The warm and fuzzy one, not the end of civilization as we know it. For the third year in a row, a whole gaggle of artists have donated original art for a silent auction to benefit domestic violence shelters and a crisis line in Portland, OR and Fleminton, NJ. One (prolific and admittedly talented) guy's obsession turned to good. [more inside]
posted by yiftach on Oct 20, 2008 - 5 comments

"What would you say if I told you that I filled my entire living room with completely original works of art for less than $300?" Andrea Dickson from Wise Bread has found an unlikely -- though, the more you think about it, almost obvious -- place to find original art from new artists: Ebay. If you can filter through the crapload of "artistic nudes", there are plenty of gems, and usually at buyers' market prices. And, as Andrea's mother mused, when it comes to decorating the house, it beats buying mass-produced art from Costco, which is about as original as a Big Mac.
posted by chakalakasp on Oct 1, 2008 - 35 comments

An online auction site called Swoopo, once called TeleBid, has hit upon an ingenious way to make money. They are an auction site not entirely unlike Ebay - but using a different auction scheme. Where EBay uses a slightly modified Vickrey auction system, Swoopo uses an auction system based on the "Dollar Auction" game - with interesting results. [more inside]
posted by Zarkonnen on Oct 1, 2008 - 31 comments

Surely one of the most memorable musician photos ever is this one: Johnny Cash, making his feelings known with customary aplomb. But did you ever notice he was wearing a jumpsuit in that photo, and not his more standard black shirt/trousers ensemble? Well, that very jumpsuit just went for a handsome $120,000 at auction. Someone else just paid $300,000 for one of Elvis' peacock-emblazoned jumpsuits. And remember that little necklace John Lennon wore on the cover of Two Virgins? Yep, the only thing he wore. Fetched a cool $528,000. Meanwhile, in Japan, a bunch of grapes just went for $910. What a bargain! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 11, 2008 - 21 comments

Coming in at just under $860,000, the take for the recently auctioned estate of James Brown fell well short of the two million that Christie's had hoped for. You'll want to browse the collection for yourself, of course. If I had the extra scratch, I'd have sure bought this.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 19, 2008 - 21 comments

BestFriendsAgain.com The Best Friends Again program, sponsored by BioArts International, is a limited commercial dog cloning program. BioArts is the only entity in the world with both the know-how and the legal right to practice commercial dog and cat cloning. We are auctioning off 5 dog cloning service slots to the general public. We may or may not perform any additional commercial dog cloning services after this auction.
posted by psmealey on May 22, 2008 - 53 comments

You talked to her father, prepared a YouTube worthy proposal, gathered all your courage.... and she said no. How will your life go on? And what are you going to do with the ring? Enter I Do... Now I Don't, an auction site that caters to broken-hearted lovers such as you. Started by a fellow who has been there. Buy if you dare. Via
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Feb 26, 2008 - 19 comments

Do you love music? Do you have at least 3 million dollars? If you answered "yes" to these questions then you may be interested in bidding on "The World's Greatest Music Collection." (single link to ebay auction)
posted by anathema on Feb 18, 2008 - 44 comments

Invest wisely. End poverty.
posted by gman on Oct 25, 2007 - 30 comments

The Facebook Apps Top 30. Opening their source code to application developers, facebook won a strategic gamble. Now, these developers are making their own deals. The I am Hungry application went for just over $20,000, or around 13 cents for data of every user who signed up. But don't worry, you have a chance to bid for yourself.
posted by parmanparman on Oct 9, 2007 - 36 comments

Man buys Allsop, relists it as Allsopp - proving that on eBay, presentation is everything. via b3ta
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Aug 31, 2007 - 38 comments

The A.K. Miller Auction "This is one of those stories that begins at the end. This was the end of A.K. Miller’s Stutz collection." Miller was a reclusive eccentric living on a ramshackle farm in Vermont. When he and his wife died, his estate was prepared for a tax sale. Sheriffs found a treasure trove of old cars, some wrapped in burlap to avoid prying eyes, stashed in a collection of dilapidated outbuildings. The auction (pdf) was eventually handled by Christie's and netted over two million dollars. [via]
posted by jessamyn on Aug 11, 2007 - 13 comments

The Most Curatorial Biennial of the Universe has nearly 450 local, national and international artists and curators (pdf) participating. Individuals place bids on the works of art in increments of $10. Online art auction to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation of NYC.
posted by RMD on Jul 14, 2007 - 3 comments

Humraz is an auction site with a twist. Pay to bid, then once enough fees have been received, the lowest unmatched bid wins. Shall we play for £500? Or a house?
posted by imperium on Jun 20, 2007 - 21 comments

Pinning down the elusive Banksy. "The art world is the biggest joke going," he has said. "It’s a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak." Yet the stencilist/graffiti writer's pieces regularly sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds at places like Sotheby's--not bad for a man who still remains cloaked in complete anonymity. The New Yorker gets a rare e-mail interview. [Previously: 1, 2, 3]
posted by dead_ on May 15, 2007 - 33 comments

