MUMBAI: A news poll in South California has found that nearly a third of its residents own some sort of Michael Jackson memorabilia. Collectors have been snapping up signed record albums, clothing and other merchandise owned by the late singer.

Dave Elkouby owns Starworld, a celebrity memorabilia store on Hollywood Boulevard. After this weekend he is left with just a small collection of Jackson items, and the prices are going up.

"They used to be like $20 for things, and now they're like $45 and up," said Jackson memorabilia collector Andrew Robles.

In Las Vegas a Michael Jackson auction was held on Friday. The 21 items on sale were expected to bring $10,000, but that estimate was before Jackson's unexpected death. The final figure was more than $200,000.

A black fedora worn by Michael Jackson that's been signed by Jackson is probably worth anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000. You can find plenty of Jackson merchandise on eBay and Craislist, but be careful, not everything you see is authentic.