AI-Company Swag Becomes a Hot Secondary Market

Resale platforms such as eBay are seeing a surge in demand for employee-issued merchandise from OpenAI and Anthropic. Boxes of OpenAI “Codex” kits—including a hat, hoodie and small trinkets—have fetched as much as $475, while a single used OpenAI sweatshirt sold for $247. Anthropic-branded pens are changing hands for $40 and hats for $50-$100. Sellers note that the items command “many multiples above other types of company swag,” with OpenAI apparel priced far above comparable Google or SpaceX gear.

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The phenomenon mirrors earlier tech-memorabilia cycles. Collectors have long paid premium prices for relics of the dot-com bust, Theranos, WeWork and early Apple artifacts. Boston-based RR Auction has sold an original Apple-1 board for $2.75 million, while Google and Microsoft memorabilia typically reach low-thousands. Analysts describe AI swag as “another bubble inside the bubble,” recalling the brief surge in Silicon Valley Bank swag after that bank’s collapse, which later deflated.

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OpenAI’s newly public storefront, OpenAI Supply Co, frames its merchandise as a “material embodiment of company culture” and a “physical expression of research energy.” The About page states the line “began as a small line of merch for employees and almost immediately blew up.” RR Auction executive vice president Bobby Livingston calls the items “a sort of high-end participation trophy,” noting that only brands with a strong cult following, such as Apple, retain lasting value.

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Observers caution that the market is “brutally binary.” While Apple relics command top prices, “failed companies’ t-shirts and swag have no value if nobody’s heard of that product anymore.” The rapid price escalation may reflect speculative hype rather than intrinsic worth, echoing the short-lived SVB swag surge.

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• “I do think these are the vintage concert rock shirts of tomorrow,” — Mitchell Brody, eBay seller

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• “You’ll look cool if you wear the swag, particularly if you don’t live in San Francisco where it’s commonplace to know people who work at these companies,” — Travis Deuel, eBay seller

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• “That moment when a creator comes up with a paradigm-shifting product, that’s the touchstone for them emotionally,” — Bobby Livingston, RR Auction

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• “I’d rather have it for the lore; the bragging rights,” — Alejandro Navia, AI-company employee

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• “Supply Co. began as a small line of merch for employees and almost immediately blew up. OpenAI-ers developed concerningly strong, excited opinions about collectible cards, blue folding chairs, and graphic hoodies as emerging currency,” — OpenAI Supply Co About page

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