Some simply collect to resell and reselling is a major driver for sneaker collecting these days whether we like it or not, even coming in as the second highest response in our sneaker poll. The sneaker resale market was worth an incredible £4.2 billion as of 2019, and it’s growing. It’s a lucrative market that many people are making a more than decent living from. Even some sneakerheads who purchase with the best of intention sometimes decide they’ve changed their mind, and need to off-load multiple pairs of their collection, and reselling is the way out.
Even Jordan Geller, an American sneaker collector who created his ShoeZeum to showcase his incredible collection, where he had amassed over 2,500 pairs of Nikes and Jordans, eventually started selling them off. He said it became an unhealthy obsession and he decided to part ways with some of his most beloved items; most famously with a pair of signed, game-worn Jordan 1s which were estimated by Sotheby’s to sell for $150,000, but eventually sold for $560,000 through the world-famous auction house.
Whatever the reason for collecting, it always starts with a passion for sneakers. What initial form that takes, and how that evolves over the years, is down to the individual. The great thing is, it keeps the sneakers around. Although a lot of people look down on the reselling market, it does mean you may suddenly be able to cop that pair you missed out on years ago. And, what it certainly does is keep you on the hunt, sometimes for a specific sneaker, sometimes for something you never knew you needed, but rest assured, there will always be a next pair.
