The minute (WorldCom) filed for Chapter 11, I knew these were going to be hot items
• Hodgepodge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As investors have watched their portfolios plunge in the wake of corporate mischief sweeping Wall Street, collectors have snapped up anything associated with beleaguered companies, seeing more upside in a T-shirt than a share of stock.
Once high-flying companies such as Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and Global Crossing Ltd, have been battered by corporate scandals involving questionable accounting practices and misleading management.
But in the days since these and other companies filed for bankruptcy, buyers and sellers of corporate memorabilia have swamped online sites and specialty stores with T-shirts, ice coolers, golf tees -- and even stock certificates -- that offer a unique look into Wall Street's most tarnished companies.
One seller even posted on eBay a bottle of "Global Crossing Hot Sauce" with the slogan that its ingredients "may spice up your product portfolio." After losing a fortune buying Global Crossing stock, the seller added: "Yeah right. Global Crossing certainly fired up my portfolio."
"Who wants to keep 401(k) account statements, newspaper articles, 'The Great Boom Ahead' or 'Dow 36,000?" asked Tison Cory, a Denver collector who is trying to purchase memorabilia of Wall Street's fallen darlings. "Personally, this is my way of owning a piece of history," he said.
To be sure, collectors have become keenly aware of the frenzy for corporate memorabilia. Last year, people grabbed almost anything linked with failed high-profile Internet firms, including retailer eToys Inc. and grocery seller