Fans Pay Ridiculous Prices for Oprah's Stuff

Auction makes more than $600K for charity
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 4, 2013 10:30 AM CST
Fans Pay Ridiculous Prices for Oprah's Stuff
This July 31, 2013 file photo shows media mogul and actress Oprah Winfrey at a special screening of "Lee Daniels' The Butler" New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Here's how much people love Oprah Winfrey: A bunch of her stuff was auctioned off Saturday, and some of the selling prices got pretty crazy. A print of a TV Guide cover featuring the talk show host was estimated to go for $400 at most; it sold for $3,000. A canvas banner promoting Winfrey's role in The Color Purple went for $6,000. A teapot sold for $1,000; it's worth less than $100. Those are just a few of the examples the Los Angeles Times offers; the article uses words like "stunning," "staggering," and "irrational" to describe the frenzy.

It also notes that the pace of the auction was rather more sluggish than usual thanks to "a relentless stream of incremental bids on practically every item," with the first 55 of 584 lots taking two hours to get through. Ultimately, Oprah's stuff made more than $600,000; one of the priciest lots was a set of six 18th century Louis XVI armchairs that went for $60,000. Proceeds will benefit Winfrey's leadership academy for girls in South Africa. (More Oprah Winfrey stories.)

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