The Most Expensive Trainers of 2021

Collecting sneakers is an expensive hobby. And when it comes to curiosity in the modern age, we're all itching to know just how much people are willing to spend on their passions, especially when it doesn't necessarily make sense to a lot of people. Year upon year, sneakers are reselling for more than ever before, but why is this the case? The most expensive trainers are often the rarest: limited supplies automatically result in higher demand (you always want what you can't have, right?), meaning that prices skyrocket and you're going to have to be willing to spend big bucks if you want to make them a part of your collection.

Not only are some styles getting rarer, however, but more and more people are becoming interested in sneakers and looking to start collections themselves. What started as a very niche group of people, has turned into a phenomenon worldwide which is growing exponentially and won't be slowing down any time soon. Outside of the supply-and-demand issues, controversy, the story behind the sneakers, and whether they are a collaborative pair or not also influence the price of the sneakers on the resale market. For example, the Eminem x Carhartt x Air Jordan 4 Retro now resells for over $30,000. An extremely limited-edition pair, only ten of these Jordans exist and were auctioned on eBay for charity; things we love to see.

One of the most asked questions to those of us who have rows upon rows of kicks all stacked up is 'how do you afford all of these?!'. It's important to remember that for a lot of collectors, these kicks act as an insurance policy. Yes, they're lovely to own - but if worse came to the worse, collectors would be able to sell just a small portion of their collection for a much larger profit than they spent in the first place. Sometimes, it's worth investing in an expensive pair of shoes and sitting on them, all to make a sh*t load of money later on down the line (not financial advice).

You probably know of some of the most expensive shoes of all time, so we're also going to take a deep dive into the most profitable trainers you could have bought this year. Got any of these sitting DS in the box? They could make you a quick profit just before the Christmas season...

Release Date: 06/03/2021

Retail Price: £140

Average Resale Price: £323

Just coming after the Chicago Bulls colourway, UNC trainers are always going to be popular. Inspired by Michael Jordan's alma mater (The University of North Carolina), we've seen many a UNC-inspired sneaker. Currently reselling at around a 183% increase, these would have been definitely a good pair to get your hands on. Everyone knows that the high-top Jordans always do well, thanks to their nostalgic tendencies.

Release Date: 23/01/2021

Retail Price: £210

Average Resale Price: £405

It was teased that this pair of Yeezys would be releasing at a much lower price to help make the brand more accessible, and despite the still-hefty £210 price tag, you could now sell these brightly coloured kicks for a 195% premium. Maybe it's their likeness to the Wave Runner, or maybe people just needed a little sunshine in their life back in January, either way this pair will make you a nice bit of cash.

Release Date: 20/08/2021

Retail Price: £170

Average Resale Price: £328

Making it onto our top sneakers of 2021 list, the New Balance 2002R Protection Pack sold out instantly on arrival, but the "Rain Cloud" iteration was by far the most popular. Coming with rustic overlays that add a little something extra to the silhouette, everyone fell in love, hence the 199% increase in price on the resale market.

Release Date: 10/06/2021

Retail Price: £170

Average Resale Price: £377

Here it is! TSS's top sneaker of the year for 2021. And for a very good reason. Coming with an adorable back story, this AJ3 definitely set the trend for 2022 being the year of the Jordan 3. A perfectly neutral colour palette and the premium materials used means that this AMM x Jordan 3 is worth the whopping 207% more now than it was at retail.

Release Date: 16/04/2021

Retail Price: £120

Average Resale Price: £347

If you didn't have a pair of New Balance in your collection at the start of the year, then you definitely have one now. The collab between Aimé Leon Dore and New Balance took the 550 and made it a thing. 550s are now flying off the shelves faster than you can say 'ALD', and we definitely put it down to these. This fetching green and sail pair will set you back £347ish on StockX, 227% more than the retail price. They're a wardrobe essential for taking your streetwear 'fit from 0 - 100!

Release Date: 04/03/2021

Retail Price: £110

Average Resale Price: £850

Taking the number five spot, Supreme x Nike is a match-made in heaven and has been for the longest time now. The New York-based skate shop have seen their fair share of releases with the Swoosh Brand, and this year they dropped four pairs of Nike SB Dunk Lows all decorated with the metallic gold stars we'd seen previously on one of the first collaborations between the brands back in 2002, their Dunk High collab. Currently, the one that's reselling the highest is the "Mean Green" iteration; we could have sworn it would have been the black!

Release Date: 02/08/2021

Retail Price: £130

Average Resale Price: £1029

In the summer of 2021, Virgil Abloh's Off-White teamed up with Nike to bring us something bigger than 'The 10' that had come before. As part of the collection labelled 'The 50', the two brands released collaborative pairs of fifty Dunk Lows, with by far the most popular being Lot 1. The only problem was, you couldn't pick which colourway you bought. Releasing only as exclusive access on the SNKRS app, you were sent a surprise pair upon purchasing. Lot 1 is now selling for over £1000, so lucky you if you were one of the chosen ones.

Release Date: 13/08/2021

Retail Price: £145

Average Resale Price: £1085

Like him or loathe him, Travis Scott's releases were by far the most sought after of the year. This three-way collab gave us vintage vibes for days and made people go crazy! Maybe not more popular than the Mochas, but these Lows could fetch you well over a grand on the resell market.

Release Date: 10/02/2021

Retail Price: £140

Average Resale Price: £1998

A collaboration with Marcus Jordan's Trophy Room (a boutique that can only be found in Jordan's son's house in Chicago), this pair of AJ1 Highs hold a lot of sentimental value for sneakerheads all around. A replica of the 1985 pair Jordan was wearing in the "freeze-out" game, the myth and story still intrigues sneaker enthusiasts and basketball fans today. Only 12,000 pairs of the 2021 edition were made and the release itself was very controversial, making them a hot one to cop.

Release Date: 29/07/2021

Retail Price: £180

Average Resale Price: £2407

We don't think this will come a surprise to many, but beating out the low is the Travis Scott x fragment x Jordan 1 High. Coming with Cactus Jack insignias and classic Jordan and fragment branding, this Hiroshi Fujiwara x Travis Scott partnership was most certainly the most hyped release of the year, so it's no wonder it's reselling with a 2227% premium.

Do you have any of these in your collection? It might be worth seeing how much they're worth... We can't wait to see what 2022 has in store for us sneakers-wise, so keep locked in to find the hottest releases as and when they come, you could make yourself a fortune!

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