It’s easy to fall down the eBay rabbit hole and start buying up your childhood (hello, 1990s comic book collection!) or throwing cash at things you never knew existed but now desperately feel the need to own. But when it comes to crazy eBay auctions, very little is likely to beat the Eagle Prime robot, a fully operational piloted battle mech robot built by robot fighting company MegaBots. While it cost $2.5 million to build, it’s yours to own for just $70,200 (and climbing).
As the company explains in its eBay listing: “Eagle Prime is likely the world’s most combat-capable battle mech. This 15-ton robot is powered by a 430 horsepower LS3 V8 Engine commonly found in the Chevrolet Corvette. It’s piloted by two people, and stands 11.5 ft tall when it’s squatting down, and about 16 ft tall when it’s standing up.”
The robot, which weighs in at a massive 15 tons, is being auctioned off after MegaBots went bankrupt. For anyone who has followed the company will know, the idea was to build real mech robots which could be used to carry out sci-fi robot battles — like giant WWE matches, but with more metal. Sadly, the beautiful dream wasn’t meant to be and, for the past couple of years, MegaBots struggled to make its high concept idea a reality. The sale of the robot is a way to pay off some of the debts as part of the bankruptcy process.
The possibility of owning your own robot is certainly tempting. But there’s plenty of small print would-be buyers will need to be aware of. As the listing notes, “For transparency, I want to inform you, (the bidder) of the idiosyncrasies you’re going to have to deal with.” These include wear-and-tear with the plastic pads used for the treads, an inability to work on soft surfaces, and issues with hydraulic leaks. The sellers say they’ll include a “standard set of large wrenches and a replacement o-ring” to fix this last issue.
You’ll also have to pay for shipping which, it turns out, isn’t cheap for a 15-ton robot. It will ship from Oakland, California, and shipping can cost anywhere from $4,000 on the West Coast to $17,000 on the East Coast. Overseas will be extra.
Still, there is a chance to make back your money if you’re shrewd. The robot could be leased out for shows. Over time, you could claw back the money that’s been spent on it. Since it also comes with the CAD files and source code which went into its creation, there’s even the chance you could finally do what the folks at MegaBots weren’t able to: Create the world’s first full-fledged robot fighting league.
Happy bidding!