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Aretha Profiteers: Detroit Newspapers' Tribute Issues Are on eBay for Up to $99

August 29, 2018, 5:36 PM by  Alan Stamm

Aretha Franklin's vinyl records, vintage photos, posters and autographs have long been collectibles at the A-list level. Now, after the final curtain, she ascends to the memorabilia mountaintop with Michael, Frank, Elvis, Prince and Marilyn.

Her true treasures, beyond the grasp of fans not in the 1 percent, are valued assets in the star's estate. Some of those furs, gowns, jewels, personal photos, annotated sheet music, letters and concert items likely will be donated or sold to museums -- perhaps some type of shrine or education center here, an idea floated by Freep columnist Rochelle Riley and celebrity photograoher Linda Solomon. Others may be auctioned at a leading New York or Los Angeles gallery.

In the meantime, more affordable mementoes are peddled on eBay. A search for "Aretha tribute" shows more than 900 listings and "Aretha memorial" yields over 500. (There's overlap because some auction titles have both words.)

Offerings are as varied as Franklin's half-century song catalog. There's a homemade "tribute shadowbox" for $30 with shipping, a small desk flag for nearly $12, and 40 copies of an Entertainment Weekly tribute issue on sale at stores for $5 and on eBay for up to $15.      

Bizarrely, a seller in Riverside County, Calif., awaits a $9.99 opening bid for a "mint condition" 2018 Swanson Funeral Home wall calendar, touted as "a rare find from a rare collection." The presumed keepsake is hyped as "an odd item to complete an extensive Aretha Franklin fan collection," though she's not named or shown anywhere. 

There also are lots of T-shirts newly printed with "1942-2018" and memorial slogans -- mostly "Respect," of course. Prices run up to $28.50.     

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This set is on eBay for $36.

Amusingly, dozens of sellers see opportunity in newsprint -- a phrase not used often these days. Seventy listings have "Aretha newspaper" in the title, with souvenirs pictured from New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago, London and Detroit.

Only one Detroit News is posted, and it's no bargain. A Wyandotte seller asks $99 for a full Aug. 17 paper from the day after Franklin's death (originally $1).

The same seller asks $89 for the Free Press ($1.50 cover price) from Sunday, Aug, 19, with a commemorative tribute section. Eight other Freeps from Aug. 17 and 19 are up for grabs, starting with a listing from Dearborn Heights at $11.25 (including postage) for the "rare" Sunday section (no bid yet).  

It's no shock that Queen of Soul items are hot collectibles, though bids for some desrve to be as rare as claims about their scarcity and dreams about their value.

This article sprouts from a seed planted Wednesday morning by Aaron Foley, who tweeted: "A $1.50 Sunday Freep is selling for $89 on eBay."



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