A charity auction selling garments and accessories donated by pop megastar Ed Sheeran is going live earlier than planned because of “overwhelming” public and media interest.
The astonishing array of nearly 450 goodies, the majority of which are being sold on the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) eBay site, includes boxer shorts, jumpers, trousers and hats, as well as jackets, belts, bags, T-shirts and Ipswich Town merchandise.
The original plan had been to start the auction on Thursday night. However, due to extraordinary interest and widespread media coverage, a decision has been made to get the ball rolling today. The first 20 items dropped at midday with another 40 going live at 8pm tonight (14th November).
“It’s been an incredible couple of days and the feeling is we need to strike while the iron’s hot,” said EACH Director of Retail Ian Nicolson.
“We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the public and media interest and found ourselves in the spotlight across the country, from vast numbers of online reports to national press, radio and TV coverage.
“News of our auction has even gone international and been picked up in Seattle and Minnesota. It’s been fantastic and our top priority, as ever, is to maximise opportunities and raise as much as possible for our charity.
“That’s our sole focus and why we’ve brought things forward slightly, to seize the moment and ensure full impact.”
The first 20 items went live at lunchtime and that auction will finish at midday on Sunday (19th November). The next 40 will drop at 8pm tonight and be available to bid on until 8pm on Thursday, November 23rd.
“It’s very important to stress that no-one will miss out on the opportunity to bid,” added Ian.
“We may have brought things forward but everything will still be available for bids on Thursday.”
Ed’s donations are set to raise thousands for EACH, which supports families and cares for children across Ed’s native Suffolk, as well as Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. The singer-songwriter has been an Ambassador for the charity since 2014 and the donations were delivered by a member of his team to EACH’s shop in Bridge Street, Framlingham.
More auctions will follow in the coming weeks, in time for unique Christmas presents, and the starting price per item will be £9.99. Auctions can be accessed by heading here.
Garments will not be washed or ironed – they will be sold as received – and all sales will be accompanied by a signed letter of authenticity. Items will be sent via fully tracked and insured Royal Mail postage. They can also be sent overseas.
The complete breakdown of stock received is 26 plain T-shirts, 16 T-shirts with a logo or design, six premium T-shirts, 18 premium polo shirts, three plain jumpers, eight jumpers with a logo or design, nine premium jumpers, 11 pairs of trousers, three jackets, five belts, six onesies, 69 bags and accessories, 73 pairs of socks, 149 pairs of boxer shorts (around half of which have been worn and washed and half are brand new), 21 pairs of shorts, a pair of shoes, 14 hats and seven Ipswich Town items.
Suffolk-based Ed is a long-time supporter of EACH and he met staff and families at The Treehouse, in Ipswich, after becoming an Ambassador in 2014.
The 32-year-old memorably performed an acoustic set at a gala fundraiser at Cambridge’s Natural History Museum in 2016. He donated a drum kit which was auctioned for £2,650 and the evening raised more than £262,000.
All photography for eBay was kindly provided free of charge by Norwich-based NIQ Brandbank.
