Posted ByTechViewDo you want to own an espresso machine that was formerly used by Twitter Inc. employees? Or a neon sign with its logo? Fans of the social network platform may get their hands on them in a fire sale starting Tuesday at its San Francisco offices.
The Heritage Global Partners Inc.-organized 27-hour online auction is the latest evidence of turbulence at the firm, which billionaire Elon Musk purchased for $44 billion last year.
The 631 pieces of “surplus corporate office assets” vary from the commonplace – industrial-scale kitchenware and standard office equipment like whiteboards and workstations – to unusual office auction fare like bizarre signage and over 100 packs of KN95 masks. A variety of designer seats, coffee machines, iMacs, and stationary bike stations capable of charging devices are also included.
The majority of the products, including business mementos such as a huge Twitter bird statue and a “@” sign sculpture planter, began at $25. With around 20 hours left in the auction, the neon logo has garnered 64 bids, with the highest current offer of the lot being $17,500. The bird statue received 55 bids, raising the price to $16,000, while the “@” sculpture received only one offer.
The auction, according to organisers, is not designed to shore up Twitter’s finances. Last month, a Heritage Global Partners spokesman told Fortune magazine that “this sale has nothing to do with their financial status”.Outside of usual business hours, the auction house was unable to reply promptly.
Still, extra revenue is likely to be welcomed by Musk, who is attempting to drastically reduce expenses at the firm and has neglected to pay rent for another San Francisco site, resulting in a lawsuit. Other locations, notably its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, have also been affected, with employees urged to move out and work from home.
Twitter, which no longer has a public relations team, did not reply to Bloomberg News’ emailed inquiries.