Kobe Bryant Memorial Merch Hits eBay With Exorbitant Prices
More than 20,000 people packed the Staples Center on Monday for the Kobe and Gianna Bryant memorial service, including NBA and WNBA legends past and present, musicians, celebrities and fans. According to ESPN, more than 80,000 people entered a random drawing for the chance to purchase tickets to the service, but only a fraction actually got through.
Those who were fortunate enough to be in attendance received a special edition t-shirt and program, both featuring memorable photos taken of the Laker legend and his daughter. While most Kobe fans will cherish those items forever, others have taken to eBay in an attempt to cash in.
According to TMZ Sports, one seller's Kobe t-shirt from the memorial service sold for $2,025 after less than 24 hours on the auction block. Others are offering "Kobe Memorial" bundle packs, which includes the t-shirt and program, with starting bids of $3,000 and a "Buy It Now" of $5,000. Of course, this isn't the first time that opportunistic resellers have looked to pad their pockets with mourners' money.
Almost immediately after news of the tragic helicopter crash was confirmed, Nike sold out of their stock of Kobe gear and the prices of Kobe's popular Nike sneakers jumped to more than 4x the amount that they typically resell for.
Whether or not you agree that it's morally wrong, we can expect much of the same when Nike drops the "Lakers" Kobe 5 Protro next month.