Goodwill rivals famous auction house Christie's

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I get nothing out of extreme sports.  In college, I went bridge jumping and all I came away with was a sore bum.  What gets my adrenaline going is bargain shopping.  I actually am not a huge shopper and try to avoid the mall at all costs, but I am fanatical about amazing finds at antique and resale shops.



The past several days I've been addicted to my new favorite e-marketplace- Shop Goodwill.  I discovered the web site while shopping around for a used vintage camera.  It's setup very much like eBay, where buyers make bids on items. Unlike eBay, however, all of the items on Shop Goodwill have been donated.  So there's minimal information posted about each item for sale and the product photos are fair at best. 



So, here I am, on Saturday morning, browsing the art section of Shop Goodwill.  I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just curious to see their selection of original art on auction.  Lo and behold my eyes stop at a title I couldn't believe.  It read: A pair of antique Goya etchings- Tauromaquia series.  Here's the photo that was included with the listing.





If you took Art History in school, then you have studied Francisco de Goya's art.  He is regarded as one of the great master artists of his time, and his art is hung in some of the finest museums like the Louvre. So naturally, you can imagine my surprise when I saw two of his etchings on Goodwill, with a current bid of $41!!



For most of the morning, I was in disbelief.  Then, as the shock wore off, sheer excitement took over.  (This is where the adrenaline part kicks in.) I started researching clues for authenticity and quickly became obsessed with the idea of owning an original Goya work.  Never mind that I really didn't have an art budget to work with!   



I ended up placing a bid just hours before the auction closed.  I felt like it was kinda wrong or insulting to place such a low bid and then completely stunned to find out that I was the highest bidder! Some people spend more on coffee each month with what I had bid! 



The world is sane after all, because the two pieces eventually sold a few hours later for $2,338.  As much as I wish I was the new owner of Goya's famous etchings, I can proudly say that I held that title for 20 minutes yesterday.  Maybe I'll have better luck with the Paul Cezanne piece on auction!





. . . doubt it.



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