Toronto Raptors Fans Are Already Cashing In On Their Free Replica Championship Rings
They say the best things in life are free, and that's particularly true when you can resell them online. Toronto Raptors fans attending the team's home opener on Tuesday, October 22 against the New Orleans Pelicans each received an exact replica of the Toronto Raptors championship ring. But by the following morning, resale sites were inundated with people looking to sell their memento.
It was announced in the lead-up to the 2019-20 season opener at Scotiabank Arena that 20,000 replica rings would be given out to attending fans.
And for many people, the rings, which are the largest and most valuable NBA championship rings ever created, according to TSN, certainly didn't seem to disappoint.
No wonder Kyle Lowry, who had a hand in designing the ring, seemed so taken with the luxurious statement piece.
"Shock and kind of in awe, I think that was the reaction that I got," he said, as quoted by Sportsnet. "I think that's going to be the main reaction where everyone is going to be in shock and that's why I was happy about the ring and the design."
The rest of the players were pretty happy, too.
As is often the case with popular free giveaways, though, some people were quickly looking to resell their memento for some cold, hard cash.
Unsurprisingly, the replica rings listed on RealSports.ca are currently sold out.
By Wednesday morning — by later on Tuesday evening, in fact — resale sites like Kijiji and eBay were full of replica rings being flogged at various prices.
Below is an assortment of some of the more expensive replica ring listings.
[rebelmouse-image 25953457 photo_credit="Kijiji" expand=1 original_size="1433x738"]
[rebelmouse-image 25953458 photo_credit="eBay" expand=1 original_size="1739x611"]
[rebelmouse-image 25953459 photo_credit="Kijiji" expand=1 original_size="1368x758"]
[rebelmouse-image 25953460 photo_credit="eBay" expand=1 original_size="1383x645"]
[rebelmouse-image 25953461 photo_credit="Kijiji" expand=1 original_size="1414x701"]
And believe us when we say that this is just a very small sample from a big, big selection found on resale sites such as Kijiji and eBay.
The highest price range these fan replica rings seem to be listed for is around $500 to $600, which is a decent chunk of change for a free giveaway.
It's worth noting, though, that a little bit of digging on these sites throws up some users selling the rings for far less, some as low as around $150.
Comparatively, it's nothing. Well, that's if you compare the touted resale price of a fan replica ring with the estimated value of the original or "premium" ring. The actual ones worn by the players are valued at around an eye-watering $10,000.
So, if you didn't attend the home opener and you're desperate to get your hands on one of these rings, maybe settle for a resale replica. There are certainly plenty of options less than 24 hours after the historic fan giveaway.
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