Inside the Urban Necessities Consignment Crisis

Setting The Stage

Earlier this month, Sole Retriever published a report detailing the mounting allegations surrounding Urban Necessities—a prominent Las Vegas-based sneaker resale shop—and growing concern among consignors and customers. At the time, much of the conversation was playing out across social media with little public acknowledgment from those involved. In the days following our report, however, new developments have emerged.

To be clear, Sole Retriever began reporting on this situation not because of a dispute between owners, but because one of the largest and most well-known consignment shops in the industry was being accused of not paying consignors. The ongoing business feud that has since emerged between parties is a byproduct—not the root—of the larger issue at hand: people not being paid for the inventory they entrusted to the store.

What We've Learned Since Our Initial Report

Since that story, we’ve spoken with more than 20 individuals connected to the situation—ranging from affected consignors to former employees, industry figures close to both sides, and the central parties themselves. Urban Necessities founder Jaysee Lopez (TwoJsKicks) spoke with us directly. On the other side, we reached out to The Shoe Surgeon’s team multiple times over the course of several days and gave them ample opportunity to comment, participate in an interview, or share their side of the story prior to this story's publication. We did speak with a representative from their team, who affirmed The Shoe Surgeon and his team’s decision to decline comment—and has continued to do so until further notice. We have remained in regular contact with that representative and continued to offer opportunities to provide a statement, clarification, or participate in this reporting.

Lopez Breaks His Silence

Following the initial wave of scrutiny, Lopez (TwoJsKicks) released a 14-minute video on Instagram sharing his perspective. Since then, he’s gone live on IG multiple times, presenting screenshots, personal anecdotes, and outlining his version of the events that led to this point—and has spoken with us in an exclusive interview.

According to Lopez, things began to shift in early 2022 when his wife was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. Her illness forced both of them to step back from daily operations, leaving the business without its core leadership. Recognizing the need for additional support, Lopez says he entered conversations with Dominic “The Surgeon” Ciambrone and his business partners, operating under Surgeon Worldwide Inc.

At the time, the Surgeon team appeared well-positioned to help: they had a fully functioning factory, a team with brand-building experience, and had shown working relationships or collaborations with major partners like Nike, Gucci, and Bentley. Just as importantly, their expertise in sneaker customization aligned with one of Lopez’s key goals for Urban Necessities—to create an immersive, experience-driven retail space that kept people in the store for as long as possible. The ability to offer on-site custom shoe building seemed like a natural fit for that vision, and the partnership moved forward.

Breakdown of the Business Deal

Lopez says the deal was finalized toward the end of 2022. However, he claims that after signing, he was effectively sidelined and no longer had a say in how the company was run, despite still being held liable for the business’s financial obligations. He says he asked for a buyout in early 2023, but the agreement was never formally executed by the Surgeon side. Later, Lopez says he offered to walk away entirely without compensation just to move on—but still, no deal was signed. In his words, he was made an employee of the company, and then later was ultimately terminated. However, he claims he remains a 50% owner of the business on paper, and therefore is still tied to any of the business' debts.

Lopez' Accusations

Lopez has made a series of pointed accusations toward members of the Surgeon team—both publicly through his Instagram Lives and privately in conversations with Sole Retriever. He alleges that since his operational removal, there have been a variety of questionable business practices taking place behind the scenes—practices he suggests may extend beyond mismanagement and into potentially criminal territory. While he hasn’t gone into full detail publicly, he has hinted at more disclosures to come if a resolution isn’t reached.

During our exclusive interview and ongoing conversations with Lopez, he reiterated many of these allegations and shared evidence in support of some of his claims. As a matter of journalistic integrity, we informed him that we would not publish any criminal or serious business misconduct allegations without documentation supporting said claims. Over the past several days, Lopez shared emails, screenshots, and internal messages with Sole Retriever that appear to give merit to two of his key accusations:

1. Consignment rate increases without proper notice or consent.
Lopez claims that consignment payout rates were changed via a mandatory software update for consignors—without email notifications or direct approval. He says these changes were implemented after he had lost control over day-to-day operations, and claims he was against them from the start. While this type of opt-in via app update raises transparency concerns on its own, we obtained communications from multiple consignors who say they neither explicitly agreed to the new terms nor updated their app—meaning they couldn’t have accepted any baked-in changes, which may have included rate increases.

Even if updating the app effectively opted users in—a move some consignors described as slimy—these individuals say they never updated in the first place and were left confused when their payout checks reflected a higher cut taken by the store. In some cases, consignors explicitly emailed staff requesting that their products not be sold under the new rate. In examples we viewed, Urban Necessities staff acknowledged these requests—but consignors say their items were sold anyway, despite being told they wouldn’t be.

