Clothing / Accessories

eBay Wants More of the Sneakerhead Market

What was your reaction the first time you learned people were collecting sneakers? Some thought this was ludicrous. The joke ended up being on them (and for disclosure, yours truly). One of the first rules of thumb in evaluating collectibles is to not let your own opinion determine whether or not there is a real marketplace. The “why” just doesn’t matter when the real question should be “how many people care” instead. And of course you know about this online auction and sales destination place called eBay.

Now eBay has announced the “Inside Drop” to some of the most coveted Friends & Family kicks that will be given away to eBay’s community of enthusiasts. What is interesting here is that eBay is targeting sellers in this promotion. And for the attribute of collectibles as an alternative asset class, eBay refers to it as “investing in your first pair or adding to an envy-worthy collection.”

eBay did offer up some key statistics about its effort in selling sneakers. The company reported that it has more than 1.6 million sneaker listings on an average day. The company also noted that the women’s sneaker category rose by more than 80% over the past year. Sales of men’s sneakers purchased by female shoppers also doubled over the past year.

eBay is effectively trying to bring in more buyers and sellers in the sneaker community. The company partnered with sneakerhead Jacques Slade, who is a longtime eBay member. According to eBay’s release, he will share tips and tricks for listing and selling on eBay and offer an inside look at some shoes they may be interested in selling from their personal collections.

eBay will offer up 25 pairs of exclusive and hard-to-find shoes that will be “rewarded” to the winning eBay sellers. These include:

  • Nike Air Max 1 Parra Friends & Family in the unique alternate coloring, details and materials
  • Air Jordan 1 Fragment High Friends & Family featuring the exclusive brand logo
  • Air Jordan 5 Paris Saint-Germain Friends & Family in a limited white colorway
  • Adidas x Pharrell NMD Human Race Trail Friends & Family with limited edition text adorning the shoes

Garry Thaniel, who is listed as eBay’s General Manager of Sneakers, said:

Sneaker collecting is about more than just buying new kicks. It’s about having connections with the community to track down that must-have pair for which you’ve been tirelessly searching, or helping someone else add to their collection by selling a pair from yours. Whether a seller has been with us for decades or they’re just starting out, the “Inside Drop” is our way of showing gratitude to the sneakerheads whose dedication and passion keep this incredible community going. We can’t wait to see what amazing pairs of shoes they’ll make available to their fellow collectors.

eBay listed other details in its release about additional rewards and the guidelines about how to participate.