Markets in everything

I find most of the installments in this series sad:

…the 3 tablespoons of water said to have been touched by The King at a 1977 concert…recently sold on eBay for $455. Then, someone else paid thousands for a "guest appearance" by the cup that held the water from which Elvis sipped nearly 30 years ago.

In recent years, someone paid nearly $1,500 for a billiard ball from Elvis’ pool table. A hanging macramé plant holder from Graceland, complete with a plastic fern, went for $633. And someone else paid $748 for a tree limb that "mysteriously" broke off and fell to the ground during Presley’s funeral at Graceland in 1977.

We all know that Elvis’ fans can be wacky, and Elvis himself has pride of place in the dead-celebrities pantheon. But does that explain the excitement surrounding the Feb. 15-17 tag sale of ordinary household items that belonged to the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? (Related story: Nothing too icky to sell)

Sotheby’s expects to raise at least $1 million auctioning such things as her glass jars, wicker baskets, duck decoys and dirty oven mitts. And some experts think that estimate is way low – that many items will go for 10 times the estimates. Spending big bucks on an authentic antique that once belonged to the Kennedys is one thing, but spending hundreds of dollars for a couple of Jackie’s Mason jars?

"There are a lot of bored and lonely people out there, and this would be their one little thing they can say was once part of a Kennedy estate," says Lynn Dralle, author of The 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay.

Here is the story.  And how about this one?

Justin Timberlake…made an appearance on a New York radio station and failed to finish the French toast he was served. The partially eaten toast sold on eBay for more than $3,100.