Peter Doig's White Canoe just sold at auction for £5.7M making it the most expensive work by a living European painter. Gallery 1, 2.
posted by johnny novak on Feb 15, 2007 - 39 comments

Charity-by-Numbers. Re-Paint-By-Number. Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles is holding an exhibition & charity auction for The Alliance for Childrens Rights. The show features old paint-by-numbers art work that has been altered by many contemporary artists. You can find Before and After images of all the artwork in their ebay listings as well as many on the gallery's site. (Sorry, no direct link to the embedded feature.) Many larger views are on the Juxtapoz blog. Some are subtle, while others bury the original almost entirely.
posted by JBennett on Feb 14, 2007 - 1 comment

Whitney Houston is selling all her stuff. Now you can buy a portable sauna packed into two flight cases.
posted by tombola on Jan 2, 2007 - 70 comments

What you have purchased for less than the price of a cup of coffee is arguably one of the most important "lost" music recordings out there. Record collector Warren Hill paid 75 cents at a yard sale in Chelsea, New York for an acetate in a plain cardboard sleeve. After some research, Hill's friends confirmed that the acetate disc, recorded by sound engineer Norman Dolph (who also wrote Reunion's "Life Is A Rock But The Radio Rolled Me"), was the third recording ever made by the Velvet Underground and the first album they ever did. A demo rejected by Columbia Records, the acetate is now up for auction on EBay, where the high bid is $124,640.50 and climbing, already breaking records as the most expensive LP ever sold at auction. (Bonus: see a post from a teenage eyewitness to the VU's 1966 session that produced this acetate.)
posted by jonp72 on Dec 5, 2006 - 32 comments

Starfleet surplus rummage sale! Bargains, bargains, bargains! Own Captain Picard's desk! Power your starship with dilithium crystals straight from Rura Penthe! Build your own Borg! Everything must go!
posted by Faint of Butt on Sep 28, 2006 - 38 comments

The Tuna Court: Law and Norms in the World's Premier Fish Market. [more inside]
posted by monju_bosatsu on Jun 2, 2006 - 20 comments

New Zealand's monopoly Pay TV service went dark for about 14 hours last night. The Sky TV outage was apparently due to an error positioning a satellite, but not helped by the fact that said satellite is running on a backup processor and is years out of its regular service life. One enterprising viewer is taking things into his own hands.
posted by pivotal on Mar 30, 2006 - 29 comments

eBay hilarity: "THIS VEHICLE HAS COME TO US VIA AN INSURANCE COMPANY, IT HAS TRAVELLED 32,000 MILES AND IS ONE NOT VERY HAPPY OWNER FROM NEW. MUST TELL STORY:" (via)
posted by NekulturnY on Feb 18, 2006 - 40 comments

The world's most expensive photocopy. An untitled cowboy photograph by Richard Prince set a record last night for the most expensive photograph sold at auction, with a price of $1,248,000. The catch? It's a re-photograph of pre-existing Marlboro ad.
posted by Robot Johnny on Nov 10, 2005 - 62 comments

Up for auction is Vincent Gallo's sperm.
posted by radiosig on Oct 31, 2005 - 22 comments

Own a piece of national tragedy. Rehnquist's original signed decision on the 2000 election recount, throwing the country over to the loser of the popular vote (and, quite possibly, the loser of the electoral college) is up for auction.
posted by jonson on Sep 10, 2005 - 39 comments

Buy the (new) Pope's (old) Mobile
I used Babelfish to translate it (Google's translation apparently doesn't work on eBay).
Only 1.7 million pageviews so far.
posted by fenriq on Apr 29, 2005 - 8 comments

This monkey business has finally gone too far [warning: cackling].
posted by thedevildancedlightly on Apr 13, 2005 - 17 comments

Saving the world, one stapler at a time. Now you can buy a stapler (signed by an uber-celeb) and be a philanthrophic soul at the same time! If only they had a red Swingline signed by Milton, my life would be complete. But why would anybody want this one signed by Paris Hilton? God knows where it's been!
posted by drew on Dec 2, 2004 - 14 comments

Want to buy an original David Hockney for only £35? Does Damien Hirst better suit your tastes? Make a visit to the Royal College of Art Secret Challenge sometime between November 19th and 25th to see if you have the eye for it!
posted by ScottUltra on Nov 18, 2004 - 5 comments

A tour with WotC, a session to play D&D with them. Lifetime subscription to Steam. Ok, some items are better than others. But for Child's Play, the folks at PA are pulling one heckuva dream auction for geeks. More auction items are detailed, go to the the second news post.
posted by eurasian on Nov 18, 2004 - 6 comments

You can buy a pair of invitations to a wedding I don't want to go to
posted by iffley on Oct 20, 2004 - 18 comments

