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It's due to a Microsoft cashback programme that rewards users for locating ebay items using Live search.

That explains why they are selling; Why would anyone buy them at more than face value?

No - the buyers got the 30% off. But the eBay/Cashback experiment was reported to have ended after the holiday.

Anyway, I'm sure auction psychology and the Winners Curse still has a lot to do with this.

Erm. My strong suspicion is the reason people are selling is because the price is higher than the face value.