Nike’s Betsy Ross-themed athletic shoes, which the company pulled before their Fourth of July debut, have garnered a $15,200 bid on eBay.
The sports giant decided not to sell the shoes after former NFL player Colin Kaepernick objected because he said they were offensive and symbolized a time when slavery existed in the United States.
“While the company’s decision sparked a cultural discussion about the significance of the flag and the history of the country, buyers rushed to purchase the shoes, and the price quickly ticked upward,” Newsweek reported. “A pair of the ‘Betsy Ross’ sneakers reportedly sold for $2,500 on e-commerce website StockX after Nike announced that it would be pulling the shoe.”
The eBay website showed on Saturday 101 bids with a $15,200 top offer posted.
“I have never seen so many watchers or views, and it has to be the hottest item on eBay right now,” Isaiah Miller, the man selling the shoes, said in an email to Newsweek. “Call it patriotism, the need to have something you have been told you can’t have, or just a desire for shoe or antique collectors (these could be historical one day), they are paying amazing amounts.”
Miller, 21, told Newsweek he is an entrepreneur and said that his primary business effort is auctioning goods on eBay.
He said he bought the pair of shoes from a woman because the “seller was getting a lot of harassment and threats, and so she decided to just sell them to me.”
The StockX website said it had halted the resale on its website because it “does not align with our value system,” Newsweek reported.
Ross, who ran a flag-making and upholstery business in the 1700s, is credited with producing the iconic American flag with red and white stripes and 13 stars for the 13 colonies.
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