For this week’s blog, I figured I would talk about something a little different. Although individual pairs of shoes are fascinating, the sneaker resale market is probably the most interesting facet of the sneaker industry. It’s such an incredibly dynamic thing, with so many different factors playing on the millions of shoes across the market. In today’s post I want to give a beginner’s guide to the sneaker resale, starting on some background about how this even came into existence.
The sneaker resale market comes from a relatively humble beginning, originating from a small group of people in the mid 90s who began trading and collecting sneakers. This group steadily grew throughout the years, eventually spreading to rappers, sports icons, and even fashion executives in the early 2000s. A dedicated community formed around the exchange of vintage of Jordan shoes that were originally disregarded by the public. The general public would come to be included when Nike decided to rerelease Jordan models under its own subjection called Jordan Brand. These shoes, unlike their original releases, sold out almost immediately, garnering widespread interest and overwhelming demand. Nike played off of this perfectly, creating more and more exclusive releases to increase the reputation of its shoes. This was how the sneaker industry came to be what we know today. Nike, as well as other major shoe brands like Adidas and Asics began collaborating with pop-culture figures in order to compete for attention. Every release would sell out immediately, and a new shoe would enter the expansive resell market.
Now that we’re up to speed, I think that it’s time to take a look at some of the mechanics of the resale market. There are two essential factors that drive the sneaker market: exclusivity and hype. Exclusivity is rather simple because it works on the basics of supply and demand. The harder the sneaker is to get, the higher the value of the shoe. Hype is a more difficult concept to grasp. It’s what makes a shoe “cool,” what makes a specific shoe desirable. It varies from person to person, but it’s the most powerful tool of the resale market. Hype causes shoes to quadruple in value, making some shoes worth thousands of dollars.
Navigating the resale market is something that takes years of time and research to fully understand. For most, its much easier to simply walk into a shoe store and buy what’s most comfortable. Others choose to throw themselves into the abyss, hopeful of coming away with some of the most coveted shoes in the world.