The first item to sell during Gravity Lounge’s public auction on Sunday was the circular sign that hung above the music venue’s door. A "piece of memorabilia," the auctioneer called the sign, then asked for an opening bid of $50. Cue the crickets.
That all-important first bid in an auction can set the pace for the entire event; for the Gravity Lounge sign, the auctioneer dropped the bid well below $50 before he steadily built bids up to a $65 sale. (A second Gravity sign, which stood at the corner of First Street on the Downtown Mall, sold for $75.) Of course, the wares themselves also drive prices, and the Gravity Lounge auction offered more than memorabilia.
Take, for example, a few of the "box lots," goodie bags of miscellany assembled along the room’s right wall. Lot 154? A blue cart filled with unopened packs of Caring Psychic Family cards. Lot 157? Boxes bearing the name and face of a creature named "Muffy Vander Bear." More than a dozen coffee carafes [Lot 90] awaited their turn on the other side of the room while a plaster head of President John F. Kennedy sold for $5. Watch the slideshow below for scenes from the auction:
Watch a slideshow of photos from the Gravity Lounge auction.
