Sneaker resale is a growing market that has advanced at a much faster rate than the sneaker industry itself! People have been collecting sneakers and then reselling them since the dawn of sneaker time! Even consignment stores helped people flip sneakers before it was cool.
It was a money-making hobby for people before the sneaker industry caught up to speed. The sneaker industry blew up for real the day it clashed with the music industry! Later on, when online shopping platforms like Amazon and eBay became a thing, reselling got even more popular!
But, both are very codependent on one another. The sneaker reselling industry definitely can not make it without the sneaker industry. And the sneaker industry’s hype fully depends on the resale! By the way, if you’re curious about becoming a reseller yourself and join in the money-making, click the button below. You can thank us later. Preferably in cash.
Yet, is it possible that the sneaker resale market might actually be facing its final frontier? It’s been so long that everyone just assumes it has to reach some kind of end. Right? Well, we’ve done our homework to give you the final verdict.
The Industry Value
Here’s a big-ass bar graph telling you exactly how the value of the sneaker industry is growing rapidly every year. According to Statista, the sneakers market revenue was valued at approximately 70 BILLION dollars in 2020!
They also forecast it to reach a value of 102 BILLION dollars by 2025 with Nike bringing in 24 Billion dollars on its own. Adidas trying to dethrone Nike is not obviously not going so well. Although they claim to have a major Adidas return plan by 2021. Granted the year’s almost over. So, still waiting on that strategy.
But, the importance of this statistic is to prove that the sneaker industry is growing. This means that the sneaker resale market is on the RISE! They do go hand-in-hand. We’re still gonna prove it to you though!
Sneaker Resale Officially Classified as an Asset
According to a study by Cowen Equity Research in 2019, sneaker resale is officially classified as an asset. They called it an emerging alternative asset class. This means that people all around the world see sneaker reselling as an investment!
Their analysts also believe that the reselling industry will reach a value of 30 Billion dollars by 2030! And, with no signs of slowing down. What started out as a simple money-making hobby for sneakerheads, turned into a full-blown business.
And, with the world shifting to a more virtual presence after COVID, things just escalated from there! You’d think a global pandemic would definitely be the end of resale platforms. But, it actually wasn’t!
Of course, the giants of the sneaker resale market did experience a dip in revenue at the beginning. Everyone was too busy trying to survive rather than buy sneakers online! But, with time it all went back to normal.
StockX, one of the biggest resale platforms, experienced a 4% decline in the prices of their top 500 sneakers. But now they’ve gone up 6% and are still rising. It was apparent that online shopping was much more accommodating to social distancing and restrictions. So, if anything, the lockdowns just accelerated the side-hustle!
Nike Joins the Dark Side
Tell us this. If the sneaker resale market was dying down, why would Nike join the ranks? Yes, you read that right!
Nike Refurbished takes returned sneakers, gives them a little makeover and sells them back to consumers! They categorize the sneakers depending on their condition:
- Like New
- Gently Worn
- Cosmetically Flaw
This basically follows the same rules that people use on resale platforms! And the price is set according to the condition of the sneaker. Of course, this is more in tune with their Zero Waste program rather than money-making. But, it still marks the same checks! They’re not losing money. Are they?
Although we have no idea why someone would return a Swoosh as opposed to selling them! But, Nike obviously picked up on the vibe. These brands know that the sneaker resale market is essential for their continuity!
Why else would we find sneakers on resale platforms before a release? Sneaker brands know that the aftermarket generates a lot of buzz which contributes to the demand-supply chain. So, it is in their best interest to keep the marketplace going.
Sneaker Resale & Sneaker Bots
Okay, so since we’re talking about sneaker resale, we’re ultimately talking about sneaker bots.
It is very rare that you can become a sneaker reseller if you don’t run a sneaker bot on a drop. This was VERY evident in the recent Travis x Fragment x Jordan threesome with the entire stock getting copped. That’s the trace botters leave.
And, the thing is, sneaker brands aren’t stupid. They know what it’s about, and they know that botters are copping the heat to resell. If you think for one second that they don’t know how bots work, you’re wrong.
But, they’ve still not taken any legal actions against bots. The only thing they’ve done is UP their security with anti-bot systems like Akamai, but nothing more. This makes us believe that they want bots to work and they want sneaker resale to keep going!
Will It Tank?
The sneaker resale beast is growing. We’re all feeding into it – sneakerheads and sneaker brands alike.
It used to be all about copping the most hyped, most valuable sneaker on the market – like the Yeezy 350s. But now, it’s about who can cop the most. Copping in bulk is THE THING for resellers now. You can make more money that way.
So, as long as the sneaker brands do nothing about it, the resale shall go on. The sneaker resale market will not die. It will shift and adapt to any changes that come. But, it will thrive. So, you might as well hop on the train while you still have the chance!
Final verdict: keep reselling.