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EBAY SELLING TIPS

How to Sell Sneakers on eBay

Are you looking to buy and resell sneakers? Or do you have a few cool Nike’s that you don’t know what they are worth? Or maybe you are an avid sneaker collector and looking to swap a few of your favorites. Here you will find out what to look for to resell, how to sell them on eBay, and how to find out what to sell them for. Let’s find out how to sell sneakers on eBay.

Being familiar with what you are looking at is the difference between making a hundred dollar profit and going in the negative. Are those some cool red shoes or are they Jordan Retro 4 Toro Bravo’s worth $250? You can’t buy every pair of Jordan’s or Nike’s you find because you will lose money. The best place to sell your sneakers is definitely eBay. eBay is the best player in the sneaker resale game.

  • What sneakers to buy to resell
  • Learn what your shoes are worth
  • How to make sure they are authentic

Before we get into selling sneakers, if you have never sold on eBay, you will want to read his post first: How to Start Selling on eBay in 12 Easy Steps!


Always look for

Anytime you are out and you see Nike’s, Jordan’s, or Adidas for sale- check them out. You never know when you will find the shoe that makes you $150 profit. The key to knowing what to look for is to do research before you go shopping or thrifting. Research may not sound fun, but it is worth it when you are out. Especially when it comes to checking them to see if they are authentic or not. You want to be armed with fake shoe knowledge because you aren’t going to be at a garage sale for an hour Googling what to look for.


Research before buying

Research. The most important part about reselling on eBay. Do a quick search before you buy the shoes. In each pair of shoes, there is a number on the inside tag. Type that number into Google to see what kind the shoe is.

Step one

Look inside your shoe to find a 9 digit number with a dash.

Step two

Type this number into your search engine. Find out what type of shoe it is.

Step three

Then type it into the completed listings on eBay to find out what they are worth.

You can practice looking up items on your eBay app so you will be fast at it when you are out shopping. This is the best way to find out if those shoes are worth your investment. Also don’t look at the highest price sold. You’ll get your hopes up because some Jordan’s have a random high price sale. But you want to look at what the average is selling for. Don’t invest when you see one sell for $300 and 15 sell for $20. I almost always skip out on a pair of Jordan’s if they aren’t retro. But always check the sold listings!

Jordan.com has a cool collection site where you can check out each color wave and release date for that number. It’s important to know what the color wave is for when you list it, and the release date is important to check the inside tag to make sure yours is the same for authenticity.



Make sure they are authentic

You can not sell fakes on eBay. So if you accidentally buy a fake pair- the only way to get rid of them is at your garage sale or to donate them. You don’t so much have to worry about Nike’s and Adidas being fake, but the market is saturated with fake retro Jordan’s.

Here are a few tips to tell fake vs real Jordan’s:

  • Check the quality of the box
  • If there is no inside tag- RUN
  • Make sure the inside tag is straight and everything is spelled correctly
  • The jumpman is always a high-quality embroidered logo
  • Some Jordan’s have a printed jumpman on the sole. Make sure this logo is clear, and not peeling off

You can also many times tell if they are authentic or fake by who you are buying them from. If they are asking $10 at a garage sale for a pair of Retro 12’s, they are probably fake. Maybe they don’t know what they have, but most likely they are fake. You can also ask if they still have the receipt. This might sound crazy, but most shoe collectors keep their receipt to prove they are real. Don’t be afraid to invest $50-$85 in a pair of nice, authentic retro Jordan’s.

You may be saying it’s not worth it to risk buying a fake. But you learn over time how to spot a fake and then it becomes fun and easy!



Sneaker Terminology

DS | Deadstock: means they’ve never been taken out of the box.

GS | Gradeschool or youth. Women’s is a size and a half larger than youth, and men’s is the same size as youth. For example: 5.5Y (youth) = 7 Women’s = 5.5 Men’s. Grade school is size 3.5 to 7.

OG | Original colorway: means that the colorway released when the shoe itself released. For example: Bred (black and red) Jordan 1 or White Cement Jordan 4.

GG | Gradeschool girls: means a shoe released specifically for grade school (youth) size girls.

BG | Gradeschool boys: like the girls, this means a shoe released specifically for youth boys.

OVO | October’s Very Own: these OVO Jordans are the shoes released as part of the collaboration between Jordan Brand and OVO, Drake’s private record label. There are only two colorways of the Jordan 10’s and two colorways of the Jordan 12. Many times, these shoes shoes sell for a lot more.

PRM | Premium: these are Jordans with very high end materials and possibly a couple details changed. Usually these come in more tonal colors such as tan, olive, navy, white, grey, and black instead of bright colors.

Retro | Retro means that a Jordan was re-released. For example, in 1992 the original Jordan 7 was released, then in 2011 new colorwaves got re-released meaning that they are now Jordan Retro 7.



What shoes should I buy to resell?

The market is constantly changing, so the best way to make you are going to turn a profit is to research the shoe on eBay. There are a couple shoes that have been selling for $200+ for the past couple years and are still selling for that much.

Jordan Retro 12

$250+

Adidas NMD Pharrell Human Race

$300+

Jordan Retro 11

$200+

Jordan Retro 5 Supreme

$250+

Jordan Retro 4

$175+

Adidas Yeezy

$500+

Nike Air Max 97

$150+


Recap

Anytime you see sneakers, stop and look them up. You never know when you are going to find the gem.

Always do research. It’s worth the 5 minutes to look them in the eBay app so you don’t go in the negative.

Make sure you are buying authentic shoes. Become familiar with how to spot a fake. Remember, you can’t sell fakes on eBay. So if you buy one, it’s going in the next garage sale.



What do you love about selling on eBay?

Have you ever sold sneakers for a profit?

Comment below!

I was not sponsored or gifted any of these products. Some of the links are affiliated, which means that by purchasing I make a small amount at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting me!

4 Comments

  • James

    Thank you for this post. Sneakers are one area I am lacking knowledge in. I do some RA (Retail Arbitrage) on other brands, but I normally stay around $10-30 per shoe. I didn’t know the value of those Jordan’s and other shoes. I will have to keep my eye open for those while sourcing.

    • Alex

      Hey James!
      The sneaker market on eBay is very interesting! It’s crazy how buyers will pay $500+ for a pair. Collectible sneakers are one of my favorite things to sell because of the high profit margin flip!

      Thank you for commenting!
      Alex @ Exploring Life’s Beauty

    • Alex

      Hey Taylor!

      Yes, there are a lot of brands out there that you can flip for high profits. Stay tuned for a post coming out about that!

      Thank you so much for commenting!
      Alex @ Exploring Life’s Beauty

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