Tony Blair’s Wife Sells His Autograph on eBay — for $16

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REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

She’s a high-powered lawyer, a best-selling author and Britain’s former First Lady. But even Cherie Blair seems to get a kick out of peddling used goods on eBay.

According to The Sun, Mrs. Blair flogged a signed bookplate from her husband’s autobiography A Journey on the site last week for just £10 ($16). She originally listed the signature for £25 ($40). Antiques dealer Paul Hurworth, who brought the sale to the attention of journalists, began following Cherie’s eBay account last year after he sold her a silver butter knife and a glass dish, the paper says.

One of Cherie’s spokesmen has confirmed that she sold her husband’s autograph, but denied that she intended to profit from the sale. (See pictures of Tony Blair on the road.)

“Cherie Blair was cross that people were selling Tony Blair’s signature when you can get one for free,” he told London’s Independent newspaper. “She was trying to undermine the market and as soon as someone bought it, she refunded it straight away to make the point.”

The Telegraph reports that Cherie also sold a pricey Locman Mare Titanium wristwatch thought to have been given to her husband by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. That watch retails from around $475; she appears to have fetched $155 on eBay. (See pictures of Silvio Berlusconi and the politics of sex.)

In these austere times, not even the Blairs are immune to frugality. Despite owning seven homes—and despite the fact that her husband has pocketed an estimated $32 million since leaving office three years ago—Cherie is a keen bargain-hunter. This month alone she has logged on to eBay and nabbed 12 fruit knives ($71), a Magimix food processor ($346) and a digital bathroom scale ($2.60).