But, for bidders at the auction of Bernie Madoff's personal possessions, it was worth paying a little extra to take home a piece of criminal history.
Hundreds of Madoff items, from fancy jewelry to the swindler's underwear, went under the hammer today in New York City, with many items fetching far more than the expected price.
A Steinway & Sons grand piano, expected to sell for $16,000, went for $42,000, Bloomberg News reported. A leather footstool brought in a cool $3,300, almost 10 times the pre-sale estimate.
"It's got a little bit of history to it, and it's hysterical," real estate developer John Rodger of East Islip, Long Island said after buying the piano. "It makes it a conversation piece."
Earlier this week, authorities said they expected the auction to bring in $1.5 million. The money will go into a fund to compensate the victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme, which was the biggest in U.S. history.
AP
A stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was part of thousands of belongings from Bernard Madoff's New York City penthouse on the auction block in New York on Saturday.
Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence at a prison in North Carolina where, it's safe to assume, there is no Steinway grand piano.
This is the second auction of Madoff's possessions. The first, held last year, focused on the big-ticket purchases such as pricey watches and jewelry, according to The Wall Street Journal. The star of that show was a satin New York Mets baseball jacket with the name "Madoff" embroidered on the back. It fetched $14,500, compared with an initial estimate of $500.
Today's auction featured much more domestic fare. Among the items on sale were slippers bearing Bernie's initials, bed linens and even cuticle scissors.
Helmut Borchert, a lawyer in New York City, attended the auction so he could buy gifts to give at Christmas. He noted that the ties on sale were a bargain.
"I'm sure Madoff bought quality stuff with all that money he stole, so at least you know you are picking up quality items," Borchert told The Daily Telegraph.
Madoff was found guilty on 11 charges, including mail fraud, money laundering and stealing from an employee benefit plan. He had spent decades as a renowned money manager, investing money on behalf of wealthy individuals and charitable organizations.
The judge who sentenced Madoff described his crimes as "extraordinarily evil," The New York Times reported.
The Madoff estate faces claims of billions of dollars from cheated investors.