It’s no $400,000, but that’s still a nice chunk of change…
In case you missed it last week, eBay pulled an auction for a Walmart vest signed for former employee Gail Lewis after the bidding skyrocketed, quickly reaching over $400,000 in just one day.
Gail Lewis is, of course, the former Walmart employee from Morris, Illinois (#844) who went viral on TikTok after posting a video of her dramatic final “sign off” after 10 years on the job, with an explanation that she had found a better job but would miss her Walmart family.
@fluffygaileena♬ original sound – fluffygaileena
The sign-off, reminiscent of the emotional final calls of police and military officers on their last day on the job, quickly went viral online, with people jumping in to thank Gail for her service to her country.
@justusjunge Thank you for your Service Gail Lewis… #gaillewis #walmart #emotion #veteran #recovery #gail #lewis #meme #fy #fyp ♬ Originalton – Justus Junge
@etrips16 #MemeCut #gaillewis #walmart @Walmart #MemeCut #MemeCut #Meme ♬ Taps – American Military
@gamblingaddict._ Your service will not be forgotten.🇺🇸🫡#gaillewis #fyp #foryoupage #123 ♬ original sound – Himothy
@prozak.papi Thank you gail #fyp #gaillewis #walmart #trendingnow #trending #comedy #funny ♬ Taps – United States Coast Guard Band
Gail has become somewhat of a folk hero for her actions during her 10 years at Walmart, with many taking to TikTok to recount her many acts of bravery while serving her country.
@cashmoneycristian Still haven’t recovered #gaillewis #fyp ♬ original sound – Cristian
@bfbsbl3168 Gail Lewis was different. Sad to see the retirement. True Soldier. #gaillewis #primevideo #fyp #viralvideo ♬ original sound – david :)
And honestly, it’s one of my favorite things on the internet.
Well TikToker Eric Decker is apparently a big Gail Lewis fan too. So he reached out to the viral sensation and asked for her autograph.
Lewis agreed, so Decker flew to Morris, Illinois with a Walmart vest in hand to get it signed by the store’s most famous former employee.
But instead of keeping the autographed vest for himself, Decker is actually auctioning it off for charity – and even let Lewis pick which charity the proceeds would go to. (She decided to donate the money to the Children’s Miracle Network).
Well the internet being what it is these days, the auction obviously took off – and quickly reached over $400,000. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Insane.
But as it turns out, eBay has a policy against auctions that are advertised as having the proceeds go towards charity. So after only being live for a day, the site removed the auction and banned Decker from eBay entirely.
There’s good news though. Decker was able to find another auction house to sell the vest, and even flew to New Jersey to deliver the vest to be authenticated.
@airrackGail Lewis got me permanently banned from ebay
The Gail Lewis-signed jersey then went back up for auction through Goldin Auctions, and closed yesterday after selling for over $13,000 – a far cry from the $400,000 bids on eBay, but still an insane amount for a Walmart vest signed by a former employee.
And chances are, the eBay auction wouldn’t have realistically brought in anywhere near a half million dollars. eBay allows anyone to place a bid whether they have the funds or not, so it’s likely that the price was driven so high by pranksters just trying to jack up the price.
But Goldin requires proof of funds before placing a bid, so it looks like the winning bidder will actually be paying over $10k for the signed Gail Lewis vest.
I mean, who can really put a price on such a legendary piece of memorabilia?
