Coinciding with the highly-anticipated “Solo: A Star Wars Story” film release and in partnership with HollywoodMemorabilia, an original screen-used production piece of the Empire’s ultimate weapon – the Death Star – will be up for sale exclusively on eBay beginning Thursday, May 24 through Sunday, June 3. Visit: eBay.com/DeathStar.
Created by visual effect artists including Jonathan Erland and Lorne Peterson – key members of the Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM) team hired by George Lucas to bring “Star Wars: Episode-IV - A New Hope” to life – this piece of Star Wars history is an original screen-used section of the Death Star surface, created to film the legendary Death Star assault. The piece comes with several original certified documents, confirming its history and authenticity, and is the only Death Star section of its size to ever be available for purchase.
“On behalf of HollywoodMemorabilia we are excited to partner with eBay to bring this incredible piece of Star Wars history to fans around the world. As one of the most iconic films ever made, this prop is a defining collectible for any serious Star Wars enthusiast,” said Stefan Tesoriero, EVP of HollywoodMemorabilia.
In addition, eBay is launching “The Solo Greatest Store in the Galaxy” – offering a curated destination comprised entirely of memorabilia from the franchise. Much of the inventory is rare, one-of-a-kind and not available for purchase anywhere else, including an authentic Harrison Ford-autographed “Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi” movie poster – valued at $2,200. Additional store merchandise includes accessories, action figures, signed posters, kitchen items and more. The store is live now at eBay.com/StarWars.
Exclusive Inventory from HollywoodMemorabilia Includes:
- BB-8 Ceramic Cookie Jar - Now: $79.99
- Daisy Ridley Signed Rey & Kylo Ren Photo - Now: $499.99
- Chewbacca 12 oz. Ceramic Mug - Now: $9.99
- Carrie Fisher Signed Special Edition Poster - Now: $499.99
- Porg Sculpted Ceramic Teapot - Now: $44.99
- Harrison Ford Signed Blaster Gun - Now $1,999.99
“Star Wars is arguably the most iconic franchise in pop culture history, so we are thrilled to make this historical screen-used production piece available to our network of 171 million active buyers,” said Sam Bright, Senior Director of Art & Collectibles at eBay. “We’re always trying to connect people with merchandise that speaks to their passions, which is why we’re launching a curated Star Wars only store on the marketplace of this magnitude.”
eBay x Star Wars by the Numbers*
- On average, Star Wars is searched for over 13,000 times per minute on eBay, and over 200 times per second. And Star Wars is searched for 83% more than Avengers.
- Out of Star Wars characters, Darth Vader has the highest amount of sold items on eBay and is the most searched for character since March.
- Ahead of the upcoming film, after Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, Han Solo has recently risen through the ranks to the #3 most searched for and most purchased character on eBay.
- The most popular Star Wars item sold on eBay is LEGO Star Wars! LEGO Star Wars sets make up almost HALF (46%) of sold Star Wars products on eBay.
Han Solo Fans by Location*
- The most hardcore Han Solo fans live in Watsonville, California, with 16% more Han Solo purchases than anywhere else in the country.
- Top five Han Solo cities, based on purchases:
- Watsonville, CA
- Muncie, IN
- Mason, OH
- Mineral, VA
- Milpitas, CA
- While these cities are not fans of Han Solo, with no purchases made:
- Chester, PA
- Newmanstown, PA
- Hudson, WI
- Carlsbad, CA
- Fulton, MS
*All data based on searched and sold items on eBay.com between January 1, 2010 – May 5, 2018