Fans who attended Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s memorial at the Staples Center took home a “KB” pin, a program and a T-shirt to remember one of the most important sports figures of all time.
Being such a somber event, and given Bryant’s status as more than just a sports figure, eBay wants those mementos to stay at home, and has taken steps to ensure that any items from the memorial listed on the site are taken down immediately.
Before eBay cracked down, TMZ reported that one fan sold a T-shirt from the event for $2,025. This isn’t surprising, given Kobe’s wide reach of influence all over the world and the exclusivity of the products. But eBay deemed the sale of such sensitive material to be in poor taste. And, frankly, they’re probably right.
Items from the Kobe and GiGi memorial are already up for sale on eBay.
Y’all are sick. pic.twitter.com/n2oKMN0Zbw
— Matt (@MattKlug33) February 24, 2020
It turns out that it’s actually a rule on eBay.
“Please note, due to the sudden and tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, eBay has made the decision to prohibit the sale of merchandise, images and mugs related to their passing,” the company wrote in an email to one would-be seller. “We do not allow listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering.”
Those attending Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s memorial are receiving this T-Shirt and this program pic.twitter.com/Jfi44r6waV
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 24, 2020
Other Kobe Bryant merchandise, like Lakers jerseys, autographs or things of that nature are still fair game. But selling the products that were supposed to be meant as a reminder of a sad day in Los Angeles for the sake of capitalizing on grief won’t fly.
This is just eBay, though. There are plenty of places to sell things online and in person, so this won’t fully stop determined resellers. If anything, it will make the items more exclusive and valuable, which in this case is probably not a good thing.
