Within hours of the Columbia tragedy on Saturday, hundreds of collectibles
featuring the doomed space shuttle were placed for sale on eBay as prices
soared.
Columbia ripped apart on re-entry to the earth's atmosphere early Saturday,
killing the seven crew members and scattering debris across a large swath
of the southern United States. Almost immediately, the number and price of
Columbia collectibles on the Web's leading auction site began to surge.
A search for "Columbia shuttle" returned 1,011 items on eBay late Saturday,
with more than 900 being listed after the disaster stunned the nation
earlier in the day.
One item was described as "Columbia space shuttle debris" with a starting
price of $10,000. However, clicking on the link returned a page with the
message "invalid item," an indication it had been pulled by eBay or the
seller.
Meanwhile, prices on items listed for sale prior to the crash were soaring.
A belt buckle described as "very decorative" had jumped from an opening
price of $9.99 to $315 by late Saturday. Although the buckle was listed on
Jan. 26, all 16 bids were made Saturday, with the first being placed at
7:08 a.m. PST, about an hour after NASA lost contact with Columbia.
By comparison, an auction for a similar buckle ended on Jan. 24 without
drawing any bids.
Additionally, a one-ounce silver coin commemorating Columbia had been bid
up to $202.50 on Saturday. An apparently identical coin, listed by the same
seller, attracted no offers before its auction closed on Jan. 18. It had an
opening price of $9.75.
Other Columbia-related items fetching high prices Saturday on eBay included
a sheet of stickers, $168; a $5 commemorative coin, $1,951; a beer stein,
$185; a Christmas tree ornament, $41; a t-shirt, $46.51; and a patch, $30.
With one exception, all bids on these items were made Saturday.
How long Columbia prices remain lofty is an open question, however. Several
patches featuring the Challenger space shuttle that exploded on takeoff in
1986, were fetching less than $10 on Saturday.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-983033.html?tag=fd_top
