It's 2 a.m Saturday morning and I awaken to my blaring alarm. I hop out of bed, snatch my phone off the charger, pack my Publix subs and throw my lawn chair into the trunk. Any ideas where I'm heading? If you said camping, good guess but this camping trip will lead me nowhere near the wilderness. Instead, follow me to the local mall where the line has already started to wrap around the building. Today we're buying sneakers!
For all of you out there who believe sneakers are no more than something that you buy to eventually ruin, think again. Purchasing, stocking and reselling sneakers has become one of the most popular trends among sneaker enthusiasts worldwide and it is big business.
Sneakers, creps, tennis shoes, call them what you please but you could never call them worthless. There are a multitude of people making a living off of simply reselling shoes, without ever having to work a nine to five. The limited availability of sneakers like the retro Air Jordan and other sneaker brand collaborations with designers, artists and athletes is believed to have been the action that triggered the culmination of this underground market.
The logic is simple. You buy a pair of sneakers that are considered highly valuable to the masses. You then either A: resell it right away and make a quick buck or B: stock it away for years on end as they gain value and eventually prey on those who will pay whatever to get their hands on the shoes they missed out on.
Businesses such as Flight Club and Rif are guilty of both. They have thrived off of the ability to acquire a seemingly unlimited amount of rare sneakers and sell them for up to 10 times more than the original retail price.
This trend has not gone unnoticed.
Major sneaker manufacturers have been suspected of checking resell sites to find out how well-received their recent release was. But they can also see how much money individuals were making off of their product which lead to the spike in prices at companies such as Nike.
But for those who don't care too much for breaking the bank on a pair of OG deadstock (original, never worn) sneakers or paying off an employee to put a pair to the side, there is still a market for you.
Maybe the rent is due or you got a fat ticket or you just fell out of love with a shoe; there are hundreds of platforms where the everyday man can sell his pair of used sneakers. Sites such as Ebay and Facebook have made it possible for individuals to post their product and name their price. Also allowing the person who may not be able to afford a brand new pair, the opportunity to still get those coveted shoes for a fraction of the price.
Still don't believe that this black market exists? Follow the links below to check out some of the aforementioned resell sites.
So the next time you see someone tip toeing in their Jordans, don't judge; those sneakers are possibly worth a mobile home.
