EBay is taking action against resellers who are looking to pawn off the exclusive Kobe Bryant memorial t-shirts and programs that were given to attendees at the Staples Center memorial service on February 24th. 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.
Almost immediately after the conclusion of the event, those Kobe shirts and programs began popping up on eBay, with one seller netting more than $2,000 for the commemorative Kobe t-shirt. Others were 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.
However, TMZ reports that all of those items will soon be pulled from eBay if they haven't been removed from the site already.
According to TMZ, eBay emailed the following message to one seller who was looking to cash in on their Kobe memorial merch.
"Please note, due to sudden and tragic passing of Kobe Bryant - eBay has made the decision to prohibit the sale of merchandise, images and mugs relating to their passing. We do not allow listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering."
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.
eBay will still allow users to sell other Kobe memorabilia, such as sneakers, jerseys and autographs, but sellers will have to look elsewhere if they want to cash in on the memorial merchandise.
