Like Jackson's jacket, buyer has a history

Is there actually money to be made in this racket? It’s hard to say but Fraser’s 100, an index that tracks the value of celebrity autographs, is up more than 300 per cent since its inception in 1997, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Who are the blue-chips when it comes to celebrity memorabilia? Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, John F Kennedy and Michael Jackson always draw strong interest from buyers willing to throw thousands, if not millions, of dollars around.

What if I don’t have that kind of money? Anna Nicole Smith, William Shatner and the Guns N‘ Roses guitarist Slash recently auctioned off items. Those events may be more in your price range.

This is getting ridiculous. It is. New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter is due to get his 3,000th hit in the next few weeks. There are plans to auction off the dirt that he is standing on at the time he reaches the milestone.

One of the top celebrity news stories of the week has been the US$1.8 million (Dh6.6m) a collector paid in an auction on Sunday for the red and black jacket Michael Jackson wore in the Thriller video.

The buyer, a Texan by the name of Milton Verret, was described as a "wealthy commodities trader" and lauded for his plan to send the jacket on tour as part of an effort to raise money for children's charities.

It's a feel-good story that feels slightly less good when you learn more about how Mr Verret earned his millions.

He is the founder of US Money Reserve, a company that sells US Government-issued gold coins - seemingly a pretty good niche to occupy as the price of gold has almost tripled in the past five years.

But a St Louis consumer group, the Better Business Bureau, warned prospective buyers in March about the company's "bait-and-switch tactics" and Mr Verret's "history of legal problems."

The bureau said consumers drawn in by advertisements for gold bullion were being sold gold coins instead, even though evidence suggests the coins do not appreciate at the same rate as actual gold.

The coins are also sold at much higher prices than those offered by other coin dealers.

The bureau advised consumers to "be on the alert" when dealing with US Money Reserve.

In 1998, Mr Verret was prohibited from serving as director of a public company after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said he and other corporate insiders defrauded investors in a company that was created to produce a sequel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Ritchie Bros. to sell 700 transportation items and trucks in Dubai ...

The auction also features hundreds of heavy industrial equipment items, including, 70+ hydraulic excavators, 50+ wheel loaders, 25+ dump trucks, 25+ rock trucks, 25 mixer trucks, nearly 20 crawler tractors and many more items.

Next week’s Dubai auction will be the second Ritchie Bros. sale conducted at the site this year. At a previous Dubai auction held on March 8 – 9, 2011, more than US$57 million of  heavy equipment and trucks were sold—the highest amount of gross auction proceeds ever generated from a Dubai auction.

Full equipment listings, specifications and hi-resolution photos for items being sold in the May 10 – 11 Dubai auction are available at  www.rbauction.com .

Auction details Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. Ritchie Bros. offers services that enable the world’s builders to easily and confidently exchange equipment. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling a broad range of used and unused equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 43 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a web site at  www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at  www.RitchieWiki.com

[...] Ritchie Bros. to sell 700 transportation items and trucks in Dubai …Description : “Besides a broad range of heavy construction and mining equipment items, our customers are also able to bid on a large selection of transportation items,” said Steve Barritt, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros. … material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 43 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a web site at http://www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www. …http://www.resaleweekly.com/bl .. [...

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