I registered just to ask this, it’s been killing me.
What is the benefit of buying someone’s soul? I mean, the devil’s reason seems to be obvious, but when you hear stories, like the person on ebay who tried to sell his soul, you gotta wonder why someone would take up the offer?
Is an extra soul supposed to work as a “get out of jail free” card for hell? Maybe the seller becomes your heavenly butler?
I’d have to say the people who buy souls basically do it so they can say “Yeah I own so and so’s soul. It’s pretty neat and it really matches my sofa.”
Yeah…it’s ugly, with food stains…
They could make it a side business. You know, they could become a Soul Man.
Yeah. Ok, that one was harsh. 
You must not be a big fan of The Simpsons.
The same reason you’d recarve the Lincoln Memorial statue in your own image after taking over the world.
To prove that you could, and to demonstrate how awesome you are. To the universe.
Also, for cheap yuks.
I can only speak for myself but the reason I do it is so I can have sex with pretty women who otherwise would have nothing to do with me. YMMV.
Since buying someone’s soul is NOT ACTUALLY REAL, there IS no factual answer to the OP, and it belongs somewhere else rather than General Questions.
Moved to IMHO.
samclem Moderator, General Questions
That’s a weird coincidence - me too! I only do it so that sailor can have sex with pretty women who otherwise would have nothing to do with him.
If Hemant Mehta is the seller in question it should be noted that he didn’t actually auction his soul.
His proposal stated that for each $10 of the successful bid he would attend one hour of church service. The final bid was $504. The buyer, a Mr. Jim Henderson from Seattle, subsequently renegotiated the deal such that Mehta was then required to attend 10-15 services of Henderson’s choosing and then write about it for his (Henderson’s) website. In this case, therefore, the buyer paid $504 and got himself a sermon critic. The cash was donated back to a student alliance group run by Mehta himself.
Link.
If there are cites available for the other stories you have heard it would be fascinating to read them.
The answer is obvious : to sell it to the Devil instead of your own. That way, you get the whole riches, fame, sex and mean guitar playing deal without the downer eternity in Hell afterwards.
Although I imagine St. Peter would still frown on your candidacy for heaven on account of playing the system. No one likes a smart aleck.
With respect, people can and do contract to purchase the souls of other people, and an inquiry as to the motivation behind such transactions does have a factual answer.
What? Do you have an example of this because I’m in serious :dubious: mode after reading that.
Does having two souls make my ass look fat ?
Even if you were asking “Why do people buy coffee?” or some other mundane product, there still wouldn’t be a factual answer. People’s motivations are as varied as people themselves. Sounds like a matter of opinion to me.
in that case, i guess i should reword the question to: “what purpose would an extra soul serve?”
Back in high school, a few friends and I were talking about the topic of soul-selling. Said one friend, “If you had to make a deal with the Devil, what would you ask for in exchange for your immortal soul?” Came the reply, “His.”.
Lucifer has a great speech in the Sandman story Season Of Mists, when he abdicates and leaves hell, throwing everyone out and locking the gates behind him:
“They talk of me going around and buying souls, like a fishwife come market day, never stoppping to ask themselves why. I need no souls. And how can anyone own a soul? No. They belong to themselves…they just hate to have to face up to it.”
- Bartering with the devil
- Satisfaction of owning a soul
- Ability to manipulate a person who fears you can hurt their soul
- Just plain awesome
Souls are ingredients in certain kinds of magical rituals.
Also, if you’re being chased by certain kinds of monsters, you can just release a captive soul, and the monsters might veer off to chase it, giving you a chance to escape.
Here… Breathe deeply into this turtle-shell… (Anybody else remember Cusick the Tuscarora?)