This is what the internet was made for—to share footage from strange performance events like this one. On Saturday, February 10, 2001, in Denton, Texas, a group of friends held a garage sale where all of the prices were determined by the "Price Master," some kind of mysterious masked person? Animatron? It's unclear. The 30-minute video is available on a YouTube channel run by "The PriceMaster," which describes it this way:
"Everything is for sale." "Make me an offer!" . . . the wonderful mantras of the prophet of Captive Market Capitalism (i.e. American Style Corporate Capitalism) echo pertinently on a crisp winter day in Denton, TX in the newborn hours of the great decisive 21st Century. Members of the hallowed Fast House look on and document the unfolding.
BroBible describes the video as an "avant-garde piece of performance art." They go on to set the scene:
Shot in Denton, Texas near the turn of the millennium, The PriceMaster sees a man in full jester-esque regalia standing atop a stage at a local garage sale. As unsuspecting potential customers pick up unpriced items, they must make an offer to The PriceMaster, who almost always responds with an absurd counteroffer.
For example, a customer will say, "How much is this serving dish? Five bucks?" and The PriceMaster replies by saying something like "FIVE… THOUSAND DOLLARS." And, for whatever reason — perhaps because we're all braindead from the holidays — the internet, myself included, has been getting an absolute kick out of it in recent days.
One of the comments on the YouTube video sums up my reaction, too: "I have never in my life laughed so hard at so little taking place–this is stylistically, artistically, and comedically a complete and utter masterpiece, as cinema, comedy and performance art."
