The pricing of an individual item may no longer be determined by the sticker price but instead depend on how often the consumer has bought that item before, whether they have accepted promotional offers to try out a related product, and the location of the town and store where they are shopping.

FORBES: Mobile Payments: What's Taking So Long?

The unidentified woman who bought the item at the sale in the northern city of Bolzano said simply that she was satisfied with her purchase.

BBC: Maradona earring sold at auction in Italy

It's rare that you'll be able to recover your purchase price if you have to return an item bought from a dealer or from an auction house.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Each item was bought in a big European city, he says.

ECONOMIST: How much is that dead doggy in the window?

She bought six colors of the same item.

FORBES: A Bold New E-Commerce Experience: Going Where No One Has Gone Before

Otherwise, each country can veto any item from which it loses money, and has to be bought off.

ECONOMIST: Dismal in Berlin

Headphones have become a fashion item (or so I am reliably told - and I only hope I've bought the right brand for younger son this Christmas) and HMV is now the market leader in this increasingly pricey ear-ware.

BBC: HMV clinging on