Oregon Ducks Goldmine: How One Fan Went Viral For A Storage Unit Find

Back in June, social media thrifting re-seller Steven Laisure (@stevens_thrifting_journey) and his wife, Felicia, came across a unit for sale on storeageauctions.com, and the Laisures then discovered a treasure trove of exclusive Oregon Duck gear that would make The Duck himself blush.

An Oregon Ducks Thrift Haul of Dreams

A shot of @stevens_thrifting_journey's haul after buying the storage locker of a former Oregon Duck athlete. | @stevens_thrifting_journey on Instagram

When Laisure, a Eugene, Oregon native, happened upon the five foot by five foot unit online, he partially anticipated the Nike sneaker boxes would end up being empty, but something compelled him to bid for the unity anyways.

"I knew just from what I saw from the pictures. This wasn’t an average storage unit, it looked a lot more to me, but also very risky! Anytime you see pictures of a storage unit up for sale and they show very nice collectibles Out in the open and very obvious, sometimes that can be a red flag," Laisure said in an exclusive interview with Oregon Duck on Sports Illustrated's Ally Osborne.

"And at that point I still had no idea if there were shoes in there. I just knew for sure I won minimum of a jacket and a few bags of clothing?" He added.

One of the original photos @stevens_thrifting_journey's received before buying the unit of a former Oregon Duck athlete. | @stevens_thrifting_journey on Instagram

The Value of Oregon Ducks Gear

Laisure spent a total of $500 to acquire the unit. When he arrived to pick up his newly acquired finds, Laisure discovered the storage locker belonged to a former University of Oregon men's basketball athlete. In his opinion, the $500 price tag is a steal for the items he uncovered.

"A lot of team issued clothing items, and backpacks. Not to mention all of the authentic shoes. There’s some crazy stuff in there! The Oregon ducks merch, and the shoes I would say are the main highlights of the unit," Laisure said.

There were also designer pieces also disgarded in the locker, such as a pair of green, brown, and black Bape sneakers and all-black Balenciaga sneakers.

Fan Virality

Laisure diligently documented the entire haul on his Youtube channel, and a photo of himself standing next to the piles of Oregon merchandise since went viral online. He shared that the reactions to his discovery are mixed, from some fans congratulating him to a few using the viral moment to troll.

"I would say social media loved seeing what I got from the storage unit," Laisure said. "I would say about 95 percent of everyone was very happy for me and couldn’t believe what I got. The other 5 percent I would say I got a little mixed reactions from people. I had some people call me a thief, and I’ve had a few hateful emails and messages from people claiming it was their storage unit and they want it all back which obviously, they are all liars."

What Happened To The Former Athlete Owner

Though the heaps of exclusive clothing is a win for the Oregon-based thrifter, who has already sold one pair of Nike Dunk Oregon Duck DOAF PE's in a size 14 for $399.99 on his eBay account, there's still the question of the athlete who abandoned all the gear. Laisure shared he does know who once owned his Duck treasure trove, and shared he plans to return a few of the items to their original owner.

"I have not contacted the athlete yet," Laisure shared. "You hear a lot of stories about people doing that and sometimes they can open the big can of worms and cause a lot of problems. However, after the dust has settled for a little bit, I am considering trying to reach out to the athlete to at least give him his Letterman‘s jacket back and maybe a few other sentimental items."

Oregon Ducks Stay Trending

All the hype around Laisure's find comes down to the Oregon Ducks' continued success of branding themselves as a fashion-forward program. Yes, if another collector out there found a unit with another teams' gear of this calliber, there would be fanfare, but likely not to the extent of an Oregon haul.

Through their unique partnership with sportswear brand Nike, the Ducks built a brand known for exclusivity and pushing the boundary on gear desired worldwide.

"As a collector and reseller, vintage Oregon ducks merch, I would say this stuff is very sought after," Laisure said. "People want true vintage, made in USA apparel, especially Oregon Ducks. People wanna see the old school Disney Donald Duck. But one of my favorite things about living in Eugene is, always finding the very rare Nike pieces that are in the area."

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