You’ve got about 10 hours to place the winning bid on an unusual piece of Apple memorabilia: a cracked glass stair from the 5th Avenue store’s stunning spiral staircase.
As we predicted, Apple wasn’t happy about it. Former Apple employee Mark Burstiner, who rescued the stair from the trash after it was cracked by a customer’s Snapple bottle, got into an email tussle with a VP from Seele, the company that makes the glass stairs, over pulling the auction.
Burstiner pulled the item, then, in a post on Gizmodo, explained why he decided to put it up for sale again:
As far as Iʼm aware, I have done nothing illegal. I have not stolen. I have not deceived in any way. The step is not confidential, and it is not IP. The step is the very same that any New Yorker could see by walking into Apple Fifth Ave. The only thing I am guilty of is taking the risk of throwing out my back through having to move the step multiple times. I saw an opportunity, I asked for permission, received it, and proceeded. I wonʼt allow a major corporation to bully me into a corner. At the time of this posting, it has been seven full days since I put the listing up, and I havenʼt heard from Apple directly a single time. I have every right to sell my property, and I plan to do so.
The controversy is turning what might’ve been yet another quirky, deserted auction into a potential moneymaker.
The first sale price set for the 250lb slab (shipping not included) was $2,500. Bids are now $9,950.00, nearly four times that.
Of course, the question remains: even if you do cobble together $10g for a piece of glass, what happens next?
One potential buyer wonders if he or she is in for a lawsuit:
Q. Is this legal? Say if I buy it, will i get into legal trouble?
A. Burstiner answers: No legal action has been taken against me since Apple and Seele caught wind of it. I would think if it were illegal, something would have happened by now. Apple is not one to shy away from legal battles, so the absence of any direct contact from them would lead me to believe that nothing is going to happen.
