“Cirque du Ebay, Partie Trois?”
By: Ricky Russo – Orlando, Florida (USA)
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From the “things that make you go Hmmm…” file…
One of our goals throughout our newsletters existence has been to search for, uncover and present some of the most peculiar, unique and fascinating things that can be found lurking around the World Wide Web with a mysterious connection to our favorite circus — Cirque du Soleil. And over the past three years we have detailed some of items to be seen on eBay, the worlds most popular online auction site, such as: a seller auctioning off a hyperlink for 30% off Alegría tickets, and someone selling a “once in a lifetime” chance to perform on-stage with Cirque du Soleil’s “O”.
This month we have another peculiar item to come across eBay and again… let the buyer beware. But before I go any further, let me ask you a question… What would you do if you saw an authentic piece of Cirque du Soleil costuming for sale? Imagine for a moment… ask yourself that question.
Would you immediately make a grab for your purse or wallet, ready to shell out whatever price was asked so you could be the lucky owner of an authentic piece of Cirque du Soleil? Or would you scrutinize it, wondering if you could afford it or whether it was really a genuine piece of Soleil?
As a quick side note, there were official costume pieces from Quidam available (framed) in the Tapis Rouge at Quidam in Vancouver. What this means is that Cirque has gotten into the business of selling authentic costume pieces, at least in a VIP setting (portions of the proceeds went to charity); however, Cirque du Soleil has not gotten into the business of selling its merchandise (costuming or not) via eBay.
On September 10, 2004 at 7:41am Pacific Daylight Time, Item #2269270655 was posted for auction on eBay and fans of the Cirque were forced to ponder such questions. The item, an “Authentic Cirque du Soleil Mask”, had a starting bid of $50.00 and under further scrutiny appeared to be one of the famed Old Bird masks from Alegría, Cirque du Soleil’s quintessential production celebrating their 10th Anniversary in 1994.
The appearance of the mask certainly grabbed the attention of slews of Cirque du Soleil fans, even this one. How could it not with a description of, “NEW!!! Authentic original Cirque Du Soleil Mask, genuine leather, hand-sewn colorful rhinestones on neck & hat, movable mouth. A must-have collector’s item! Excellent condition!!!”
If this were true, and it were really an authentic piece, the $50.00 starting bid certainly would not last. I wondered exactly how high the item would go. But a more pressing question to me was, how on earth did such a unique piece of authentic and original costuming from Cirque du Soleil’s Alegría wind up on eBay in the first place?
Certainly a unique “Garage Sale” find, as the seller stated, no?
Actually, no.
It was stolen.
A story run on CBS affiliate KYW-TV (Channel 3) in Philadelphia on October 21, 2004 reporting the mask, as seen on eBay, was not garnered at a Garage Sale as the seller explained, but was in fact stolen from Cirque shortly before visiting Philly that summer! [Alegría visited Philadelphia from July 8, 2004 to August 8, 2004] Not only had the masks ended up in Philly but the would-be cyber sellers had stolen not one, but two of the masks worth $11,000 US each.
CBS 3’s Walt Hunter reported, “[T]he masks were listed by alleged suspects Amy Bargerhuff and Dan Perez. Within hours, the item’s location was tracked and a house on North 8th Street was raided where the major crimes unit recovered one of [them]. Police believe the second mask may have in fact been sold before they arrived. In the meantime, Hunter has learned that eBay is working very closely with investigators to possibly locate the [second] mask. In addition, authorities have since seized the suspect’s computer and urge anyone with information as to the whereabouts of the second mask to come forward immediately.”
Information regarding the second mask has yet to make light of day, but I bet you’re wondering what happened with the auction, right?
The auction received a total of 27 bids from its initial listing September 10, 2004 to its ending on September 17, 2004. And some very high-profile Cirque fans bid on it too. The winning bid of $799.00 (well below the $11,000 cost to make the mask) was made by Taylor Jeffs of California. As it turned out, the seller never sent the item and it was only later we all found out the mask was actually stolen property!
It just goes to show that the buyer must beware and that you never know what will show up on eBay. Most of the transactions are legitimate (99.9%) but you will find, on occasions, something like this that will just make you sit back, raise your eyebrow and go “Hmmm…”
