Current:Home > NewsSurpassing:Twitter auctioned off office supplies, including a pizza oven and neon bird sign -DataFinance
Surpassing:Twitter auctioned off office supplies, including a pizza oven and neon bird sign
Surpassing Quant Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-07 15:04:40
Are you in need of some mid-century modern furniture,Surpassing industrial kitchen equipment or audio-visual systems? Or looking to brighten up your apartment with a giant neon bird sign?
Then you're in luck. Twitter's San Francisco headquarters auctioned off "surplus corporate office assets" online for a fleeting 27 hours, giving potential lucky bidders the chance to take a piece of the struggling company home with them.
Auction house Global Heritage Partners is running the de facto fire sale, which closed at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on Wednesday and charged a buyer's premium of 18%.
The 631 lots include office supplies like projectors and massive white boards (in both old-school and digital form), kitchen equipment from espresso machines to refrigerators (including a kegerator beer dispenser), a wide variety of chairs and couches and miscellaneous modern-day workplace staples like assorted power adapters and KN95 masks in bulk.
There's also a bit of Twitter-specific memorabilia, including a six-foot-tall "@"-shaped planter sculpture filled with artificial flowers (with a high bid of $8,250), a blue neon sign in the shape of the app's bird logo ($22,500) and a smaller, sturdier bird statue ($20,500).
Other notable items include a pizza oven ($10,000), a conference room-sized booth ($7,250) and several individual soundproof phone booths, packs of high-end desk chairs ($4,900) and sit-stand desks ($900) and two stationary bikes that double as recharging stations ($2,400).
Overall, an eclectic assortment of goods and a jarring sight for those who once used them.
"Weird to see the Twitter office on auction," tweeted Kevin Weil, the company's former senior vice president of product. "Great memories from a different era."
Scott Budman, an NBC News tech and business reporter, pointed out some familiar items: A table where he interviewed former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey got a bid for $1,000, the espresso machine where former editorial director Karen Wickre offered him coffee is going for $1,700.
"Good luck, I guess," he wrote.
Ross Dove, chief executive of Heritage Global, the parent company of Heritage Global Partners, told the New York Times that more than 20,000 people had registered to bid online — the most of any of the firm's auctions over the last 90 years and a fact he attributes to the public's fascination with Twitter and Musk himself. He estimated that the auction would net Twitter some $1.5 million.
The auction comes at a tough time for the company, which lost many major advertisers — as well as employees, thanks to layoffs and mass resignations — after Elon Musk took over in October and has since sought to aggressively cut costs and raise revenue.
Musk — who has announced his plans to resign as CEO — said in December that the company was "not, like, in the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore."
Still, its financial outlook remains murky, with the New York Times reporting that same month that Twitter had not paid rent for its San Francisco headquarters or any global offices for weeks and was considering denying people severance payments. Employees have also discussed the possibility of selling usernames to make money, the Times reported last week.
This month, Guinness World Records confirmed that Musk had broken the record for largest amount of money lost by one individual. He lost between $180 billion and $200 billion since November 2021, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stocks in recent years.
Musk remains the second-richest person in the world and, as of this week, is on trial for securities fraud over a series of 2018 tweets teasing a Tesla buyout that never happened.
veryGood! (431)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- How to avoid Veterans Day scams: Tips so your donations reach people who need help
- How to talk to older people in your life about scams
- Brent Ray Brewer, Texas man who said death sentence was based on false expert testimony, is executed
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Unprecedented surge in anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bias incidents reported in U.S. since Israel-Hamas war, advocacy group says
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2023
- UVM honors retired US Sen. Patrick Leahy with renamed building, new rural program
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- The 2024 Grammy Nominations Are Finally Here
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Former Louisville officer charged in Breonna Taylor raid says he was defending fellow officers
- Election workers report receiving suspicious packages, some containing fentanyl, while processing ballots
- The Eras Tour returns: See the new surprise songs Taylor Swift played in Argentina
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- United Nations suspends pullout of African Union troops from Somalia as battles with militants rage
- Former Michigan priest sentenced to year in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing altar boy
- Why Whitney Port Is in a Better Place Amid Health Struggles
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Niger fashion designer aims to show a positive image of her country at Joburg Fashion Week
Fugitive suspect in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol surrenders to police in New Jersey
2024 Grammy award nominations led by SZA, Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Trump ally Steve Bannon appeals conviction in Jan. 6 committee contempt case
Hawaii wildlife refuge pond mysteriously turns bubble-gum pink. Scientists have identified a likely culprit.
The 2024 Grammy Award nominations are about to arrive. Here’s what to know