Nike Introduces New Legislation in Effort to Crack Down on Resellers

Sneaker resale: you either love it or you hate it. On one hand, missing out on a pair of high-heat kicks and having to pay hugely inflated prices is incredibly frustrating - on the other, it can be a very lucrative money-making opportunity - in fact, according to the Business of Fashion, the estimated size of the sneaker resale market is expected to reach $57 billion in 2025. No matter where you stand on it though, you’ll be well aware that solving the industry's resale issues is extremely difficult, with very few clear answers in regard to keeping everyone happy.

For the most part, brands themselves have largely kept out of the resale debate. Realistically, they’re making their money either way, and ramping up production to keep up with demand not only amps up the production costs, but also reduces scarcity - which just happens to be one of the main driving forces behind creating a hyped product. In the past, brands have come under fire for this - it was only last year that Nike came out and said that its SNKRS community had felt ‘disenfranchised’ by its low fairness rates, with fairness numbers sitting at around 20% rather than the Swoosh’s preferred 80% - all thanks to bots.

This year, the Swoosh announced that it was to update its SNKRS launch strategy to a pass system, but that’s not the only development that seems to have been in the works. In recent weeks, it has been reported that Nike has introduced new legislation in Korea to crack down on resellers, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the same penalties will be making their way Stateside, too.

Nike’s new terms of sale mean that the brand now retains the right to charge restocking fees, limit purchase quantities, refuse returns and even refuse offenders entry to its stores. The brand can also restrict and cancel orders, and suspend or close accounts of anyone it suspects of reselling. The new terms also specifically state that Nike can cancel bot orders and any orders that exceed product purchase limits. If you want to check out the updated agreement, you can read it all here.

What do you think to the new rules? Will we soon see other brands following suit? Be sure to keep it locked to The Sole Supplier for more on how this develops, and in the meantime here's all the latest on Ye and adidas.