Silicon Valley Bank shut down over the weekend

Image: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)

President Joe Biden is striving to reassure Silicon Valley companies that their money is secured after the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crashed last week. The president said at a White House press conference those with money at SVB would have access to it on Monday and would be paid back in full.

The bank, used by many tech startups and venture capitalists closed on Friday when the stock price dropped by a whopping 60% on Thursday, prompting some startup founders to pull their money from the bank.

Biden announced the bank is being taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and said, “Small businesses across the country that had deposit accounts at these banks can breathe easier knowing they’ll be able to pay their workers and pay their bills,” Biden said at the conference, adding, “And their hardworking employees can breathe easier as well.”

In the wake of SVB’s crash, some people are hoping to cash in on the news by selling old merchandise on eBay.

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: eBay/elonmusk (not that one)

This person claims to have received this box after getting an offer letter a mere month before SVB’s collapse.

This item was listed as a bid-to-buy product at only .99 cents, and as of writing, it has received 29 bids, bringing it to a shocking $201 with five days left to purchase.

The SVB box is listed as a “Limited edition,” and the seller is asking people to bid, saying they “need to pay rent this month.”

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: eBay/georgepataki

An SVB hat and tumbler were listed on eBay for only .99 cents but have skyrocketed to $100 with six days left to bid on the items.

The person listed the merch as “Two pieces of genuine Silicon Valley Bank corporate swag. Authentic and guaranteed to be ‘limited edition.’”

Although, calling the items a “limited edition” might be considered a given since the bank collapsed.

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: eBay/sunshine2016

The tumbler is listed as “Used,” but that hasn’t stopped 13 people from placing bids on it, increasing the price from $9.99 to $51 with four days left to bid.

According to the listing, the item has some cosmetic wear and tear but is described as fully functional.

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: eBay/14thommi_1

In the first hour of listing this coffee mug, it doubled in price, going from $15 to $30 with nearly three days left to submit bids.

Given the track record for the other listings, we would be shocked if this mug didn’t hike up to the $100 range.

The person says they received this mug while working as a data scientist on the Enterprise Business Analytics team for SVB. While they say they are “extremely concerned about the future,” buying the SVB mug helps them out and “gets you a piece of history to one of the fastest banking failures in US history.”

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: butique12399

From boxes down to shirts, this item is being sold by order. While it’s not listed as requiring a bidding war, it is screen printed and is not a so-called limited edition item.

The store has the shirt listed at $13, making it by far one of the cheapest SVB options to buy on eBay.

Image for article titled Ex-Silicon Valley Bank Employees Are Selling Company Swag on eBay

Screenshot: USA News Stand America

This person takes the cake, selling copies of the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the SVB crash. Listed as an unused buy-now item at $8.99, the front page reads, “Tech Bank Fails, Rattles Market.”

In the first 24 hours since the paper was listed for sale, two out of five copies have been sold

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Szabi Kisded

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