Stephen Curry partners with eBay, Shoe Palace on charity sneaker drop
One of the biggest stars in the NBA is teaming up with a digital giant and a footwear retailer to raise money for his non-profit foundation.
In an email to Chain Store Age, eBay said Stephen Curry, star player of the Golden State Warriors NBA pro basketball team, is collaborating with the e-commerce marketplace and Shoe Palace in a new charity auction called “30 For Good” (named after the number 30 Curry wears on his jersey).
The auction features 30 signed signature sneakers and player-exclusive pairs only available on eBay. All auction proceeds will benefit the Eat.Learn.Play.Foundation, a non-profit organization run by Curry and his wife Ayesha Curry that addresses childhood hunger and education inequality in Oakland.
On Friday, Feb. 14, the Shoe Palace storefront on Geary Street in San Francisco is previewing sneakers up for auction on eBay. Consumers can scan QR codes in the store to bid. Stephen Curry will also make a special in-store appearance.
Bidding on all items starts at $1, and consumers can also place bids on the eBay site through Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.
[READ MORE: Elton John sells wardrobe on eBay for charity]
eBay gains footing in collectible sneakers
Sneakers are big business for eBay. In 2023, the e-tailer began including new and pre-owned children’s sneakers sold for $100 or more from more than 40 leading brands, including Adidas, Nike, New Balance, Off-White, Golden Goose, and Converse, to the sneaker authentication service it launched in October 2020.
And in 2021, eBay acquired the authentication business of Sneaker Con, a sneaker authenticator with operations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and Germany.
The acquisition was an extension of an ongoing collaboration between eBay and Sneaker Con to support the e-tailer’s sneaker authentication services.
In addition, the eBay/Curry pop-up partnership with Shoe Palace is not eBay’s first sneaker-themed pop-up. The retailer operated the “Wear ‘Em Out Store” in Los Angeles during Memorial Day Weekend 2022. The store featured some of eBay’s most popular sneaker styles at significant discounts (higher for wearing purchases out the door), with rap musician and sneaker influencer Offset helping curate the assortment.
eBay followed this up in April 2023 with “The '85 Shop,” a two-day pop-up store in Chicago that paid tribute to the original Air Jordan 1 sneaker released by Nike in 1985 and worn by Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay enabled more than $73 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2023.
