I first thought these were bids for lots of items, like... cases of the item. Am I mistaken that these are actually bids on a single, quantity=1, item?

It's actually impressive if they're auctioning off failed-festival merch at Supreme prices.

Ive seen one of the documentaries about this festival. IMO, I dont think the perpetrators set out to defraud anyone. I think they were just completely inept at what they were doing. They(Billy McFarland) got in over their head and realized way too late that they were. I suppose the case can be made that they did realize early enough that they could have called it off before the dumpster fyre that it was happened. Not doing so seems solid grounds for a fraud case. I think that it is also possible that if he had admitted failure there is a chance he could have salvaged the event and had it later.

That said I don't think it was an intent to defraud people or else they would not have even tried to put the event together. Why would all of this merch have been created if they just wanted to bilk investors and festival attendees? This is hubris and ignorance more than fraud.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/834383864/

Here you go guys, you're welcome.

Oh man these are collector’s items. I’d love to have one of the hats. Not $500 want, but I’d probably have spent double the price of the hat on them. Maybe $50-60 or something.

My work is having a “clear the office out before the move” auction - I can try for a few macMinis for about $200 total, or help fund a police department for Fyre swag, single item.

Tough choice.

Fyre Festival information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival

I also think that most of these “lots” are just for one item.

However, I think that the bids are probably mostly earnest.

As streetware a lot of this could probably be considered collector’s items among the hype beast crowd. The prices seem to be in a range similar to supreme and similar.

I was thinking it might be fun to have a cap or a shirt from this... then I saw the prices. $500 for a ball cap?

I'm wondering if anyone is actually going to pay for this stuff or if it's just a bunch of K-Pop fans driving up prices only to abandon them.

The endgame:

    Name: WILLIAM MCFARLAND
    Register Number: 91186-054
    Age: 28
    Race: White
    Sex: Male
    Release Date: 08/30/2023
    Located At: FCI Elkton

They were pretty close to a billion $

From the docos the interesting thing is they seemed like they almost would have became Cameo.

Just like Riot-E also almost became 100 millionaires through their outrageous fake it till you make it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0lrIi0ce5E (NSFW)

I wonder if a merch for other fraud schemes existed how much would it cost and who would buy it? Imagine Bernie Madoff's t-shorts.

These prices are insane! And the weird thing is that the site's showing multiple (in some cases dozens) of bids for items like single perfectly ordinary, even boring looking T shirts for over $100 dollars. Who'd be bidding at these prices and why? (Note: I have absolutely no knowledge of what the Fyre festival is/was or its relevance to anything, but even then, what makes it momentous enough for these prices?)

Does the SDNY keep this money or does it go to restitution?

Where does the revenue from this auction go?

Presumably it's given to creditors of the fyre festival? What if there is an excess?

It's been pointed out that there are identical items with very different bids. Maybe someone with knowledge of game theory or mechanism design or whatever can tell me: What's the "right" way (or ways?) to auction off multiple identical items? Top k bids win?

I wonder at what point the logo and other IP goes up for sale.

Also, if those caps get major media attention, I can see them going for thousands of dollars to a celebrity (someone like Kanye West). I’d bet wearing the cap alone would generate several articles and other press coverage.

hacker news: "if left unchecked, the powers of the federal government will prove quite onerous"

also hacker news: "i need this hat" [pays $700 to u.s. marshalls]

Who gets the money from such an auction? Does it act as repayment for those defrauded? Does it go to the government?

Fraud associations aside, Fyre would be a great name for a startup.

They robbing people again with those prices.

Where does the money go?

$400 for a hat?

the auction is also a fraud meant to recoup funds from the festival fraud...