An independent researcher who was contacted about identifying shells sold on eBay discovered that the shells he was being asked to identify were a previously unknown species.
Sounds cool, but the story turns out to have a dark side. Simon Coppard of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in London told New Scientist,
We think they must come from illegal trawling. Unfortunately, the only use the bright colors [of the shells] seem to have is to make them very desirable to collectors.
Source:
New species of sea urchin found in eBay auctions. New Scientist, August 19, 2006.