Sneaker Stories: The Unknown Market

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Top industries in the United States have taken a hit because of inflation and the recession. Industries like retail, manufacturing, and real estate are some examples. While main markets are plummeting, so are secondary markets.

Sneakers are a vital part of today’s culture. One can see celebrities wearing Jordans, Adidas, or New Balances. Athletes can also be seen wearing their signature shoe line with certain companies. These contribute to a market where it depends on hype and how rare a sneaker is. Also, due to the high demand and low quantities, the resale sneaker market, according to Cowen & Co., in 2022, was valued at $2 billion and had the forecast to reach $30 billion globally.

Like any other market, the sneaker market needs people to invest and buy. Buyers and sellers are what make up the market. They control what’s hot and what’s not. Usually, stories are just about sneakers, celebrities, and athletes sponsored by sneaker companies. Now, the stories are about the people who wear sneakers.

Transcript:

Alex Ruiz: My name is Alex Ruiz, and I’m a collector and a seller

Brian Perez: My name is Brian Perez, and I would say I am a collector

Carlo Mendoza: My name is Carlo Mendoza, and I’m both a collector and a seller.

Daniela Fuentes: My name is Daniela, and I’m a collector

Tony Lopez: I’m Tony Lopez, and for the first question, in regards to whether I am a collector or a seller, I’d say I’m a mixture of both.

Alenny Morales: My name is Morales, and I’m a collector.

Daniela Fuentes: I first got introduced to sneakers when I bought my first pair of shoes.

Alenny Morales: I was actually introduced to sneakers by my sisters because they started collecting them, and I just joined them

Alex Ruiz: I got introduced to sneakers by a friend of mine in seventh grade when I was in middle school. And from there, we would always be watching videos about them. Later that year, for my birthday, I was given a pair of Jordan Retro fives, fire reds, with the black tongue

Carlo Mendoza: I got introduced to sneakers by my brother. He is the one who started reselling first, and I just kind of followed through his footsteps and all that

Brian Perez: My whole life, I’ve grown up being a big basketball fan. I mean, I grew up on sneakers, really. I watched a lot of NBA players, so I grew up on that, and my family had a big influence on it, too, cause most of my family plays basketball, so and I’ve always been a big Kobe fan my whole life. I got into sneakers because I had a big influence in basketball.

Tony Lopez: So my dad’s brother got me started with the sneaker game. Every time I walked into his house, he showed me his new collection that he got from apps such as Goat, StockX, Footlocker, or even the Nike store, and I’d be like, hey, you know, these are really cool sneakers. What’s the point of them? Because when I was a kid, I really didn’t care what shoes I wore, whatever. I saw these red and white Jordans and I really really liked them one time. He said, “Yeah, they sell them on, you know, the specials sneaker apps.” And I just started purchasing some. I’ve purchased most of my shoes on StockX and stuff.

Carlo Mendoza: My first sneaker. I got it 2019. It was the Jordan 11s

Daniela Fuentes: My first sneaker was the Jordan Four Black Cats, and I got it in 2019 or 2020, I believe.

Brian Perez: My first sneaker would probably be. I mean, I can only remember when I really started to play basketball which was when I was eight or nine years old. I remember getting these Shaqs. These And-1’s, I think, no, they weren’t And-1’s. I just remember them being these white Shaq’s, and that’s the first sneaker remember getting when I first started playing basketball.

Alenny Morales: I remember getting my first sneaker like about a year ago, and they were the University Blues.

Anthony Lopez: For my first-ever sneaker, I got them back. I believe it was 2012 or 2013. It was the Kobe 8 system.

Alex Ruiz: My greatest memory, I’d have to say the amount of people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had, whether it’s camping out or going to live raffles and the people I’ve interacted with and grown relationships with.

Brian Perez: I probably say I have a pair of Kobe’s I still have. It’s like a burgundy color, and I always remember back. That was a shoe that I wore when I played with my cousin back in 2015. I attest the sneaker to like a time I used to wear them when I played.

Daniela Fuentes: My favorite memory that sneakers have brought me is being able to share the passion with my boyfriend

Alenny Morales: My favorite memory is probably going down to City Walk with my siblings, and I’m buying each a pair of shoes.

Tony Lopez: My favorite memory that sneakers have brought me was just the joy of purchasing them and then wearing them.

Carlo Mendoza: Favorite memory with sneakers. Just waiting in long lines with my brother and his friends. It was a side hustle that we did, and we would stay up a few hours before the store opened, and then we’d just crack jokes, and that was that.

Alenny Morales: since the market has gone down after the recession, I’ve noticed that everybody’s just buying necessities. Everything else is going higher, so I haven’t been able to buy any pairs, like my last pair was over six months ago, and they were the Avacoda Dunks.

Anthony Lopez: It’s a positive, and it makes me want to purchase some Panda Dunks now because they’re more affordable for anybody.

Brian Perez: Advice I would tell someone to get sneakers. Probably just be unique, kind of how I was. A lot of people grew up wearing Jordans, and I guess I was pretty unique and different in the way I grew up buying Kobes different Kobe. So, I would say just be unique and find something you like.

Carlo Mendoza: Do your research. You have to know the market and make sure you have money to set aside and invest and all that.

Alenny Morales: Some advice id give to someone trying to get into sneakers is just being careful, like making sure you’re not buying fakes cause there is a lot of fakes out there. So just to be safe when purchasing.

Daniela Fuentes: I would tell someone who is trying to get into sneakers to download the SNKRS app because you can enter raffles there and enter for a chance to win, and that’s how you can start your collection.

Alex Ruiz: Rome wasn’t built in a day. I would tell them that exactly like don’t try to just buy buy buy buy all at once like it takes time to get what you like, it’s not always easy to find what you want and like I’d say go for what you like and not what others like or what others consider hype.