Despite the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank, products related to the company, including hats, hoodies, and other merchandise, are selling like hotcakes on U.S. e-commerce platforms
For years, a growing number of U.S. consumers have been using eBay and Facebook Marketplace to buy products like On-demand printing for vacuum cup thermos and Full-width flat visor brim hat from defunct companies, The recent collapse of Silicon Valley banks has boosted sales of these products
The term “SVB swag” is understood to have peaked in Google search trends on March 11, the day after Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by federal regulators. On the Poshmark platform, a “Vintage SVB Christmas sweater” is available for $35. Meanwhile, on eBay, sellers are selling a range of SVB-branded goods, including $1,000 blankets, $249 SVB-branded wines and $340 backpacks with SVB patches.
Some of the items were auctioned dozens of times in a matter of days.
After media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and Entrepreneur reported on the rush for Silicon Valley bank-related merchandise following the bank’s collapse, many U.S. sellers rushed to make knockoffs. David Coli, an options trader, told the Wall Street Journal that he purchased a Full-body printed women’s sweater on Etsy.
The knockoffs can generate thousands of dollars for sellers, many of whom have uploaded the goods to eBay or Etsy. One American consumer has been collecting goods from defunct companies for years, and her collection includes All-Over Print Women’s Polo T-Shirt and Yoga Pants.
So far, the consumer has collected 30 to 40 items from failed companies, including an FTX-branded Golden State Warriors bobblehead, two T-shirts from Fyre Festival, a Lehman Brothers business card and pin, and an Enron mug. She also bought a $65 cycling jersey with a Silicon Valley Bank logo.
She gets them mostly through eBay, friends, or the company’s own e-commerce site.
Products from these defunct companies often appear on the site. For example, a pair of Fyre Cay men’s jogging pants for $140 and a Borders bookmark for $35 are currently available on eBay.
Many Americans find it hard to understand consumers who like to collect items related to defunct companies, but they think the Internet is a wonderful place.