The iconic couch where it all began went for nearly $30,000 as items from the sitcom that’s still beamed into our homes 30 years after its debut were sold at a commemorative auction on Monday.
Nostalgia-stricken fans from 30 countries snapped up a slew of “Friends” memorabilia, paying many times the asking price for a number of the 110 items on offer.
“The One With the 30th Anniversary Auction” was held Sept. 23 both online and in-person in Los Angeles, in honor of the show’s Sept. 22, 1994, anniversary.
One lucky buyer snagged a replica of the orange sofa, the Central Perk café centerpiece that was almost a character in its own right and is now the most recognizable and highest-priced item. The velvet couch that serves as the friends’ coffee-shop perch went for $29,250, 10 to 15 times more than the initial estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. Likewise a reproduction of the Central Perk sign, slated to sell for $500 to $700, brought in $5,850.
A sweater worn by Chandler Bing (played by the late Matthew Perry) went for $6,500, more than three times higher than the $1,000 to $1,500 it was originally priced at. Someone paid $5,200 for an embroidered coat worn by Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), way above the $1,000 to $1,500 it was estimated to sell for.
The dresser from Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) apartment catapulted from an estimated price of $500 to $700 to a whopping winning bid of $10,400. An ottoman from his apartment went for, not $500 to $700 as originally anticipated, but $9,100.
Then there was the Geller Cup Trophy prop, featured in season 3’s ninth episode, “The One with the Football,” known as the Thanksgiving episode. Instead of selling for $300 to $500 as predicted, the prop went for $9,100. Not bad for a troll doll nailed to a piece of wood.
Organizers called it a testament to the show’s enduring appeal.
“Thirty years since its debut in 1994, people from all over the world are still falling in love with Friends as evidenced by the success of today’s 30th anniversary auction,” Julien’s Auctions CEO David Goodman said in a statement obtained by People and the UK’s PA News Agency. “Since the announcement of this auction celebration, interest pivoted to an all-time high with thousands of bidders joining Julien’s and Warner Bros. Television’s nostalgic journey of Friends that culminated with all of the show’s iconic items being sold beyond their pre-sale estimates.”
