Fancy owning a pair of size 8 Marc Jacobs pinstripe trousers once worn by Courtney Love? Sure, as rock n'roll artifacts go, it's hardly up there with John Lennon's piano, but at $99 at least it won't break the bank.

Recent pictures of Love have revealed her newly emaciated figure ("No lipo, no gastric, no tummy tuck - I can't believe how cynical people are," she protested in a recent interview). Now the 42-year old is proudly auctioning off her older, baggier clothes on eBay, with proceeds going to charity.

A noble gesture, certainly, but the recent phenomenon of celebrity tat finding its way onto internet auction sites is a dispiriting one. In February, Esther's Hair Studio, the LA salon where Britney Spears had her head shaved, set up a website to auction the singer's locks for $1 million. They'd originally tried to flog the hair on eBay, but moderators - whether out of sympathy for the troubled pop star, or basic respect for common decency - had refused to list it. Esther's also tried to sell the clippers they'd used, and the can of Red Bull Spears had been drinking at the time. Classy.

Back in 2002, Eminem's boyhood home appeared on eBay. It's owner, one Rowland Fraschetti, watched dumb-founded as bidding rocketed to $12 million - until over 300 fake bids were discounted. It eventually transpired that no-one was willing to pay more than $70,000 for the tiny, run-down property in Warren, Michigan.

Perhaps most shameful of all is the case of Rhett Hutchence, younger brother of deceased INXS frontman Michael, who used eBay to flog many of his famous sibling's personal items, including a letter written to then-girlfriend Kylie Minogue. "Michael wouldn't have minded at all," he breezily explained. His mother disagreed. When she learned of Rhett's actions she told reporters, "He's not my son anymore."

Meanwhile, items signed by celebrities are everywhere on eBay, a fact that has revolutionised the act of autograph hunting. It used to be the preserve of loyal fans, waiting patiently outside stage doors. These days, as James Morrison pointed out recently, most autograph hunters are shark-eyed professionals. "They are just vultures who want your autograph to sell it," said the singer-songwriter, dejectedly. "They don't even look at you when you sign for them."

Still, as long as obsessive fans exist, crappy rock merchandise will always be with us. One of the most forlorn items currently languishing on eBay is a Status Quo ballpoint pen, engraved with the legend, "Rocking All Over The Years". Bidding currently stands at £3.01.