Dead profitable: Jackson memorabilia rivals Elvis
Michael Jackson fan Larry Edwards reacts to a bid at Julien's Auction in Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The auction house had expected their Michael Jackson memorabilia to go for around $10,000 - but the pieces went for $205,000. Photo: AP
Like Elvis before him, Michael Jackson is topping the charts in death as in life.
And the King of Pop is rivalling the King of Rock 'n' Roll in another category as well -- posthumous sales of memorabilia.
Over 45,000 Michael Jackson-related items were being offered for sale on Saturday at online auction house eBay.com, two days after the sudden death of the singer at his rented Beverly Hills home at the age of 50.
They ranged from web domain names -- michaeljacksonmemorial.com, for example -- at hopeful prices of $US1 million ($A1.24 million) or more to copies of US newspapers featuring front-page news of his death for as little as 99 cents.
Of the products offered for sale, nearly 17,500 were music recordings and nearly 17,000 were memorabilia.
EBay's home page displayed a special "Remembering the King of Pop" category offering "Memorabilia, Music, Autographs, Records".
The collectibles for direct sale or auction included Michael Jackson posters, dolls, ticket stubs, concert programs, newspapers, magazines, tote bags, pins, badges, stickers, T-shirts and other clothing.
And, of course, albums, thousands and thousands of albums.
One of the more unusual items listed on eBay was a white glove doubling as an invitation to a "Michael Jackson party". It can be had for $US50,000 ($A62,189) with the money purportedly going to support an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.
A "rare and original" black felt fedora said to have been autographed by the pop legend himself had attracted 18 bids by late Saturday, the highest at $US9,899 ($A12,312).
An electric guitar also said to have been signed by the singer was being offered for $US10,000 ($A12,438). By late Saturday, it had been either sold or removed from the site.
Dozens of replica red leather jackets like the ones Jackson wore in the music videos of Thriller and Beat It are on sale for prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Earlier, a 1984 Michael Jackson Thriller doll had attracted 27 bids with a top offer of $US167.50 ($A208.33).
Thousands of items of Michael Jackson memorabilia were also being offered for sale on online classifieds site Craigslist.
Over at online retail store Amazon.com, the top 15 selling albums were all by Jackson, including two made with his brothers when they were the Jackson 5.
Nine of the top 10 selling albums at Apple's iTunes music store were from the King of Pop with The Essential Michael Jackson leading the way.
Seven of the top 10 songs being downloaded on iTunes were by the singer, with Man in the Mirror the most popular.
The surge in Jackson popularity was not limited to the United States.
Jackson was also set to top the British album chart on Sunday.
His greatest hits album Number Ones was set for top spot and up to half a dozen of the singer's other albums could also make the Top 75, according to the Official Charts Company.
"We always find where a great icon dies that there's a massive uplift in their music sales as fans want to connect and express their grief through the records," said Gennaro Castaldo of retailer HMV.
"We've seen this with people like John Lennon, Elvis, Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra over the years. With Michael Jackson in particular, he was just on the cusp of a big comeback anyway and we were already beginning to see a lift in sales."
Jackson had been scheduled to play the first of 50 comeback concerts in London on July 13.