By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — What would make more than 200 people cram into a poorly air conditioned basement on a 95-degree day? The chance to buy a cheap Miele dishwasher.
High-end kitchen and bath retailer Quintessentials held a bankruptcy auction Tuesday to sell off everything from $4,449 Wolf stoves to the plastic grapes and bananas in the store's kitchen displays.
Quintessentials, on Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street, went out of business in July.
The store was packed with bargain hunters on Tuesday hoping to snap up some of the most coveted brands in kitchen and housewares.
Items for sale included Sub-Zero refrigerators, Viking stoves, granite counter tops, and a $1,395 faucet that ran hot, cold and "pure" water.
A pedestal sink "with faucet and commode" sold for $200.
Some who attended were experienced auction shoppers who brought their own tape measures and dollies to cart off their finds.
"Make sure you measure your space before you come so you know it will fit, because at an auction there are no refunds and no returns," said auction vet Florence Goldberg, about buying major appliances like refrigerators.
Goldberg said she has picked up a $600 mink coat, artwork, and even the apartment she lives in on West 70th Street, at auctions. On Tuesday she was after a Miele coffee maker that usually sells for $2,400.
Others were amateurs who came out of curiosity. One bidder yelled out, "Are we supposed to shout or put our hands in the air? It's not clear!"
At one point a man in the crowd bid $5,000 on the entire contents of the company's West 27th Street warehouse, a collection of boxes full of faucet heads, towel racks and other odds and ends.
The auctioneer paused, "Sir, do you know what you're bidding on?"
"No. I have no idea," replied the man, to laughter.
No one from Quintessentials attended the auction.
A recorded message at the store's number says, "After 30 years serving our neighbors on the Upper West Side, Quintessentials is regrettably closing our doors. Customers with pending orders will be contacted by mail. Thank you for all your support over all the years."
