Kiss Auction was Serious Bidness
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The
buzz moved through the eBay community like a tidal wave. KISS fans would
be able to have their very own pieces of KISStory from a
live/telephone/internet auction to be held by eBay’s own Butterfields on
June 24th and 25th in Hollywood, California. This
unprecendented auction was to feature more than 800 lots of legendary KISS memorabilia, including costumes, instruments,
tour gear, and one-of-a-kind items from the world's most outrageous rock
'n roll band.
Kiss
fans throughout the country had a chance to view the auction items at
special previews held in New Jersey, Chicago, San Francisco and Los
Angeles prior to the sale. Michael Schwartz of Butterfields says in the
auction catalog, “We are pleased to offer at auction artifacts, which
include costumes, guitars, drum sets, stage designs, contracts, lyrics,
sketches. Posters and many more items that have been preserved by Gene and
Paul, and which give us a chance to share a piece of KISS history beyond
our most vivid memories.” Wow, I couldn’t wait.
While
I was thinking about the upcoming auction in excitement, I thought to
myself – where do they keep all this stuff? Gene Simmons must have some
massive garage! Then while perusing the items one by one I realized that
he never throws anything away either. (Kind of like some of the eBayers we
know). If Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons kept all this stuff – including
ad proof and color keys – what must have the thrown away? Was it Gene
Simmons wife who couldn’t get her car in the garage one day who said,
“Gene, you just have to get rid of this crap. Buckets of blood and tons
of paper all over the garage – why don’t you have a garage sale.
Better yet, sell it all on ebay.” I guess he took her advice.
Once
at the auction, I gazed at the displays. The very costumes (in lifesize
mannequins worn by Demon, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman, and thought to
myself how great they would look in the entry of my house. Ya know,
greeting people as they came in. Yeah, right, I knew I not only didn’t
have the kind of money these babies would sell for, but I had a strong
doubt that my husband would also find these guys appropriate décor items.
I know he would have loved “the Axe.”
My
biggest concern, after attending many live auctions in the past, was how
would they handle internet bidding. Would the servers crash, would the
website lock up? How would the millions of KISS fans get the opportunity
to bid on these items? Well, it seems that the fans did not sign up to bid
in droves. There were only about 300 registered online bidders. After
speaking to some KISS fans, I found out that they didn’t register
because they thought the lots would be way too expensive.
Fans
logged on to the website to watch the bidding, and true to form, the
Auction Channel website crashed for about 2 hours. When the site finally
came up again, only registered bidders were allowed online to view the
action. So next time, when Butterfields has their Fall Rock Memorabilia
auction – featuring items from the Beatles, the Doors, Jefferson
Airplane (I want the white rabbit) – Register! Registering doesn’t
mean you have to bid, but it surely will get you carte blanche to watch
the action online.
The
crowd at the live auction were varied, the bidders were dressed in
everything from KISS t-shirts and jeans to sharp European business suits.
Cell phones abounded – checking and rechecking which items they would
bid on. Once the bidding began – the money flowed like wine. No item
seemed too small, too insignificant to sell for hundreds of dollars. You
could tell the big shots from the Hard Rock Café, (who are rumored to
have spent over $300, 000 at the auction) they subtly would raise their
paddles and boost that sale prices higher and higher.
It
was all quite civilized really. The auctioneer would announce the lot
number, and behind him on a large screen, a hazy slide image would appear.
Note – always have the auction catalog in front of you at an auction –
there’s no time at an auction as large as this, for the auctioneer or
the online server to drone on with all the miniscule features of the item
up for bid.
TIP:
Go to the previews if you can, if not, read every square inch of
description in the catalog. Several items went for way less than they were
worth – because the bidders didn’t read the descriptions – one being
a original typewritten submittal letter from Gene Simmons to a music
publishing company, with a hand written rejection note written on the
bottom margin. The item should have gone as high as $10,000 and it went
for $3,750. That was a great piece of KISStory – but someone wasn’t
reading the catalog.
