Christies underestimates Trekkies

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Auctioneers expected to bring in about 3 million - instead they brought in 7.1, the model of the Enterprise D went for $576,000

 

cnn

[Takara_Soong 4]

The History Channel ran the auction live and is now streaming the coverage on their website if anyone wants to see it.

 

From st.com:

Have you been watching the auction out of New York? Pretty crazy, huh? Already the Enterprise-E has sold for $110,000 (not counting the 20% auction house commission), more than 10 times its pre-sale estimate of $8,000 - $12,000. Another model from "Star Trek: First Contact," a 30-square-inch Borg Cube, sold yesterday for $80,000 — bidding started at $32K — when it was expected to snatch between $1,000 and $1,500!

 

Earlier today, Deep Space Nine — the space station — also took in about $110,000 against a high estimate of $12,000. And Picard's Ressikan flute from "The Inner Light," estimated at $800 - $1200, started with an opening bid of $13,000 and ultimately pulled down $40,000. Whew!

 

"The energy was definitely beyond what I expected" on Thursday, said Cathy Elkies, Christie's director of special collections, in a Reuters report.

 

And the best stuff is yet to come! On Saturday, the third and final day of the auction, we'll see what some of the biggest-ticket items will pull in — movie costumes worn by the original cast, captain's chairs, bridge set pieces, the refitted Enterprise model used in six movies, and the Enterprise-D from Next Generation. That latter item has the highest estimate of the 1000 lots: $25,000 - $35,000 ... but the way things are going — unless all the bidders totally run out of money — that thing could easily warp into high six figures.

 

There will be further reports at st.com as well.

[stvoyagerfan 1]

i can't believe how much stuff was going for. i wonder how many people are mortgaging their house? i'm also curious on how many of the famous trekkies bid on stuff? wish i had that kind of money to own a piece of trek.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

so, who gets the money? Christie's? Paramount?

[Odie 0]

Both. Christies does not do auctions for free. They might get 10% of the from the winning bids.

Edited October 11, 2006 by Odie

[Takara_Soong 4]

Both. Christies does not do auctions for free.

So true. A service fee is added to the winning bid to pay Christie's fee.

[Validus 0]

I think it's a shame that Paramount couldn't have simply donated that stuff to the Science Fiction Museum. :P

[trekz 7]

I think it's a shame that Paramount couldn't have simply donated that stuff to the Science Fiction Museum. :(

Paramount do something nice for the fans for free? :P :P

 

Paramount could have looked at this in a historical way, but Nnnnnooooo! :P

 

Paramount only recognizes Star Trek fans imo as a cash cow to be milked when THEY need to. :P

 

 

However, perhaps a few things were purchased by the museum, or by fans that might eventually donate part of their collection to the Science Fiction Museum or even the Smithsonian. :)