The $100 garbage cube that sold out in two hours
A designer turned New York City trash into coveted collectibles, proving that value is less about what you sell than how you sell it.
RELEASE DETAILS
Creator: Justin Gignac
Release: NYC Garbage Season 2
Format: Limited edition sculptures (50 pieces)
Price: $100 each
Status: Sold out in 2 hours
THE STORY
What began as a cheeky argument about package design in 2001 became an unlikely lesson in perceived value. Justin Gignac started selling cubes of NYC street trash to prove that anything could be desirable with the right presentation. Twenty years later, he brought the project to Metalabel with a sophisticated understanding of scarcity and storytelling.
The release strategy was deceptively simple: build anticipation through a waitlist that shared a playful GIF of NYC's most iconic queues. Within a week, 117 people joined - more than double the available editions. The cubes sold out in two hours, with collectors split between New Yorkers wanting a piece of their city and far-flung admirers seeking connection to a place they'd never been.
"When it was $10 people thought it was a funny joke, when it was $25 people thought it was a cool souvenir, and when it was $50 people started calling it art," Gignac notes. The $100 price point for this release completed the transformation from novelty to collectible.
KEY INSIGHTS
Being "not for everybody" accelerates community formation. The polarizing nature of selling garbage helped define and energize its audience.
Price shapes perception. Each price tier ($10, $25, $50, $100) transformed how people viewed the exact same object.
Simple storytelling beats complex marketing. The core narrative never changed: "Your city's garbage sucks compared to ours."
Build natural documentation into the release. In post-sale outreach Gignac saw enthusiasm when asking collectors to photograph where their garbage lives now.
IN THE CREATOR'S WORDS
"The art isn't in the cube. I've made it more artistic and visually appealing to make it as collectible as possible, but the art is in the transaction. For me, convincing someone to buy garbage is the artwork."