PopShop: Crystal Comeback, Cult-Favorite Kids Characters

By Karen Bard
February 26, 2010

This week, we tracked eBay trends for TV-made singing superstars, crystals (the jewelry kind!) and cult-favorite kids characters.

Pseudo Singer Battle Royale: Adam Lambert vs. Susan Boyle

Adam Lambert (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for G-Star), Susan Boyle (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)

It’s the Idol vs. the Brit Who’s Got Talent. Both TV-made singing superstars, Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle are fixtures in the press, often times for their outrageous (but wildly different) fashion sense and often for their antics (i.e. bad eye makeup and tears). Most recently, Glambert slammed Boyle in the press about her new single, “Wild Horses,” a Rolling Stones remake. Lambert said that “it made him cry with laughter.” Ouch. SuBo may be pushing the limits by trying to sing a groovy classic, but let’s be honest, Lambert has been known to screech and squeal into the mic too. These two released their albums the same week in November and Boyle saw epic numbers for her debut (701,000 copies sold in one week) and Lambert saw a more modest return (225,000 copies sold in one week). But is the public taunting helping him at all? Let’s check the numbers on eBay:

The eBay Stats: Over the past 90 days since their albums were simultaneously released on November 23, Susan Boyle had 3,781 total eBay listings and $66,927 in total sales, while Adam Lambert had 6,582 total eBay listings and $81,668 in total sales. The hometown hero Lambert is in the lead. But if we look back to the period right after their LP’s launched, while Lambert beat Boyle in number of items listed (2,388 for him and 1,1259 for her), SuBo trounced him in total sales ($30,975 for him and $47,396 for her).

On Our Shopping List: A rare, SuBo CD featuring “Cry me a River” went for over $500! And get this, a pair of Lambert’s signed Ellen (Degeneris) underwear went for $8,500 (as part of a fundraising program for Haiti relief efforts). Someone has some super-fans indeed. As for us, we'll take a pair of Lambert concert tickets for an upcoming show in Vancouver and this irresistible oil panting of Boyle.

Crystal Comeback: Haute Rocks

Spencer Pratt with a crystal in-hand (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images), Kelly Cutrone (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for IMG)

These days, crystals are not just for ladies living in Topanga Canyon. The hippie staple is making a serious comeback. Back in the 80s when I was in junior high, I was all about the crystals and adorned myself with necklaces and earrings to make a fashion statement. These days media stars like "The Hills" star Spencer Pratt and publicist and star of new Bravo show "Kell on Earth" Kelly Cutrone are hawking the healing power of these natural resources. Pratt said that he is “addicted to crystal(s)” and has spent around 500k on them in the past year. Kelly Cutrone was seen handing fashion journalist George Wayne a crystal, which he promptly swallowed, thinking it was a pill. And another Kelly, home décor maven Kelly Wearster, loves a quartz accent and features them prominently in her homes and in her books. eBay is the perfect source to find these natural beauties. As you can see, they’re as popular as ever!

The eBay Stats: Listings and sales for crystals on eBay are on the rise: Over the past 30 days, there have been 54,191 total listings and $253,169 in total sales for "quartz crystal" on eBay. That's a rise from the 30 days prior, when the term had 51,824 total listings, and $220,495 in total sales. We spy a trend!

On Our Shopping List: This 14-pound Muscovite is pretty chic but this Citrine geode is truly off the hook!

Yo Gabba Gabba: The Celeb Following

Yo Gabba Gabba (Photo by Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic)

Sometimes, children’s programming fascinates adults too. Without adult fans, shows like Pee Wee’s Playhouse would have never taken off. Seems like the latest craze in TV land for the kiddos is Yo Gabba Gabba. It’s a day glow affair that has a strong Japonesque bent and a hip soundtrack—rapper Biz Markie is a regular with “Biz’s Beat”. It’s tres Tokyo and very cool. Hollywood is in on the craze too—even superstar dad Brad Pitt dressed up as a character from the show, DJ Lance Rock, for Halloween. The latest celeb to appear on the show was hardened bad boy chef Anthony Bourdain. We checked to see if eBay is in on the craze, and lo and behold, we found out some interesting tidbits:

The eBay Stats: Over the past, there have been 9,870 total listings, and $147,233 in sales for items with the term "Yo Gabba Gabba."

On Our Shopping List: Besides tickets to Yo Gabba Gabba's live shows, there are great items on eBay like these Kid Robot collectible figurines or this adorable dunny that is apparently a very covetable item. But my personal favorite is the DJ Lance talking boombox.

Karen Bard is eBay's Pop Culture Expert.

Tags: