How to Resell Sneakers in 2023

Reselling 101

By RC Staff

01 June 2023

We’ve all seen it. Whether it’s a post on Twitter of thousands of dollars made flipping sneakers, or a TikTok of some teenager’s bedroom filled floor to ceiling with shoes, sneaker reselling is a lucrative trade. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at flipping shoes, but don’t know how to start? You might be wondering what shoes to buy for the most profit, or worried about purchasing the wrong sneakers and ending up with a brick. Today, we’ll be going over the basics of sneaker reselling.

Is sneaker reselling profitable?

Spoken like a true hustler. Your first question before getting involved in any business is asking yourself “is this gonna make me money”. In the case of shoes, the answer is yes. Sneaker reselling is very profitable, with some caveats.

For the most part, sneaker reselling resembles a bell curve of profits when it comes to profits. There’s a small portion at the top making enough to support themselves exclusively through flipping shoes, and another group wasting their money on bricks.

Most shoe resellers fall somewhere in the middle. Not quite enough to pay rent, but a reliable source of extra income. Depending on the season and the amount of work you put in, a novice sneaker reseller can start making somewhere from $500 to $1500 a month by flipping sneakers. It’s hard to put any exact number on it, as profits are entirely dependent on new releases and a degree of luck.

Sneaker reselling is a pretty big market. It can feel intimidating or overwhelming to break into. That’s understandable, but remember that many resellers have been in your shoes (ha) before. Once you start to learn about how the sneaker market works, things get easier, and the road to profit will be clear.

The basics of reselling sneakers

Not every shoe will flip of course. Nobody is forking over cash for your sweaty Skechers, for example. The first and main principle behind flipping sneakers is buying the right shoes. Sneaker reselling is deeply intertwined with sneaker collecting; sneakerheads have been buying, selling, and trading shoes amongst themselves for decades.

If you’re already familiar with sneaker culture, great, you’ve got a head start. If not, don’t worry. We’ll be covering the names you need to know later in the article.

The second trick to reselling sneakers is selling the right shoes at the right prices. Knowing your market is critical, both retail and resell prices. You don’t want to pick up a killer pair of kicks only to sell them for the first lowball offer you get, or buy a fake pair because someone was giving you a deal good to be true.

Before buying any pair of sneakers, you need to know who you are buying them from, and what other people are paying. That means making sure you’re buying from a reputable retailer or reseller. Remember, this is a big business. There are people trying to scam others everyday, and succeeding.

We’ll cover the basics of making a purchase later in the article. For now, let’s look at some examples of shoes to resell.

The basics of reselling sneakers

If you know absolutely nothing about shoes, there’s a few names you need to get familiar with. Jordan 1s, Yeezys, and Kobes are some of the most popular shoes to resell. There’s a huge market for these, so new releases typically have decent resale value.

Collaborations between brands and designers are also a good choice. The recent high profile Travis Scott X Air Jordan releases are extremely popular despite their volume, along with various OFF WHITE X Nike offerings.
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Re-releases and retro sneakers are a popular trend among manufacturers. Just like Hollywood, reboots are alive and well in the world of sneakers. Nike has revived the most hyped designs of the 90s with various Air Jordan re-releases, which are popular with collectors and resellers.

One thing you need to realize is that the sneaker aftermarket has changed in recent years. As the market became saturated with resellers and manufacturers increased both production and new releases, reselling new sneaker releases has become harder. It’s important to research the value of a new pair before buying, rather than blindly assume it will resell. Tapping in with other resellers and sneaker collectors is the best way to gauge the popularity of a new release.

Here are some examples of the most profitable shoes to resell in 2023:

• Travis Scott Air Jordan 1 Low Olive. These were the last shoe to come out of Scott’s collaboration with Nike, released in April 26th. The women’s pairs featured all the trademarks of the collection, including the backwards Nike swoosh and Cactus Jack branding. They retailed for $150 and resell for around $400
• Nike Jarritos SB Dunk Lows. These quirky pairs were the perfect shoe for the Jarritos lover in all of us. Featuring a simple design with striking orange accents, these sold for $130 in May 2023. While presales around the shoe were strong, they ended up reselling for approximately $300, which is still quite profitable
• Adidas YEEZY May 2023 Releases. Despite their eager cancellation of Kanye West, adidas has little issue profiting from their partnership by selling the remaining YEEZY inventory in May 2023. Numerous YEEZY products have gone up for sale on May 31st and onwards, and will likely resell for significant amounts. As a bonus, a portion (not all!) of the sales will go towards charity. Thank you adidas, very cool!

How to tell what a sneaker is worth

As you can see, the sneaker market has cooled a bit since the highs of previous years. The increased rate of new releases and higher production numbers means there are less “holy grail” sneakers out there, and buyers are simply not as excited over new releases like they were previously.

There’s no guarantee that buying a pair on release day will end up being profitable, which is why it’s important to determine a sneaker’s value before buying.

One of the best way to gauge demand for a shoe is to check StockX prior to the release. StockX shows presale data for upcoming sneaker releases, so you can see what people are paying for a pair before it releases. Generally, the actual value tends to fall after release, but strong presale interest generally indicates a shoe will resell for profit.

Connecting with other shoe resellers and collectors is the best way to learn about a sneaker’s value. Experienced resellers typically have a good handle on what buyers are looking for, and can tell you if a pair is worth investing in. If you’re serious about learning to resell shoes, you’ll want to join RC Elite. We have an entire section dedicated to discussing new sneaker releases, and you’ll have access to tons of experience sneaker resellers giving their takes on their latest buys and bricks.

Where to buy sneakers to flip

There are two primary ways to buy sneakers: firsthand and secondhand. Firsthand means buying directly from a retailer or licensed dealer. Major releases from Nike and adidas are typically through a dedicate website or app, like Nike’s SNKRS platform.

If you’re going for major releases and hyped pairs, you’ll primarily be buying from a retailer. This has it’s own set of advantages and disadvantages. For one, these are the only place you’ll actually be able to buy a pair. Popular shoes like these will sell out very fast, so entering a raffle or similar release is the only way to obtain a pair. You’ll also only be expected to pay the retail price for them, typically in the range of $100-$250.

The downside of buying firsthand is competition. Big releases from huge brands will have hundreds of thousands of other buyers competing for a pair. Not only are you fighting with other people, but big drops are often dominated by bots. We wrote an entire article explaining sneaker resellers get so many pairs of shoes here, check it out for a deeper dive into the subject.

For other shoes, you may choose to buy them secondhand. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re used; in fact, there’s an entire industry of shoe resellers trading pairs between themselves following a release.
There are a few reasons you might buy a pair of shoes off a reseller. The main one is that you missed the drop, and you really want a pair. In these cases, you may just have to take the hit to your wallet and scoop them up. Other times, you may believe a shoe has long term value going unrecognized. In these cases, buying from a reseller is essentially an investment like any other, which will pay out in the future if you are right.

You may also come across sneakers that are being sold under retail, or at least under the average resell price. The sources of these discounted kicks vary, but many collectors believe they are coming from a “backdoor” seller. Backdooring means that a seller somehow has access to a large quantity of shoes at or below retail price. Whether they work at Footlocker or their mom is a VP at Nike, backdoor sellers are a frequently mythologized part of sneaker reselling.

That said, many are frauds. Remember how we said there are scammers in the sneaker community? Recognizing deals that are too good to be true is an important tool for any reseller. Any time you buy from a sneaker reseller, you should vet the seller carefully for red flags. Buying cheap Jordans off a random guy online is recipe for losing your money.

All in all, sneaker reselling is no easy job. The game has changed quite a bit in the past few years, and resellers need to stay on their toes to compete. If you’re serious about reselling shoes, then you should get serious about collecting them too. Pay attention to what influencers are saying and participate in streetwear communities. Flipping shoes was born out of these circles, so it’s best to try and understand the basics.

Of course, if you want to resell shoes the easy way, why not join RC Elite? We do the research beforehand and post picks frequently. You can discuss upcoming drops with other sneakerheads, spot bricks, and score some seriously valuable shoes. Even if sneaker reselling isn’t your thing, there’s tons of ways to make money from home posted daily in RC.

The only question is, why aren’t you in there already?