For Sale: Slightly Used, Amazingly Versatile 7-Letter Kit. (Letters included: L-I-N-D-O-W-S) Warning: Improper placement of W may result in lawsuits.
posted by Mwongozi on Sep 27, 2004 - 11 comments

Fart in a jar. Don't worry there are a few varieties to choose from. Even Butternut Chicken. Will anyone buy these?
posted by trbrts on Mar 18, 2004 - 9 comments

There's Gold in Them Thar PCs. If you're worried about the growing problem of e-waste, if you don't want to ship your toxins overseas, you now have another option. You can recover heavy metals (precious and otherwise) in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Just make sure you leave a window open so you have some fresh air.
posted by alms on Mar 16, 2004 - 8 comments

Psst...wanna buy a record label? The Beastie Boys' defunct Grand Royal record label (former home of Luscious Jackson, Atari Teenage Riot, Ben Lee, Sean Lennon, Bis, Buffalo Daughter and Money Mark) is on the auction block. The successful bidder walks away with various master recordings, license agreements, recording agreements and miscellaneous contracts.
posted by boost ventilator on Jan 13, 2004 - 20 comments

Saddest auction ever: "You are bidding on my collection of fast food restaurant condiments that I have collected over the past year at my job."
posted by 40 Watt on Jan 11, 2004 - 27 comments

Farnsworth house saved! Friday's auction resulted in a successful campaign to save the Farnsworth house. While Miguel will not be able to live there, we can all at least visit.
posted by Dick Paris on Dec 15, 2003 - 11 comments

Crap on wheels... that's Robbie Williams. He has a bit of a history with (ahem) lavatory 'situations'...
posted by apocalypse miaow on Aug 2, 2003 - 12 comments

When the Fifth Avenue Grocery in Roundup, Montana closed it's doors, it really closed them. Everything was left inside, as it was, until last year. Now the doors are open and everything's going up for auction tomorrow.
posted by kayjay on Apr 29, 2003 - 13 comments

An auction of books, paintings, and sculpture from the estate of seminal surrealist Andre Breton began today at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Some estimates place the value of the collection at over US$30 million. At lot of art lovers from all over the world don't think this is a very good idea.
posted by MrBaliHai on Apr 1, 2003 - 4 comments

From a theft at the U.S. Mint to a scam artist in Philly, from a playboy Egyptian king to a Secret Service sting at the Waldorf-Astoria, ending up at a record-breaking $7.59 million auction: the fascinating history of a coin. (via BoingBoing)
posted by Vidiot on Mar 8, 2003 - 10 comments

State of California sells confiscated items on eBay. Actually, it's not just items confiscated at airports -- it's any kind of surplus the state wants to get rid of. See the complete list here. (Apparently they unload some at Goodwill, too.) (SFGate link via ObscureStore)
posted by Vidiot on Mar 2, 2003 - 12 comments

Personal history for sale! Further evidence that the line between the physical and internet worlds are melting. What aspect of our lives are not for sale?
posted by Birichini on Feb 18, 2003 - 20 comments

Car Buffs Rejoice! Bid on the cars from the upcoming Fast and the Furious 2 (side note on this movie - how far has John Singleton sunk to agree to direct this sequel?). BTW, I got dibs on the Acrua NSX... are there still people out there that can't use a spell-checker?
posted by adamms222 on Jan 1, 2003 - 9 comments

Budget cuts threatening your college athletic team? No problem. Raise $210,000 on eBay.
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy on Dec 4, 2002 - 7 comments

We all knew the day would come, the time to put the "you" in P2P: Buy your own piece of Napster at their bankruptcy auction. December 11th, live and webcast, their impressive set of top o' the line (for 2001) equipment is up for grabs.
posted by mathowie on Nov 19, 2002 - 9 comments

Breast Cast Art. (NSFW? I don't know, your call.) Modart's Keep a Breast 2002 is currently auctioning off these artistic busts to benefit The Breast Cancer Fund.
posted by Stan Chin on Nov 8, 2002 - 15 comments

Need some office equipment? Maybe you'll want to check out the 8863 items from Arthur Andersen being auctioned off, starting tomorrow. Lots of printers, monitors, servers, apparently not much cable management, but no shredders that I've seen yet. Then again, I haven't looked through the 6 meg Excel spreadsheet of all items either. Just the ticket, in case you need 18 floors(600,000 square feet) worth of furniture and equipment. A cold, hard footnote to a pathetic and shameful story of integrity squandered.
posted by dglynn on Sep 30, 2002 - 16 comments

A Scranton, PA man is auctioning 250,000 pieces of software mostly games from the 80s and early 90s composed of around 20,000 unique titles (2MB Excel Spreadsheet) for $250,000. He says its the worlds biggest collection and many games are rare and in demand. You will need trucks and warehouse. If anyone can afford to sit on these for a few decades untill the 80s generation gets old and nostalgic it could be the Schoyen of early computer gameing software.
posted by stbalbach on Sep 8, 2002 - 16 comments