Firsthand Account of the Christie's Star Trek Auction 151
DustCollector writes to mention a Scientific American blog post about the highly successful Star Trek auction at Christie's on Thursday. The props, from many different shows, went for far more than was estimated. From the article: "The auction board flickered in perpetual motion as dollars changed along with the equivalent in euros, British pounds, Hong Kong dollars and Japanese yen (what, no quatloos?). Picard's Enterprise-E captain's chair, estimated to sell for $7,000-$8,000, went for $52,000. Two prop wine bottles of 'Chateau Picard,' estimated to go for $500 to $700, sold for $5,500. 'That's probably a record for empty wine bottles,' the auctioneer quipped. The sale prices so exceeded the estimated price that absentee bidders--those who place a maximum and hope for the best--hardly stood a chance: I counted only two successful absentee bids in the first 124 lots."
Re:Picard's Flute (Score:5, Informative)
FTA (Score:5, Informative)
-Borg alcove: $8,000 ($700)
-Borg mannequin: $9,000 ($800)
-Worf's Klingon baldric sash: $3,200 ($300)
-Six Romulan Senate chairs: $1,900 ($800)
-Type 2 phaser from Star Trek: Nemesis: $3,200 ($1,200)
-17-inch tall latex-foam statue of Zephraim Cochrane: $5,500 ($500)
-Captain Picard's black-and-grey uniform: $15,000 ($8,000)
-Borg cube model, 30 inches across (the small one): $80,000 ($1,500)
-Enterprise-E model: $110,000 ($12,000)
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i got a picture i drew when i was a kid of the enterprise, i've priced it at $3 for cost of supplies, its coloured in pen to! taking bids
Re:Authenticate it! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Complete listing (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LotSumm
Final Prices
http://www.christies.com/auction/results/results_
Thousands of lots, have fun!
Re:FTA (Score:3, Informative)
<geek_mode>
From the Star Trek The Next Generation Companion, the First Contact movie used minatures for most of the space scenes, including a 10 foot model of the Enterprise-E. I'm assuming this was the one sold here. Part of the saucer section was also built in minature for the crash sequence in Nemesis.
</geek_mode>
(Yes, I am moved out of my parents' basement.)
Re:Picard's Flute (Score:5, Informative)
It actually went for $48,000. And at least to me that 8k matters.
PICARD'S RESSIKAN FLUTE - Lot 537
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETA
Lot Results
http://www.christies.com/auction/results/results_
Re:Picard's Flute (Score:2, Informative)
Re:FTA (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Funding (Score:1, Informative)
http://tinyurl.com/p44l9 [tinyurl.com]
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:RtvA1N2r6sgJ
Re:Estimates are bogus. (Score:3, Informative)
This is ridiculous. Please try to use some common sense. Have you ever worked in an auction house? The Christie's premium name to sellers/estates has to do with 2 things: The amount of money (people) they can bring to bid to an auction and the ACCURACY of their estimates. If an auction house tried to routinely lowball their estimates to generate interest, it would destroy any credibility they might have and it would have the exact opposite effect: People, unable to know whether or not estimates were legitimate or not, would not bid on items. Also, encouraging bidders to "step up to the plate" as you put it is the job of the auctioneer, who sets the opening bid, not the appraisers. Most items have a reserve price set by the seller, separate from the estimate put out by the appraisers, thus ensuring their independence and (when they get it right) their accuracy.
The Star Trek auction generated far more interest than the company expected. I went to Christie's before the auction and looked at all the items, and it is easy to see how they set the estimates where they did. Most of the stuff had very obviously been sitting unattended in a warehouse for an extended period of time, and Star Trek has been on the decline (in terms of viewership) for a while now. How would they know that the 40th anniversary sale would reawaken the inner geek in so many people with so much disposable income?