Slopfest #69 · 1995 · Vienna
A Collector of Broken Laser Pointers
The first eBay sale was a broken laser pointer. The buyer said he collected them. Our kind of market.
Museum status: Pending acquisition by a museum of modern art. Pending since the day it was made.
- Venue
- Naschmarkt, the Saturday flea market
- Attendance
- 10,400
- Also spotted
- A cardboard Alicia Silverstone in her Clueless outfit, holding the guest list. As if.
- Fun fact
- 212 lots, 212 broken, 212 sold
What happened
The festival held its first auction, of broken items only. A projector that no longer projected went for 800 schillings. A man paid 1,400 for the red lamp from Slopfest 1960, now broken, explaining that he collected broken laser pointers. He has come every year since, always bids on the Blechkopf, always wins, and always gives it back.
Elsewhere in 1995
Pierre Omidyar's AuctionWeb, later eBay, makes its first sale: a broken laser pointer, for $14.83.
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