The World of Reselling
An inside look at the world of streetwear and
sneaker reselling.
Words by Drayton Mayers
Fashion is trend based. For couture brands there is seemingly always a paradigm shift every few years. We saw this recently with Virgil Abloh being named the men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton. Not only being the first African American male to be appointed to the position, but his hire meant that streetwear had finally broken into the world of luxury wear. However, I don’t think that streetwear, and the brand's existing inside of it, even needed the nods of approval from Abloh and his constituents.
The world of streetwear has found immense success with online reselling. Website such as Grailed, StockX, and even Ebay are littered with sellers of all ages, each with the intent of selling both old and brand new products. The idea of reselling is simple; take a product with hype around it and sell it at the markup of choice. A brand with limited supply releases a product at retail, because of the exclusivity of the product the sell out rate is almost guaranteed. While supply might diminish, the demand will only increase, so combine both sides, the producer and consumer, and the world of reselling continues to revolve.
Brands such as Supreme, Nike, Adidas, Bape, and Off-White have all followed the ‘low supply, high demand’ business model for years. Knowing this, it is no secret why these brands remain so consistently hype today. Everybody wants it, but all the few are able to get their hands on it. At the end of the day people want what they can’t have. Companies like StockX have taken advantage of this basic human trait.
“The idea of reselling is simple; take a product with hype around it and sell it at the markup of choice.”
“There is a world where reselling takes over everything, and I mean StockX becomes a trillion dollar company. ”
Founded in 2015 by Quicken Loans founder, Dan Gilbert, this Detroit based sneaker reselling company has taken the niche world of streetwear by storm. Seemingly with an endless supply of sneakers, as well as the newly launched streetwear, handbag, and watches sections StockX is geared towards the common reseller.
To sell all you have to do is go to the StockX website and set a price. No haggling with photos or potential buyers, StockX does the dirty work for you, acting as the middleman. With investors like Eminem company has continued to flourish, becoming a main figure in the reselling world.
Highsnobiety x StockX chart on the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collaboration and the up-charge that each product reached. Source: Highsnobiety
However, does this world of reselling have a ceiling? Like trends in couture the world of streetwear could suddenly pivot to a completely new angle, no longer focusing on the capabilities of reselling. To try and find an answer to my questions I reached out to three people all involved in the reselling world, but on different level of expertise. During the podcast I talk with Matthew Dematteis, Rod Rosales and Brian Farmer.
Dematteis, a student at Emerson College has resold brands like Supreme and Off-White since high school, and like most resellers uses both StockX and Grailed to push the product.
Rosales has transitioned from solely being an online reseller to opening his own boutique in Brookline, SizeRun Supply. The store is adorned with rare Supreme sweaters and the London-based Palace t-shirts. Working with high profile musicians like Playboi Carti, and A$AP Ferg Rosales has taken the steps from being reseller to entrepreneur.
Finally, I had the opportunity to talk with my Editor at Highsnobiety, Brian Farmer, about where the world of streetwear is going, and if reselling will have any part in it down the line.