It’s been just over six months since news broke of sneaker reseller Michael Malekzadeh dissolving his business and leaving customers with millions of dollars in outstanding orders from the Ponzi scheme-like operation. Malekzadeh, who sold and took advance preorders for sneakers under his Zadeh Kicks brand, was charged in July with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to these charges in August and will face trial next June. While he awaits his day in court, the receivership in charge of Zadeh Kicks’ remaining 60,000-sneaker inventory has been looking for ways to sell off the shoes.
According to a report from Nice Kicks, the court-appointed receiver, David Stapleton, has found a partner in Ebay.
“The receiver has determined to use the Ebay marketplace as an avenue to sell Zadeh’s remaining inventory,” Ebay’s GM of sneakers Garry Thaniel tells the website. “We’re happy to be able to leverage the marketplace to get these sneakers to enthusiasts. As an online marketplace, Ebay does not manage any listings or sales on our platform. We have partnered with the receiver to provide support for this sale purely as a platform. All listing logistics, sales and fulfillment are managed by the receiver.”
The remaining shoes from Malekzadeh’s stash are being sold under an account named pacific_kickz. As of publishing, the pacific_kickz Ebay store has sold 185 items since its creation on Nov. 17. 448 different SKUs are currently listed in a wide range of sizes, with many of them having multiple pairs in stock per size.
Thaniel goes on to say that the receiver decided to use Ebay due to its fee structure and authenticity guarantee and that it was not offered any further incentive.
“Our collective goal is to get these sneakers to enthusiasts and use those funds to repay those involved in this case,” Thaniel says.
Individuals affected by the Ponzi scheme have faced difficulty getting reimbursed in recent weeks. Earlier this month, some American Express cardholders reported that their initial chargebacks had been reversed, resulting in customers being re-billed for orders that were never actually fulfilled.
