Here's How Sneaker Resellers Get the Best Profit Margins

Reselling sneakers is one of the most common side hustles around. You’ve probably won a SNKRS raffle at one point and made a quick flip on a hyped release… But did you make as much profit as you could have?

With so many platforms available for reselling sneakers, it’s easier than ever to lock in a sale, but taking just a few extra moments for your due diligence could multiply your margins. We’re going to show you how to quickly assess the best place to sell your kicks so you don’t leave any profits on the table. If you’ve never resold a sneaker before, you should check out this article covering some basics of reselling sneakers before reading on.

The best selling platforms are usually the ones with the most eyes on them. More eyes means more buyers, which means more sales. It is simply from a volume standpoint that we recommend using major platforms like eBay, StockX, and Alias (seller platform for Goat/Flight Club) to make the quickest, no hassle flips.

On StockX and Alias you would take a few moments to list an ask for your brand new kicks, and then just wait for the sale to come through. The platform takes their commission and you get emailed a shipping label. On eBay you’re left with the responsibility to create the listing yourself, and purchase a label via the seller portal.

Your other options are local sales or dropping your shoes off on consignment. Both are strong options, and can be the difference in making a 10% margin or over 50% margin on your sale.

First and foremost, SAFETY should be your priority when selling in person; this is not to be taken lightly.

When selling locally, ALWAYS:

• Meet in a public place, preferably during the day
• Verify the buyer’s profile, don’t meet anyone using a brand new or burner profile
• Check the bills, or use secure payment methods like Zelle or PayPal
• Be wary of last second changes or suspicious communications
• Trust your instincts if something doesn’t seem right

Resellers have been robbed, attacked, and even killed while meeting for a sale. Take your safety seriously.

OfferUp sponsors the Community MeetUp Spot program that links buyers and sellers to vetted, safe locations in their community. Many local police stations will allow meetings and transactions to take place in their lobby as well.

Facebook Marketplace is really the best place to track down local buyers. Platforms like OfferUp and Mercari offer local pickup options, but Facebook really delivers the exposure and volume we’re looking for, especially in major cities.

Selling locally may require a bit more work on your part, but you’ll get to keep 100% of the revenue from your sale instead of paying ~15% in seller and shipping fees. When considering how to price your sneakers for local markets, take into account where else a buyer may be able to find this pair, and for how much.

Buyers often reference StockX and eBay prices during negotiation. If your selling price is close enough to the lowest ask on StockX, both you and the buyer will benefit from this transaction by phasing out the middleman.

Here you can clearly see how much more expensive it is for a buyer and seller to transact on StockX instead of person to person. On a $259 sale, StockX takes $35 from the seller, about 13% for handling the transaction. While the buyer of a $259 pair pays about $30 in shipping and processing fees. That’s $65 to StockX for being the middleman.

For those that are unfamiliar, consignment is when you surrender your product to be sold for you, and collect a payment when the item has sold. Consignment shops can offer superior payouts on items thanks to a superior network, clientele, location, and other factors, but may be harder to access for sellers outside major cities like NY or LA.

Before StockX and eBay took their fair market share, Stadium Goods and Flight Club were longtime favorites for buyers and sellers. These shops are even considered tourist attractions for many visiting NYC and LA, and we know tourists love to spend.

For sellers that can make their way to a local drop off, we recommend ALWAYS checking prices on consignment platforms before quick selling. These industry giants have developed a vast international network which allows them to move products at much higher price points. Let’s compare payouts for the recently released Nike Kobe 8 Protro “What The Kobe.”

Here you can see that asks on StockX for this shoe range from about $250-$300. Earlier we established that a sale of $259 would net you about $224 after fees. That would be your payout for a size 9.5 in this shoe.

If you go over to your seller portal on Stadium Goods, you can see that this shoe is selling for $350-$500. While Stadium goods charges a heftier commission of 15-20% for most sellers, the substantial increase in sale price more than makes up for the extra fees.

On the same sneaker in the same size you’d get paid out ~$350, and net an extra $130. There’s really nothing to think about here, this shoe is a much better sale on Stadium Goods than most other platforms.

While this may not be true for every sneaker, on recently released and very hyped products, consignment shops often offer higher payouts. Both Stadium Goods and Flight Club (now functioning exclusively via Alias app) offer an option to ship your product to them, but would typically only be worth doing if you had multiple pairs to send in.

The only main drawback to consignment sales is that you must now wait for your sale to come through this one platform, as opposed to being able to list your product on many platforms. While this may prove to be a slower turnover, the profit margins could easily make it worth the wait.

To make sure you don’t get stuck storing bricks on consignment, you should always gauge how well your shoe is moving on other platforms. StockX, Alias, and eBay all provide tons of sales data, use it to make the most informed decision on how to handle your products.

Pro Tip:

Some of you may have connected the dots, but in case you haven’t… Buying sneakers on StockX or eBay, and then flipping them locally or at Stadium Goods can be a very profitable venture! StockX makes it especially easy by allowing you to place lowball bids on anything you want, and in time they might get accepted.

We recommend focusing on more hyped products to ensure sales volume, but there are many profitable price discrepancies between StockX and other platforms. You just need to stay vigilant and know your market.

Sneakers can be a very profitable hobby if you navigate it properly. The days of every retro Jordan selling for a profit are long behind us, so taking a few extra minutes to note prices on each major platform can be the difference between taking a loss or making a sweet profit. Sign up for our newsletter below to make sure you’re making the most of every flip, and not leaving easy money on the table.