Kobe Sneaker Prices Jump Following Death of the Basketball Star Posted on February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 by John Quinnies While the sudden death last Sunday of basketball star Kobe Bryant has left many mourning, it has also left a hole burning in many pockets. Nike’s online store has sold out of all Kobe Bryant related material, according to an article from CNN. This phenomena of heightened product sales after a celebrity death is nothing new though. After the musician Prince died in 2016, his combined album sales jumped and dominated overall album sales for the rest of the year. Nike isn’t the only company that has seen a boon in sales. With online peer-to-peer resale shops such as StockX, individual sneaker fans can sell shoes directly to each other, with a portion of the profits going to StockX. The going rate for most Kobe apparel on StockX has drastically increased. Sales for the Kobe 5 Proto Chaos shoes jumped from only 12 sales on Saturday to over 500 sales on Sunday and Monday combined. The average sale price rose by over $100 on average after his death was reported. Prices have mostly remained the same since then. Preston Nehmer, a Winneconne high school student, is a fan of Kobe Bryant and his shoes. “I could not believe what happened.” Nehmer said, “I sat there and did nothing besides think if it was really true that Kobe Bryant, my idol and inspiration, had died.” Nehmer uses apps such as StockX and GOAT to purchase and resell shoes. Sometimes he makes major profit, or just some lunch money, according to Nehmer. “All of my Kobe’s mean a lot to me and have an amazing story that touches me personally,” Nehmer said. In reaction to the jumping prices on Kobe sneakers, Twitter sneakerheads have pounced on other users raising prices of the sneakers. Seeing these prices on Kobe's on stockX increase by 2-3 times is DISGUSTING!!!! Y'ALL SO GREEDY AND TASTELESS— tim (@timdippel) January 26, 2020 I bought these Kobe 10 5AM at the outlet mall for $120 and now they’re selling for more than $400 on @stockx. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/1so1SQ3Ptm— Champagne Paaji (@champagnepaaaji) January 31, 2020 In response to the controversy, StockX has decided to donate their portion of Kobe-related sales to the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant foundation, according to a tweet from StockX. This week, our community lost a legend. As a company, we have decided to donate all proceeds from this week’s sales of Kobe Bryant products to the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. #MambaForever 💜 https://t.co/c5x47WBjYl— StockX (@stockx) January 28, 2020 While many on Twitter were angered by the spike in prices, Nehmer was not surprised. “Everyone wants to buy Kobe products to show our love for him and to pay our respect to him,” Nehmer said. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)