A Modern Guide to Reselling Air Jordan Sneakers

For as long as sneaker collecting has been in the mainstream eye, there have always been savvy individuals willing to profit off the demand by buying up pairs and reselling them on the secondary market at a premium markup, especially so for Air Jordans. Sneakerheads have long despised the entrepreneurial spirit of resellers, but the truth is they are and will forever be a facet of sneaker culture—whether we like it or not. Air Jordans are particularly coveted because of their rich history with Michael Jordan on the court, as well as their iconic designs—and have sometimes led people to go through great lengths to obtain them, even violence.

Although resellers are disdained for what they stand for, they essentially provide a service to those who, for whatever reason it may be, couldn't cop on release day. Some have even made it their livelihood to resell sneakers full time so it's difficult to judge and knock someone's hustle without fully understanding one's situation. Even if you're selling a pair from your own collection that you no longer want, if you let them go at market value you're still contributing to "resell culture" by doing so. With that said, here is A Modern Guide to Reselling Air Jordan Sneakers.

First and foremost, reselling is not as easy you think. Sure, you could cop any old pair of Jordan retros and try to sell them, but you'd be hard-pressed to learn that it would probably brick on the market without figuring a few things out first. Are you currently unemployed and have the time and resources to commit to this full-time, or are you just someone looking to earn a quick buck on the side here and there, hoping to land a coveted pair of Js on a Saturday morning to flip as fast as possible? These are important decisions that will affect how you go about your research and routine in order to make the best use of your time (and money).

Arguably one of the most important factors in being successful at reselling is knowing which Jordan drop to double down on. And it can make a big difference. Lots of people probably bought in on the recent “Legend Blue” XI drop because it was an O.G. colorway, but if you spent all your time on acquiring just a single pair to flip, you probably won’t have much to show for it. That’s because although highly sought after, they were a general release, meaning there were hundreds of thousands of pairs produced. Simple economics will tell you that once the market is flooded, prices will ultimately drop. On the other hand, if you spent all that time trying to cop a pair of fragment x Air Jordan 1s, which was a super limited collaboration, your return on investment would be significantly higher because of how difficult they were to obtain.

As most ‘heads know, online sneaker retailers often announce restocks via their Twitter feeds, and it’s crucial that you’re always up-to-date on this info. By subscribing to their tweets, you’ll always be in the know whether a restock is happening or not. Not only that, retailers usually tweet out product pages at launch time, so you definitely don't want to miss out. Just make sure you’re selective with whom you’re subscribing to, and make sure you turn off retweets to avoid clutter in your mobile notifications. Here are some accounts to subscribe who’ve been known to tweet out a restock here and there: @nikestore, @shoepalace, @RUVILLA.

We all know about bots already, but what are some other techniques people are using today? Situated in a sort of grey area of sneaker buying is the rise of tech savvy sneakerheads, who mine retailer websites for any sort of loopholes that could be advantageous in obtaining a prized pair of Js. Twitter personalities such as @SOLEMARTYR and @SOLELINKS are known to a niche crowd of sneakerheads for dropping “early links” to products prior to the official launch on a retailer’s website. This can prove useful when knowing the time of a specific release, and having a direct link to the sneakers can mean the difference between hitting or striking out. While we can't fully support the use of early links, since they're not always 100% accurate, it's a good backup to have in your pocket just in case.

Also, if you're not familiar with Page Monitor, you'd better Google it now. Page Monitor is a downloadable extension that allows you to track any changes made to a webpage. So if there are any canceled orders on the Js you were trying to cop or if a silent restock happens, Page Monitor will notify you once it does. All you need to do is enter any URL you want to monitor, and the rest is fully configurable to your specifications.

The key to a successful cop is to be organized, and the best way of doing this is by creating and updating an ongoing spreadsheet for yourself. When there are multiple retailers dropping the same release it can be tough switching back and forth between websites. By keeping a list of all your product page links handy in one place, you can easily navigate to your next retailer in case you strike out on the other.

The best way to go about this is Google Docs, since it'll be accessible anywhere you are. You can even collaborate with friends to help out. And since most Air Jordan launch products are strictly one per customer, chances are there will be canceled orders from those trying to cop more than one pair. That's when you can refer back to the Doc and add the ones you want on your Page Monitor list to be tracked.​ It pays to stay organized, literally.

Waking up at 9:50 a.m. for that 10 a.m. Saturday morning drop isn’t going to cut it if you’re really looking to go in on a major release. You should wake up at least 30-45 minutes prior to the online launch time to have everything set up. You'll want to open multiple browsers with product page URLs ready to go along with your Twitter notifications set up in case there are retailers tweeting out links at drop time. Keep in mind that most Nike launch products, such as retro Jordan releases, are one per customer. So ideally you'll want multiple credit cards with different billing information to circumvent this. If you're trying to cop from smaller retailer websites, be prepared for the reality of a site crash since most non-major retailers don't have the infrastructure to handle so much traffic.

Now that you've actually obtained your Js, you've got to sell them. Don't pull a rookie move by posting your pair(s) on a Facebook buy/sell group because 9 times out of 10 you'll either get jerked, flaked on, or lowballed to death because that audience is usually a younger demographic without much disposable income. Instead, developing and nurturing a reputable eBay account is one of your best options. You'll have a smooth track record of selling which in turn will draw more potential buyers to your listings, thus enabling you to command higher prices.

But if you don't have strong eBay account yet, fear not. Another highly recommended avenue is the world-renowned consignment store Flight Club. Located in both NYC and L.A., they offer in-person and mail drop offs with an easy to use selling interface. Flight Club has become a sort of gold standard in terms of what resell prices on prize Jordans and other sought after sneakers are on the secondary market. It's better to go this route, too, if you've got a bunch of pairs to unload since they handle every part of the transaction once they take them in. All you do is collect a check once they sell.

A seasoned/smart reseller is one who knows how to gauge the marketplace and is adept at forecasting demand. That said, depending on your financial situation, you should learn when to hold on to specific colorways and models to play the long game for a stronger return on investment. For example, any O.G. colorway Air Jordan XI has historically risen in value over a longer period of time, even if they were a wide release. That's because no matter the number of pairs produced, eventually pairs will be bought, undeadstocked, and worn out, and when the time comes demand will rise as fewer pairs are left on the market. Another great example are the 2013 "Black/Red" Air Jordan 1s. Around the time of its release and a couple months thereafter, they were hovering around the $300-$350 mark. You'll now be lucky to find a pair at that price today, just take a look at how much they command now. As someone once said, patience is a virtue.