Yes you either just think it’s worth paying $56,000 for for what you get from having it. Or you think in a few years time someone will pay $100,000 for it. Actually it’s more than $56,000. There’s a 25% premium charged by the auction site. So you’re up for $70,000.
I’ve been following the auction on the website. It was supposed to close at 9:15 Friday evening US eastern time. But it’s still going as any bid placed on any of the hundreds of lots in the last 15 minutes resets the end of the entire auction time back to 15 minutes. It might take days to finish.
It’s interesting to see what is bid on and what isn’t. Some minimum bids and expectations just seem way to high. They want $200,000 minimum for one of the old Abbey road recording units. I mean, that would be cool, but not for that price. They must hope a museum will buy it.
There’s a White Album and Abbey Road signed by all four Beatles. Both had price expectations of $150,000 to $200,000. Which seems crazy to me. And clearly to everyone else. Neither have come near that although the White Album is up to $71,000. Abbey Road is languishing comparatively at $39,000.
I’m not sure what happens to items that aren’t bid on or don’t meet the reserve price. Perhaps the owners just withdraw it or maybe hold it over to the next auction.
There’s more than just Beatle stuff. Kiss have the most items of a single act in the auction. One of the highest bids is on Bob Dylan’s signed handwritten lyrics to Just Like a Woman. These are up to $91,000. I was actually slightly tempted by a very cool poster from a Dylan Baez concert in 1965. It’s something I’d probably pay a couple of hundred dollars for. Not US$900 which is the minimum bid.
So an interesting intro into the world of memorabilia auctions for me. I think I’ll stick to listening to the music and reading books.
