes in cracking down on auction fraud: Breaking up an Internet crime ring based in Romania, charging a Florida couple for fraud and misrepresentation on eBay, and arresting a Connecticut woman for listing stolen items. You can find more about the "new and improved" eBay Security Center at http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB.

Rob Chesnut, head of eBay's global Trust & Safety organization, also addressed the growing problem of "phishing" related to eBay. (For those of you who don't know what phishing is, it's the creation of spoof emails designed to look like they are legitimate email coming from reputable companies. The emails usually ask the recipient to re-enter personal and financial information after clicking on a link provided in the email. The fraudulent Web sites collect the information from unsuspecting users to gain access to eBay, PayPal and bank accounts).

"As the sophistication of these emails has increased, it has become evident that we all need help to weed out these fraudulent emails from our systems. Over the last year, eBay has rolled out one industry-leading product, the eBay Toolbar with Account Guard, that helps protect users from spoof sites by alerting users whenever they are about to go to a spoof eBay or PayPal site," said Chesnut.

"But it's clear that we need to do more. That's why I'm particularly happy to announce that eBay will be rolling out one of our most effective measures to combat spoof — the second phase of My Messages (available in My eBay). With the second phase of My Messages, launching in late June, you can trust that important eBay account-related messages you receive in My Messages will be legitimate," he added.

"From a safety perspective, the bottom line is this — If the email affects your eBay account, it's in My Messages. If you get an email that looks like it's from eBay about a problem with your account or requests personal information and it's not in My Messages, it's a fake email," said Chesnut.

Next week, keep your eyes out for reviews on a couple of Mac-related eBay tools. Our first review will cover Garage Sale 1.6.1.

Devin Comiskey is the managing editor for ECommerce-Guide.com.