Sneaker resale sites are redefining the way people buy shoes as they rapidly gain popularity.
Online shoe resale marketplaces such as GOAT, StockX, and Flight Club have recently taken the lead in sale rates.
These sites are an easy way for people to purchase exclusive shoes for appealing prices, making them a growing interest, especially among sneaker enthusiasts. According to Leaders, the U.S. sneaker resale market is estimated to be worth around $2 billion as of 2023 but is expected to increase to $30 billion by 2030.
The global second-hand footwear market is estimated to have a growth rate of 12.5% each year from 2022 to 2032, according to Persistence Market Research. A significant factor in the growing sneaker resale market is these online sneaker sites.
“I have bought a few shoes from resale sites before,” said Carlmont High School sophomore Sofia Vega. “From my experiences, I think they are reliable when you want a shoe that isn’t available for retail, so it’s easy to find on there.”
Buyers rave about the efficiency of online shoe resale marketplaces. However, these sites are not without their drawbacks.
Faulty authenticity is always an obstacle. An example of this is Nike’s lawsuit against StockX in 2022 after claiming that they had received four counterfeit shoes despite StockX’s 100% authenticity guarantee, according to National Public Radio (NPR).
Purchase fees are also another downside of these sneaker resale sites. According to AIObot, the top five sneaker resale sites have commission fees of 7% or higher.
Due to these flaws, some prefer alternative methods of purchasing footwear online.
“I prefer to buy retail because you are not buying from an individual buyer, where there can be variation in the quality, while [for retail], if the product is not up to standard, you can hold the company accountable,” said Carlmont High School junior Kianna Young. “They also tend to have more stock of specific sizes that aren’t marked up a ton like on resale sites.”
Zane Nahas, a freshman at Menlo-Atherton High School, has also encountered the downsides of these sites.
“I would say [they provide] a very clean, simple way of selling shoes, but there’s a lot of fees that can be frustrating,” Nahas said. “In addition, I don’t like the whole idea of sneaker reselling, as I just want to be able to have certain shoes I like without having to pay a hefty price.”
As sneaker resale sites grow in popularity, their positive effect on the shoe market remains uncertain.
“Either way, I think online [shoe resale] sites are, in general, a good option for buying shoes,” Vega said.
