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Taylor Swift fans paid $25 for pieces of trash collected near the pop icon's wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce.
A New York artist picked up the garbage last Friday from city streets around Madison Square Garden, where the couple staged a glamorous event for hundreds of celebrity guests amid a global frenzy.
All of the items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday, within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils, as well as a single left AirPod.
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"It's getting a lot of Swifties who just want a tangential piece of the wedding," said Justin Gignac, who is selling the trash on his website New York City Garbage. Each item, described online as a "sculpture," is sealed inside a tiny plastic cube to prevent leaks or odors.
Gignac told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he has made $1,250 from selling 50 items so far, and he may put more on the market. "I try to commemorate cultural moments in New York City, and this seemed to be a big one, so just capturing a little time capsule from that moment in time," he said.
Gignac, who sells other city trash on his website, said he tied some of the items into knots to "hammer home the wedding theme." He pointed out the garbage was from outside the barriers that surrounded Madison Square Garden for Swift's wedding, not from inside the venue.
The lavish ceremony last week was closely watched by Swift's fans, who have followed the 14-time Grammy winner's love life largely through songs based on her relationships. Some followers descended on New York in hopes of catching a glimpse of their idol, with the star-studded event that some commentators dubbed a "royal wedding."
Ahead of the wedding, Swifties also flocked to Big Apple locations mentioned in their idol's lyrics, including the Bus Stop Cafe in the West Village.
"She is the biggest thing in America, like, she is our royalty, she is our queen, she is everything," said Alyssa Heinen, 24, from Manhattan. "It feels like a royal wedding to us."
To mark the occasion, the couple also donated $26 million to various U.S. charities, including in New York and Kansas City, Swift's spokesperson said.
Swift's marriage to Kelce comes after a string of high-profile failed relationships, including with British actor Joe Alwyn, and singers John Mayer and Harry Styles, which became fodder for her songs.
She revealed her engagement to the hulking, bearded Kelce last August in an Instagram post captioned "Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married."
The 14-time Grammy winner is coming off a banner year with the success of her album "The Life of a Showgirl," induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a new song on the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack.
Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, has signed on for a 14th season in the National Football League. He is also a co-host of the popular "New Heights" podcast alongside his brother Jason.
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