The
lively bank of telephones for incoming bid was manned by Butterfields
personnel, taking bids from all over the world. Interestingly, many
bidders prefer to bid over the phone for high dollar items. The computer
bank was smaller but very busy with at least 25% of the $1.6 million
dollars in lots being sold to online bidders.
As
the auctioneer played to the live crowd, he or she had an LCD style screen
next to them that would alert them to incoming internet bids. The phone
bank would yell out their bidders offers – and the live crowd would
raise their paddle quietly. When
an item was won by a real fan, everyone in the crowd could see how pleased
they were. We all know how much fun bidding is, and to get items like
these you’ve got to feel great when you win.
The
entire thing was quite subdued as viewed from the outside – but the
excitement was so intense, that bidders had to leave the room for mental
health breaks. Hours would pass and you felt like you hadn’t been there
fifteen minutes. It was an amazing and very tiring experience.
I
hope more of your join me online for the next auction. After talking to
some online bidders, they felt the same excitement as if they had been
there in person. The rapid fire action gets a 10 for entertainment, and
besides, it’s your chance to get a piece of rock history.
AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS from Butterfields
· $189,500 paid for a set of four original KISS costumes on life-size mannequins from the 1996-97 Alive Worldwide Reunion tour (platform shoes included!) [lot # 1199, auction estimate $60,000/80,000]
· $145,500 paid for the complete set of four original KISS costumes on life-size mannequins from the 1998-99 Psycho Circus tour. Currently on a museum tour, these costumes have been included within New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art's Rock Style exhibition [lot # 1441A, auction estimate $100,000/145,000]
· $32,200 paid for the complete original Gene Simmons KISS costume worn on the Psycho Circus tour in 1999 consisting of a black leotard, silver spike upper body armor, studded codpiece and seven inch silver and black leather "dragon" platform boots [lot #1004, auction estimate $8,000/12,000]
· $21,850 paid for an original Gene Simmons custom design Spector electric bass finished in a silver and black pyramid design used originally in the Love Gun/Alive II tours [lot 1126, auction estimate $5,000/7,000]
· $17,250 paid for a Gene Simmons bass used on various tours during the 1980s which features Simmons' face (tongue extension greatly exaggerated) in full makeup and the image of a naked woman on the headstock [lot # 1130, auction estimate $5,000/7,000]
· $16,100 paid for the prototype Gene Simmons axe-form electric bass guitar with Gene's signature and handwritten design revisions [lot 1128, auction estimate $5,000/7,000]
·
$13,800 paid for an original set of three oil on canvas
album cover paintings depicting comic book style caricatures of the KISS
band members by Victor Stabin [lot 1025, auction estimate
$5,000/7,500]
·
$86,250 paid for a set of four original KISS costumes on
life-size mannequins from the 1977-78 Love Gun/KISS ALIVE II tour
depicting Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in full
KISS makeup and complete costumes [lot # 1741, auction estimate
$75,000/125,000]
· $40,250 paid for an original Gene Simmons KISS axe-form guitar used on the Creatures of The Night Tour, 1983. Case included [lot #1564, auction estimate $5,000/7,000]
· $34,500 paid for an original Paul Stanley "star" guitar from the Unmasked/European/Australian Tour era, 1980; comes with original black hardshell case [lot 1610, auction estimate $5,000/7,000]
· $25,875 paid for an original KISS painting of the Love Gun album cover by K.W. Kelly. Also included is a black wood heavy-duty display stand [lot # 1727, auction estimate $10,000/15,000]
· $20,700 paid for an original Gene Simmons KISS costume on life-size mannequin from the 1975-76 ALIVE! tour. Platform boots included. [lot 1812, auction estimate $20,000/30,000]
· $16,100 paid for an original Paul Stanley KISS costume on life-size mannequin from the 1979 Dynasty Tour [lot 1685, auction estimate $12,000/15,000]
· $11,500 paid for an original Gene Simmons personally-owned KISS painting of the Destroyer album by artist Ken Kelly [lot 1789, auction estimate $10,000/15,000.