The saga of the Apple stair comes to a $9950 end

Ten days ago we reported that eBay seller heylookitskibbe was auctioning a stair from the staircase from the Fifth Avenue Apple retail store in New York. Shortly after our report, the stuff hit the fan.

Heylookitskibbe turned out to be former Apple employee, Mark Burstiner. The stair, made by Seele GmbH exclusively for Apple, was being replaced by Seele employees when Burstiner asked if he could have it. They gave the 250 pound stair to him, which he kept for a year before auctioning it. When Seele GmbH saw the news that the stair was on eBay they claimed ownership of the stair and demand that the auction be taken down and the stair returned to them. Burstiner removed the auction but refused to return the stair, claiming that it had become his property.

Yesterday we reported that, despite the legal threats, the auction was back on eBay. The auction has now come to an end with Burstiner raking in $9950 for little more than a chunk of glass thousands of people have walked on. The starting bid was $700 with a Buy It Now price of $2500.