Neon-lit developer desktop filled with unsellable tech swag, including a faded pink t-shirt, pin banner, Lego builds, wool slippers, plush toys, and a laptop showing Looties.

The 5 Merch I'll Never Be Able to Sell

1 juin 2026|2 min|Mathilda Sinig

Or: how I built a marketplace for conference swag and can't list a single thing from my own collection.

There's a specific type of person who goes to tech conferences. They collect the tote bags. They wear the hoodies the same week they get them. They display the stickers like trophies. They bring gifts back to their kids from business trips. I am that person. And I built Looties, a marketplace to resell tech conference swag, while sitting in a pile of items I will never, ever be able to sell. Here's my hall of “shame” (or, guilty pleasures!):

My Lego sets

Sorry, not sorry. These aren't conference swag in the traditional sense, but they are part of the haul from years of events, side deals, and community perks. And they are my madeleine de Proust. That Proustian thing where a single object unlocks a whole era of your life. I will not be selling these.

My Pins collection

Every conference has them. The little enamel badges with logos, mascots, inside jokes. I have a specific arrangement of mine mounted on a black banner ( like a battle standard, an étendard) sitting on top of my computer screen. It's not decor. It's a chronicle. Each pin is a conversation, a booth, a handshake, a moment. You don't sell a chronicle.

Black hanging fabric banner displaying a curated collection of colorful tech conference enamel pins like trophies from past events.

My Platform.sh Cat Tee

From my onboarding kit. Completely faded. What used to be a crisp print is now a soft, washed-out whisper of itself. It's also my only pink t-shirt. And it reminds me, every time I see it in the laundry pile, that I'm a girl dad. Unsellable. Irreplaceable. Bonus point: since platform.sh has now renamed Upsun, it’s even more collector!

Faded pink Platform.sh cat t-shirt hanging on a wooden hanger, showing its worn fabric, soft wrinkles, and washed-out black graphic.

My Strapi towel and wool slippers

These came from my last offsite with the Strapi team in 2022. Natural sheep wool. Gifted during what turned out to be my final chapter with that crew. The towel? Still in heavy rotation. The slippers? My best friends from November to March. Every single winter morning. Some swag becomes friends. This is that.

Well-worn natural wool slippers on a wooden floor, showing frayed fabric, soft texture, and years of cozy winter use.

The giant DigitalOcean shark plushie

Here's the thing about business trips when you're a parent: you always promise to bring something back. My daughter loves plushies. So when I spotted the giant DigitalOcean shark plushie, there was no deliberation. It came home. It went straight to her room. I don’t even know if it has a name. But you wouldn't take a gift back from a kid, right? This one is from NVIDIA GTC 2025!

Bright blue DigitalOcean shark plushie nestled in a woven basket full of children’s stuffed toys.

I'm not telling you this to brag about my collection. I'm telling you this because I wish someone had told me earlier:the window to sell conference swag is short. The hoodie you wear twice is still worth something. The tee you've washed five times is getting there. The plushie your daughter has claimed is gone forever. Looties exists for the version of you who catches it in time. Before the memories and the wear make it unsellable. List it before it becomes a story. Someone else will love it just as much... and if you've already got your own “Madeleines de Proust” I want to hear about it!