Buyer Refuses To Pay For $15,400 'Runaway Bride' Toast
 

Buyer Refuses To Pay For $15,400 'Runaway Bride' Toast

POSTED: 9:07 am EDT May 9, 2005
UPDATED: 9:23 am EDT May 9, 2005

STILLWATER, N.J. -- A man who auctioned off a slice of toast carved with his drawing of the runaway bride feels burned because the winning bidder has refused to pay for the item.

Perry Lonzello, 48, of Stillwater, used a piece of toasted Wonder Bread as the canvas for his rudimentary portrait of Georgia bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks, and posted it at the online auction site eBay on a whim.

The auction debuted with a bid of $1.11 on May 1, but that amount grew quickly after the item drew national attention. And when the auction ended Sunday, Lonzello said a California man had submitted the winning bid of $15,400.

Lonzello -- who has said he planned to donate money from the auction to charity -- was prepared to hand over the toast on national television Monday, only to learn that the buyer had a change of heart.

"The purchaser reneged on the sale," Lonzello told The Star-Ledger of Newark, adding that the man was no longer returning his calls. "He said he was goofing around. I think some legal action will be coming out of this."