eBay and Nike have teamed up to auction off 10 collectors edition tribute packages, which will include a reissue of the iconic ‘eBay Dunk’ - a tribute to the ‘Charity Dunk’ sneaker released 20 years ago which merged a skate shoe featuring eBay’s colour palette.
The original 'Charity Dunk' sneaker was sold on eBay for $USD30,000 for charity and the samples were destroyed, with one pair being sawed into four pieces to protect the value of the auctioned pair. It is considered the rarest Nike SB sneaker.
In honour of Nike SB pioneer Sandy Bodecker, the owner of the original ‘Charity Dunk’, the upcoming auction will donate all proceeds to the Bodecker Foundation, an organisation that helps encourage creativity among youths.
Australian consumers can bid in the auction, which will run for seven days from 2:00am Thursday, December 8, until 2:00am Thursday, December 15 AEDT.
eBay Australia sneaker expert Alaister Low said eBay was one of the first sneaker marketplaces to sell Nike SB Dunks.
“Skater culture is synonymous with sneaker culture, and we see that reflected on eBay, with a skateboard sold every 30 seconds and a sneaker sold every 2 minutes,” Low said.
In 2021, eBay launched its Authenticity Guarantee initiative for sneakers, which was expanded into handbags earlier this year.
In July this year, eBay head of luxury Brooke Eichhorn said the site saw double-digit growth in sneakers in the first few months.
“Sneakers and handbags are expertly authenticated via a physical multi-point inspection by our highly-trained authenticators,” Eichhorn said. “This process includes everything from the material quality to the construction of the sneaker or bag and hardware. When a buyer purchases an eligible item - just look for the blue tick - it is shipped to our Sydney authentication centre.
“Only once the item is verified is it shipped to the buyer with an NFC tag or card containing an encrypted digital authentication certificate featuring details about the item such as the brand, model and date of authentication.”
Low continued, saying that there are “hundreds” of Nike SB Dunk listings on the website.
“When buying rare, collectible sneakers, Aussies can have the confidence to know they’re buying the real deal with eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee, which has seen 2-million sneakers authenticated globally.”
Other data from eBay found that Adelaide is the most popular city for Nike SB Dunks, with the more popular style being the Nike SB Dunk Low Phillies.
The most expensive SB Dunk sold on eBay in 2022 was the SB Dunk Low Freddy Krueger for $4,700.
Each of the 10 tribute packages up for auction include one collector’s edition tribute pair based on the original SB Charity Dunk, a pair of the 2022 general release Nike SB eBay Dunk and a commemorative saw. This is then packaged up in the world’s first "skateable" sneaker box.