Kennedy souvenirs
VIDEO CNN's Rusty Dornin looks at people trying to profit from the Kennedy tragedy Windows Media 28K 80K

July 24, 1999
Web posted at: 12:25 a.m. EDT (0425 GMT)

In this story: Craving for celebrity memorabilia RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Correspondent Rusty Dornan

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- While his family, friends and many people across the country were mourning the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., some other people were looking for ways to profit from his passing.

When Heidi Golledge heard JFK Jr.'s plane was missing Saturday, she sought to buy an Internet address with his initials. She got two of them that are now up for auction.

"I'm selling johnfkennedyjr.cc -- that's $10,000 and then I have jfk--jr.com, that's $50,000," said Golledge.

Even before the plane wreckage was found, collectors and the curious were cashing in on the son of Camelot.

What's for sale? Any and all souvenirs even remotely related to the Kennedy family. Most feature his father, one features a young son's farewell salute. Many are legitimate, like autographed baseballs.

And then there are the truly tasteless items like a shirt alleged to be from JFK Jr.'s suitcase washed ashore.

Auctioneers are well acquainted with the craving for celebrity memorabilia.

Westfried bought 14 copies of George magazine's first issue on Monday, then sold six of them for $85 on the Internet

"It does fulfill some sort of emotional need that they have to own these items," said Michael Schwartz of Butterfield and Butterfield auction house.

Eighteen year old Emmanuel Westfried bought 14 copies of the first issue of George Magazine on Monday and immediately sold six for $85 each.

Some buyers considered the magazines a real deal, but others were angry.

"People are telling me, 'please, they must have this,'" said Westfried. "Along with the good, I'm getting mail saying I'm a horrible person, and how could I be profiting from someone else's death?"

There even are public messages left in e-Bay auction files that say, "Don't bid; have respect for the Kennedy family."

One seller has six different Internet addresses to be sold as a set for $120,000. Another single address has already sold for $200,000.

"There's never really been a time in history that I could see that you could purchase something for $70 and an hour later it's worth $200,000," Golledge said.

"If you could show me a stock like that on the Internet, I'd be happy to buy it."

Investing in a tragedy, emotionally or financially, is paying off for some in big bucks.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.