Fender Custom Shop Blackie Replica a Seven Hour Sell Out

November 24, 2006, proved to be a black ink Friday for the Guitar Center chain as it sold all 185 of the Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Blackie Stratocasters in just over seven hours, with 106 of the guitars selling within the first two minutes according to a related press release from Guitar Center. In 2004, the instrument retailer paid $959,500 (not including the buyer premium) for Blackie at the Christie's Crossroads Auction. The Black Friday sale, as the day was called by Fender and Guitar Center, resulted in gross sales of $3.7 million USD, a portion of which will be donated to the Crossroads Centre in Antigua and a new Crossroads facility in Delray Beach, Florida. The Blackie replicas, which bore a MSRP of $24,000, sold for $20,000 each.