Apple Store Glass Stair Fetches $9,950

The huge glass step from Apple’s Fifth Ave. staircase getting a lot of attention earlier this week has been sold for a whopping US $9,950. The seller, a former Apple retail staffer, claims in a report that the manufacturer of the glass stairway (Seele) tried to intimidate him into not selling the item on eBay.

Earlier this week, Mark Burstiner told Gizmodo that, during his employment at Apple’s flagship New York store, “A woman came down the magnificent spiral staircase, and dropped a Snapple bottle,” cracking one of the steps. He had asked the contractors, who were there on behalf of Seele, if he could have the step, and eventually got hold of it. Fast-forward to last week, Burstiner decided to put it up for sale on eBay.

“The very next day, the eBay posting got a lot of press, and it even ended up here on the Giz,” he explained. “Not 24 hours later, the stair was up to $255, dozens of eBay questions, and 200+ watchers with 9 days to go on the auction” (if Burstiner only knew how much he would eventually get for it...)

“Things were looking good until I was reached out to by a Seele VP. This gentleman informed me that Apple has caught wind of this and is quite unhappy,” he continued to tell his story, thanks to an agreement with Gizmodo, which posted it online. “He assured me he was doing me a favor by reaching out to me and requesting that I remove the posting and return the glass step. He repeatedly made the point that if I complied that he would be so kind as to email Apple and tell them I've been cooperative,” Burstiner revealed.

He concluded by saying, “I won't 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 haven't heard from Apple directly a single time. I have every right to sell my property, and I plan to do so.”

At the time Softpedia reported the news, the item had fetched Burstiner roughly $7,200. The auction closed on March 2nd, at 18:18:21 PST, when the last bidder offered $9,950 to gain possession of the item in question. It remains to be seen whether Seele or Apple will continue to pursue legal action against those who come into contact with the glass hardware, although Apple hasn’t shown any signs of discontentment so far.