A Portland’s children’s hospital is investigating what went wrong during an online auction Thursday night for an exclusive pair of Nike sneakers that saw the winning bid go for $2.25 million.
An annual event at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, in partnership with Nike designers, provides patients an opportunity to create customized shoes and apparel. The merchandise releases in limited quantities and is typically purchased by family and friends of hospital patients.
During the online auction Thursday, Doernbecher revealed the sneakers and apparel for this year, which included a unique pair of “What The” Air Jordan 1 sneakers. The “What The” design from Nike is a mashup of previous sneaker designs made into one. The hospital planned to auction one pair of the shoes, but it quickly turned sour.
The bidding jumped into the low six figures before being vaulted to $690,000, according to the Portland Business Journal. The bids continued to jump with fake names and trolls as the bidders, such as “Donald Trump.” The final bid went for $2.25 million.
Bidders were required to register a valid credit card in order to bid on the merchandise.
The sneakers and apparel likely became popular among collectors because of the uniqueness and rarity of the designs. That significantly drives up the re-sale value of the items. Nike said only 17 pairs of the sneakers were created, the first would be auctioned off, while the other 16 would be auctioned on eBay with all proceeds going to patients and staff.
The program, run through the foundation of the parent hospital Oregon Health Science & University, has raised $29 million since 2003 to protect the health of children in Oregon, southwest Washington and beyond, with all proceeds going to the hospital.
Oregon Health Science & University said in a statement Friday the foundation is postponing the online auction and it is investigating to verify the bidding.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the OHSU Foundation proactively halted the bidding process of Thursday’s Virtually Freestyle auction and is actively working to verify the authenticity of uncharacteristically high bids,” OHSU said. “We took these steps as added measures to existing security protocols.
“Doernbecher Freestyle fans, including those that joined us from across the globe for Thursday’s event, know how much the program means to the patients, families and staff at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. We are grateful to Nike, our community members, donors and sponsors for their support of OHSU Doernbecher, and the young patient-designers behind every Doernbecher Freestyle collection.”
-- Aron Yohannes
ayohannes@oregonian.com; @aronyohannes
The Link LonkMarch 02, 2021 at 05:27AM
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Nike charity auction for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital freezes after online trolls hijack the bidding - OregonLive
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