Martin Shkreli's days of owning that rare Wu-Tang Clan album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, were deemed to be over, but new information has surfaced that might mean the sale to be void. According to Matt "M-Eighty" Markoff, details that had been previously reported are not as they originally seemed.
Markoff, who was employed in an A&R capacity in connection with the Wu-Tang team for more than ten years, told HipHopDX on Wednesday (September 20th) that Shkreli's recent jailing has put the eBay sale in jeopardy. Additionally, the sale itself may not have been legitimate either. "There is doubt the buyer is a qualified candidate who has the requisite funds, meets sellers' specific deadlines, and is a real candidate versus a friend of the seller who may have intentionally bid up the auction in hopes of reaching a greater sales potential," Markoff said.
According to Markoff, the plot thickens even more when it comes to might place the bid that ultimately secures the album. Where the eBay transaction is concerned, the winning bid was submitted by Darby Welch of Colorado for a total of $1,025,100. However, that winning bid hasn't been followed by any sort of payment to Shkreli's attorneys. As it turns out, Markoff had been discussing a bid of his own which, as of Wednesday, is supposedly the only formal offer Shkreli has received. The Pharma bro's jailing put a crimp in the situation for sure, but Markoff said he's "70 percent sure" that he'll still end up owning the Shaolin album eventually.
"Coupled with the fact I was not sent the original purchase docs for review from Martin, and most recently from his counsel who informed me as of yesterday [September 19th] that the album is still available for sale, regardless of what eBay dictates, my other fears include the fact that Martin himself noted in the auction that the tangible items that accompany the actual music discs have been slightly damaged," Markoff explained. Whomever becomes the owner of the rare Wu-Tang release, what they plan to do with it after (i.e. - share it with the public or not) will be the subject of much fan chatter.