From used towels to chewed gum celebrity memorabilia has come a long way from autographed pieces of paper to original movie posters
From used towels to chewed gum celebrity memorabilia has come a long way from autographed pieces of paper to original movie posters
Less than a decade ago, the only memorabilia that collectors could lay their hands on in the country were film posters, photographs and lithographs featuring an Amitabh Bachchan, a Madhubala or a Meena Kumari.
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Today, fans can choose from a towel used by Salman Khan to gloves worn by Olympic Gold medalist Vijender Singh.
"There is a thirst for unconventional stuff. Fans want to own every possible piece of their idols, " says Ramona Sood, director, www.cafedreams.com, a website specialising in celebrity memorabilia.
Though, "celeb pieces" don't come cheap. Vijender's gloves sold for an impressive Rs 17,800, while Salman's towel was reportedly auctioned for a whopping Rs 1 lakh.
While die-hard collectors continue to keep hunting for that rare poster or the odd vintage celebrity photograph, new-age collectors would rather shell out mega bucks for more personalised memorabilia.
All for a cause?
Southern superstar Rajnikanth's blue kurta from Chandramukhi sold for Rs 5 lakh to a fan from Japan, while closer home Bipasha Basu's trainers sold for a goggle-worthy sum.
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Has the time then for celebrity fetishes to be revealed finally come? Deepa Thomas, senior manager, Pop culture, Ebay India, disagrees.
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"A large chunk of these items are bought and re-sold primarily for charity," says Deepa.
So, collecting smelly socks or the discarded celeb-chewed gum is less about hero-worship than it is about raking in the moolah for a good cause, evident by the fact that almost 30% of bidders are usually either NRIs or foreigners.
Case in point: at a recent auction, the bats used by IPL players fetched between Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000 each.
"If these bats found their way into an auction abroad, say Dubai or England, they could fetch around Rs 20,000 each," speculates Anil Verma, an avid collector of celeb memorabilia.
Closer to the stars
However, die-hard Bollywood fans seem to have found a wider peephole to peer into the life of their idols.
Not only can they amass trinkets from their stars, but they can eat, exercise, and even go biking with them as fans of John Abraham did.
Sanjay Dutt fans had the option of sweating it out in the gym with him, while fans of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan could sip tea with the star.
If you have the moolah, the sky's the limit with a three-hour cricket coaching session, plus lunch and a photo opportunity with Sachin Tendulkar being auctioned for Rs 12 lakhs.
Money to be made
While celebrities might be donating their stuff free to aid an NGO or other charitable organisations, small screen stars are selling their stuff online for different reasons.
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TV actor Sachin Sharma decided to help his famous friends during the recession by starting sbuy.in, a website which helps celebs sell mobile phones, cars, furniture, clothing, accessories and just about anything else.
When asked about his motivations behind starting the site, Sachin claims it was purely a business decision.
"There is a huge demand for celebrity-related stuff, which is why we thought of tapping that market," he says.
"Today, one can possess stuff, which one wouldn't have even dreamt of before," says artist and curator Sangeeta Malhotra, who recently bought a bat autographed by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
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"I have been flooded with offers to resell it, but a bat with Sachin's autograph is too personal to me to part with."
The Weird and Wonderful
Our list of some of the most bizarre items being auctioned online:
Loving dog soul
Feeling lonely? Buy a dog soul to accompany you on your evening walks in the after life.
Telepathic Psychic Advertisement
Need to win some business? A psychic has put his mind up for sale, claiming he'll help win customers for your business through his telepathic psychic ads.
World's luckiest socks
Feel you could do with some luck? The seller cracked her job interview, dodged a parking ticket and found her lost dog waiting for her at home wearing the "lucky" socks.
Alibi for a fee
Stuck between a rock and a hard place? Get yourself an alibi. Buy the services of someone who will provide you with a defence to bail you out of sticky situations.
Almost Famous
'N Sync fan Kathy Summers, 19, paid $1,025 (Rs 46,441 approx.) for two slices of singed French Toast left behind when Justin Timberlake finished an interview.
A cough drop California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reputedly sucked on, then tossed into a bin, was put up for auction on eBay.
It was quickly taken down after eBay decided it fell into the category of "body parts", which is allegedly against the site's policy.
Chewing gum that Britney Spears allegedly spat in a foyer of a London hotel was auctioned on eBay.
The auction's description touted the gum as containing lots of the pop star's DNA. It was allegedly taken off the site because of legal concerns.
A half-eaten egg salad sandwich, a corn dog, tissues, cigarette butts, and a bar of soap are other items allegedly used or eaten by the pop star that have gone on sale.
Andre Agassi's ponytail, once a necessary extension of the legendary tennis player, was eventually chopped off in what can only be described as a rite of passage of sorts.
A Las Vegas sports caf ufffd reportedly paid thousands of dollars for the ponytail, which now sits in a glass vault for sports fans and curious tourists to peer at.
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