A Guide To Selling Your Sneakers On eBay

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List Your Sneakers Properly 

We know — putting every Roman numeral possible as well as "SB" and "Yeezy" in your listing doesn't cost anything extra, and will get thousands of extra eyes on your auction. However, there is nothing more annoying than having to weed through 7,000 results for "Air Jordan XI" when there are only 82 actual XIs for sale. People tend to get turned off by that and might even skip over the listing even if you have what they're looking for. Make it absolutely clear what exactly it is you're selling — help out the folks you're actually hoping to sell to.

Check the Competition

If you took any business-related classes in college you know that supply and demand is everything. If you are trying to unload a pair of "DMP" Jordan VIs and there are 35 other listings going already, you might not get the best price for them or even move them at all. If you really need the cash so you can take your girl out for her birthday, then we actually encourage you to learn what a savings account is — otherwise sit on the stash until you have fewer people trying to sell the same product. (The one exception is selling something super-limited right after you cop — in that case, get the product out there while the hype is still at its peak.)

Be Realistic 

We can appreciate your need to make some extra loot and get the best price possible, but if you really want your shoes to move make sure you set a reasonable opening bid or Buy It Now. Sure, you can list your shoes at whatever price you want, but that's not necessarily gonna help you sell them. You can check out past eBay bids or even peep Flight Club under “historical prices” to get an idea what sales trends look like on your sneaker so that you don’t end up having to re-list them a dozen times and cut into your profit.  

Buy It Now? 

There are pros and cons to using this method of sale. The pros: you aren't going to have to worry that your shoes will slip away from you for less than market value. The cons: you might make less money than you would if you let people bid and two or more people really want your shoes. This method gives you a little more control on the final price and if you need instant cash, a fiend might even pay more than market to get them ASAP. But be careful and don't undersell. 

Stop Making Up Grades 

Sneakers aren't like baseball cards or coins — there is no universally recognized grading system. But that doesn't mean you should just make up your own. So don't try to squeeze as many "V"s as possible into the subject line when you can clearly see creases on the toebox and dirt on the outsole. Here's a helpful primer: DS (deadstock) means the shoe has never been taken out of the box. They're exactly as they were when they left the factory. You can get away with claiming DS if you took the shoes out of the box to photograph them, but that's about it. Once you try them on, whether it's in the store or in the mirror, they're not DS anymore. That would be an allowable time to call them VNDS. Wear them out the door — it doesn't matter whether it's once or a thousand times — those are used shoes. Period. Just remember, when you try and oversell the condition of a shoe people get pissed (as you would too) and if a problem does occur remember eBay is going to side with the buyer 99 percent of the time and there goes your credibility. 

Take Detailed Photos 

The internet has quite a few cynics when it comes to online transactions, so you want to give people as little reason as possible to doubt you. The description is key to help tell the story of your shoes, but let everyone see exactly what they are getting. First of all never post a stock photo and never try and hide any imperfections. Each post should have at least five photos showing each angle of the shoe — you don’t have to kill it with the white seamless, but the template for each listing should give your potential buyer a 360 degree view. The more detail, the more inclined they are to bid. And always remember to tag your photos — not with Photoshop, but with a hand-written tag featuring your eBay seller name. Basically treat this like a "proof of life" hostage situation shoot.

Don't End Your Auction at a Bizarre Time 

Be conscious when your auction is going to end. The most bids are going to happen in the final minutes, and if your "Military Blue" Jordan IV listing ends at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning, only the truly obsessed will be watching and waiting. You can set auctions to start at any time, so even if you do your listing in the early hours, set it to start (and end) at a more reasonable hour. Of course, if you're a buyer, DO look for those odd ending times and snipe away.

Be Willing to Negotiate  

If you have someone hitting you up a few days before the auction ends, listen to their offers and be willing to end your listing if the deal sounds good. Just because you want $200 for a sneaker doesn't mean you are going to get it and you run the risk of selling for $145 instead of $175. If you get a firm offer from a motivated buyer strongly consider it and you may be able to save on some fees and make both parties happy. (Shhhh, don't tell eBay, tho.) Didn't Fredrik from Million Dollar Listings New York teach you anything? Don't sleep.

Get Paid First, Then Serve Your Customer 

Barksdale's crew knew what was up in The Wire — make sure you get that paper first. We recommend you use PayPal since it is a guaranteed way to track transactions and they are legit in terms of solving any grievances. Not to mention it's all built right into the eBay software. This way you see that they made the payment and it will notify you to ship the goods. Painless and simple. If something menacing goes down all you have to do is file a complaint and they will help you get it squared away. You can still mess with those money orders if you want — avoid those little fees — but if something gets shady, it's your word against theirs. 

Follow Through

Your word is your word, and on a site like eBay, it's worth more than your PayPal balance. If you tell someone you are sending the kicks UPS the day after you get the payment, then make sure you stick to the script. Some sneaker freaks grab shoes for specific occasions and they might have a deadline of when they need them in. By you delaying a day or two it might mess the whole deal up and you'll get hit with the dreaded negative feedback — which will affect your bottom line. Keep to your shipping guidelines, leave appropriate feedback in a timely fashion, and keep moving towards that Power Seller status.