Resellers, are they good for the sneaker game or cancers to our beloved addiction?
This is something that I personally think about quite often… my opinion on them varies greatly upon the scenario in which they present themselves.
There are, in my opinion, three types of resellers.
1) Your average Sneakerhead who goes through bouts of spring cleaning every so often in order to make room for new sneakers, get rid of pairs that are rarely used or even those who wish to get out of the sneaker game altogether.
2) Consignment shops
3) Then, there are the blatant resellers who do what they do strictly for profit.
All three types of resellers present themselves daily within the sneaker community… but what do they do for us in general; are they a positive influence or deterrents to those of us who clearly have a passion for our sneakers?
My take on each, as stated above, varies greatly depending on the situation.
1) The first type of resellers isn’t really a reseller at all. They are just like us, most likely it is or was us at one point it time. Cleaning out your closet/collection is something that most of us do. Sorting through sneakers like baseball cards, picking and choosing which we can part ways with and those who shall remain with us. There are many reasons for removal of certain pairs; they may just be taking up valuable space and collect dust hindering us from efficiently adding to our collections with newer releases, maybe were in a bind and could use some quick cash or maybe the flame has abruptly blown out and those once beloved sneakers just aren’t that important any longer. Whatever the reason, this type of reseller adds a certain after market that is gladly welcome to the community as it allows us to obtain kicks for less and even find some steals and deals amongst ourselves.
2) Consignments shops at times have been confused with the term reseller, again just my opinion. Yes, they resell shoes. Yes, they are sold for more than retail more often than not. Yet this isn’t typically bad at all. Most consignment shops buy, sell and trade… and that’s it. The only new releases they carry are those obtained from trades or from those looking for an easy and carefree way to get that quick cash we may be desperately in need of. I tend to think of consignment shops as more of the flea market or swap meet of the sneaker community.
Example; September 22nd, 2006… This is the day my daughter was born. A day that every parent remembers for years to come as the day their lives had changed forever… for a Sneakerhead like myself, it means this as well as the day the ‘Grape’ Air Jordan V Retro released, a release I had anticipated for months and when the time finally arrived to purchase one of my all time favorite shoes… my daughter decided she wanted to join our little family. As you may have assumed, I was unable to squirm my way out of the hospital to purchase a pair. This is where a Consignment Shop is my savior, a fair price on a pair of kicks I just happen to have missed out on. In a way, these shops bring life into the community the same way the first type of reseller would… keeping the fire blazing for those of us who are in constant need of adding to our massive addiction.
3) Lastly, the blatant reseller. These types of resellers are somewhat of a cancer to our community. They are most likely Sneakerheads like us, but they are more like the convicted rapist that live three houses down, nestled within our lovely community that we are so very proud of. These resellers stockpile shoes, newly released shoes, claiming the most exclusive & limited as their prized breadwinner. Leaving no rock left unturned, they hunt down multiple size runs of sneakers strictly for profit. Greed is the root of all evil; this is greed at its finest.
Did you camp out for the YOTR AJ7s? Were you one of the first ten people in line? When you finally came up to purchase your shoes were you told they were no longer available? Did you then jump online and see list upon list of YOTR 7s available on eBay and other personal seller sites, listed for $350-$400?!? These people took the shoes you wanted… the kicks you had waited outside 11+ hours for, only to be notified that they were abruptly out of stock when you know your position in line nearly guaranteed you at least one pair.
Some will argue, you snooze you loose… having made connections at retail chains, purchasing dozens of sneakers while employees never once notify the customers waiting outside that there is only large sizes available before doors even open… you never even had a chance to get these shoes, and you never even knew it. That isn’t snoozing, that’s being hustled.
Supply and demand, otherwise known as hype, has never been higher in the sneaker community as it is today. Resellers run rampant taking advantage of this which ends up screwing over lot of people who just wanted a certain pair of shoes.
There are three major types of resellers; the average Sneakerhead just looking to get rid of a few things, the Consignment Shop whom attempts to fill the missing piece to your collection and the blatant reseller whom stalks his prey patiently in order to get ahead no matter whom is screwed over in the process.
What are your thoughts on the subject; are resellers good for sneaker community overall or do they irritate you more than yellowing translucent soles?
Speak your mind and share your stories/ thoughts below.
Image Via al6is/ TSG