They call themselves sneakerheads, shoes are their love, life, and income. Most of us have heard of them at some point or another, some might be intimately familiar with the community. Fact of the matter is that the sneakerhead community is massive. They have a huge online presence, there are innumerable influencers who base the entirety of their content on shoes. Sneaker events boast some of the largest attendance numbers among conventions, there’s no denying that it is a very popular hobby. Sneakerheads and hype culture are a well-ingrained part of society at this point, but in recent years we’ve seen resellers shake up the community and even rise to its top ranks. 

Resale exists in many different facets, but the most notable are the self-styled vendors who buy huge quantities of shoes to sell themselves. The huge cash outs, multi thousand dollar trades, this kind of content garners thousands – sometimes even millions – of views. Not all of the attention is positive however, lots of consumers and prominent figures in the sneaker community have turned on resellers, citing jacked up prices, a worse buying experience, and rampant overconsumption as why. Their grievances are certainly valid, the fact that panda dunks are $180 dollars in my size on StockX should be a testament to how resellers have changed the game. However, it appears as though they’ll be here to stay. 

How has this changed life for students at Wilsonville High School? Depends on who you ask. For some, it’s an unnecessary nuisance that makes buying new sneakers a hassle, but for others it’s a profitable side hustle. Brooks Carter is only a freshman at WVHS and has already gotten into reselling. When asked, he said that he’s been “doing it for only like two months now,” yet he’s made almost $300 in that time. Carter claims that “reselling is so easy, I put in almost no effort and still make money” so while his profits may not seem like much it’s practically passive income to the 9th grader.

Other students aren’t as thrilled with the rise of resale, Teddy Skyler, a senior at WVHS being one of them. “I don’t buy new shoes anymore, it’s just not worth it to me” is what he had to say on the matter. “You can’t get good shoes for retail unless you dedicate way too much time and effort into trying, and I just don’t wanna buy from resale.” A lot of his complaints fell on the higher prices and the increased risk of buying resold pairs of sneakers. “The authentication process is really subpar, I’m already paying more for shoes and they might not even be legit.” 

Reselling has taken over the shoe game, at least for the time being. The best thing you can do is be an educated consumer, ensure that you are getting verified products from trustworthy sources at the best prices. Perhaps now you’ll consider reselling yourself to take advantage of the hype and make some money. Whatever effect resale has had on your life, good or bad, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.