These consignors say they were initially alarmed when consignment checks reflected a higher rate than anticipated. Whether the changes were legally binding or whether users technically “opted in” via the app, these individuals maintain that no direct correspondence—such as an email or platform alert—was ever sent to inform them of the new rates.

2. Inconsistent pricing between backend and customer-facing site.
Several consignors provided evidence that items they relisted at lower prices in the system were still shown to customers at a higher amount on the website, resulting in price discrepancies and looming questions. For example, a consignor might lower the price of an item from $500 to $400, only for the website to display $499. The item would sell, and the consignor would be told it sold for $400—raising questions about where the price difference may have gone. They were then paid out their percentage based on that $400 figure, not the actual selling price displayed to customers — raising the question of: where did the remaining $99 go?

There are a multitude of other claims Lopez has made—both in his public remarks and in conversations with us—as well as additional allegations shared by others we've spoken to. However, we will not be reporting on those at this time without substantive evidence to support them, or unless further information emerges that corroborates those accounts.

What Lopez Wants

Lopez has made one thing clear to us: he wants full ownership of Urban Necessities back. His stated goal is to take control, assess the financial state of the business, and pay back consignors in full. However, he says he currently has no visibility into the company’s financials and doesn’t know what liabilities he would be taking on—whether that includes debt, loans, or other obligations.

The Surgeon Team Responds

Five days ago, on June 21st, a joint statement from Urban Necessities and the Surgeon Worldwide team was posted publicly, breaking their silence and pushing back against Lopez’s claims. “From the start, we entered this partnership with integrity and a genuine belief in the brand,” the statement reads. “Despite our efforts, including investing millions of dollars and working in good faith, the relationship faced serious challenges.” The statement alleges that significant mismanagement by Lopez—including mishandling funds and tax issues—was only discovered after their involvement. They also claim Lopez engaged in “self-dealing, stole product, and embezzled company funds.” Despite these accusations, the statement says that the Surgeon team has been working to return full ownership of Urban Necessities to Lopez and that the process is “nearly complete.”

While the statement says that the ownership transfer is “nearly complete,” it remains unclear what the timeline looks like or what exactly remains to be finalized. And in the days that have followed, based on Lopez’s continued public activity—including new posts, additional claims, and even a visit to the store—it’s difficult, from the outside looking in, to reconcile that with the idea that a resolution is close. The Surgeon side has remained largely quiet since issuing their statement. Whether a deal is truly near remains to be seen.

What Comes Next?

Right now, we’re in a limbo of he said, she said. But ultimately, it all boils down to this: either the Surgeon side discloses exactly what Lopez would be taking on—financially and legally—and a deal is reached for him to regain control of Urban Necessities, or no agreement is made and the company moves toward bankruptcy. Theoretically, there could be other options on the table—but given the current state of the business and the reputational damage already done, it’s hard to imagine anyone rushing to take it over.

Sources close to the matter say that the two sides may be inching closer to a resolution and that a deal could be on the horizon.

A Story Still Unfolding

As always, there are two sides to every story. While we've presented Jaysee Lopez’s perspective and shared the documentation he provided, that doesn’t mean his version is the full story—or the only one with merit. Could there be things Lopez has said that the Surgeon side has evidence to refute? Absolutely. Could there be wrongdoing or mismanagement on both sides of the partnership? That’s also very possible.

We’ve seen documentation that supports some of Lopez’s claims, but it’s equally important to give the other side space to present their own facts, receipts, and context. So far, they’ve only spoken through a single public statement. Whether that’s due to legal caution, strategy, or something else entirely remains to be seen.

Until more is disclosed from all parties—and ideally supported with verifiable evidence—we’re left with conflicting narratives, partial truths, and a community of consignors and customers caught in the middle. We hope to hear more from The Shoe Surgeon’s side soon, not just to balance the story, but to get closer to the full truth of what actually happened.

Sole Retriever will continue reporting as the story unfolds. This is a rapidly developing situation with new information, claims, and movement happening almost daily. We’re committed to tracking it closely and keeping you up to date with the latest details as they emerge.

If you have additional information related to this story or have been personally impacted and would like to share your experience, we encourage you to reach out. You can contact us directly—we take every tip seriously and handle all outreach with discretion.

Sole Retriever

Sole Retriever is the leading source for all things sneakers. Tap in for the latest and greatest news.