More than 10 years ago, George Harrison presented a signed Fender Stratocaster and presented it to the Ann Arbor, Michigan, headquarters of Borders -- the now-bankrupt book and music retailer -- where it sat in a glass case in the lobby. The Beatle had reportedly given the guitar to the retail chain for supporting one of his reissues.
Until recently, that is. LA Times is reporting that liquidators for the defunct chain placed the guitar on eBay last month with a starting bid of -- get this -- $500.
A representative of the liquidation group confirmed that the guitar had been purchased but declined to disclose the winning bid.
It's also reported that several former employees who worked at the company's headquarters tried to raise the funds to buy the guitar but were either unable to do so or were turned down.
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Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.