Sneaker Resale: A Viable Way to Make Money? Written by Elton Zheng ‘22
T
wenty years ago, the digital marketplace was just beginning to emerge. At the time, the only method of buying shoes online was browsing dubious online forums and message boards. By 2010, sneaker e-commerce had drastically improved, mostly taking place over eBay. However, eBay was notorious for counterfeit sneakers, and it still is today. Finally, five years ago, digital com-
panies such as StockX, Grailed, and Goat became mainstream, and the internet became the main place to trade sneakers, largely replacing traditional storefronts like Stadium Goods. Last July, StockX was valued at over $1 billion. Sneaker resale is currently estimated to be a $2 billion market and is projected to reach $6 billion by 2025. Clearly, there is a lot of money to be made.
Today, sneaker resale can indeed be very profitable, and there are two
major ways to begin making money. Buying and selling sneakers, also known as “flipping”, is the more well-known method. The second approach requires more knowledge and connections but offers a significantly safer business model: knowledgeable sneaker entrepreneurs distribute their advice to traders, and the traders pay monthly fees. These advisors and their clients are known as “cook groups”, exchanging information on how to “cook”, which is their term for trading sneakers.
While flipping sneakers may be the easier option, or at least seem like it,
making a profit is harder than it looks. To make money, a sneaker flipper needs to
11 Entrepreneur Illustrated | Feature
