People pay outrageous prices for collectors’ items, designer clothes, and even food. Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest items that are being sold for thousands of dollars.
On March 6, 2025, The New York Times covered a story about a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto being sold for about 90,000 dollars. This is all because it had a resemblance to the Pokémon character, Charizard. The Cheeto was an item in an auction that sold for 72,000 dollars.
Modern art is slowly on the rise but are people taking it too far? In 2024, a banana taped to a wall was sold for 6.2 million dollars. According to CNN, this was made by an Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan, which he titled “Comedian.” The auction, Sotheby’s, has reassured that the banana and duct tape is replaced with every installation.
It seems that in auctions people will buy anything. According to CNN, in Japan a premium Hokkaido cantaloupe was sold for 27,240 dollars. In the article, Soyeon Shim who is the dean of the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it said that the Asian culture ties fruit to social and cultural. It is an important part of their diet and is considered a luxury item.
Some things are easier to understand being expensive, like Buzz Aldrin’s moon jacket that was sold for 2.8 million dollars. According to the BBC, this jacket, along with sixty-nine other items of Aldrin’s are being sold by Sotheby’s auction. The auction itself lasted for ten minutes until it was sold to an unidentified bidder over the phone.
We all have a favorite celebrity, and we all wanted something that was from them so we could show it off. According to the BBC, Justin Bieber willingly gave his hair to talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, and was sold for 7,000 dollars. Unlike the other items in this article, all the proceeds went to a charity that rescues and rehabilitates animals.
These are just a few examples of items people have paid thousands of dollars for because it was something unusual or something they thought they needed to have. Let’s take a look at two high school students and see what they are willing to put all of their money towards.
Freshman Landon Andrew, said that he would pay a lot of money for the Seattle Seahawks or athleticism.
Junior Averi Yates said she “always wanted to open up a daycare.” She would be willing to pay anything to be able to open her own daycare/ pre-school.
While these are more practical things, it is still interesting to see how much money people are willing to put down to get something they really desire.
