Nike’s AirMax 1 Masters
When David Sutton wanted a pair of Nike AirMax 1 Masters, he didn't go to eBay, let alone the Nike store. "I'm really big on getting it first," says the Toronto-based vice president of the Toronto Congress Centre, whose collection consists of over 400 pairs of sneakers. For Sutton, along with countless dedicated collectors worldwide, the rare-sneaker resale market has become a lot like that of fine art or vintage Bordeaux: Demand is high, supply is low and counterfeits abound. While he might have previously scoured eBay for limited-edition Nikes, the site is now known to collectors as a haven for fakes and shady dealers. Another site, FlightClub, offers real McCoys, but charges top dollar for the privilege. Instead, he went to StockX, the stock exchange for sneakers.
"The StockX platform is built on three fundamental beliefs," says founder and CEO Josh Luber, a former data analyst at IBM and a sneaker collector who launched the site in early 2016. "To provide full transparency of data, anonymity for buyers and sellers, and authenticity." StockX customers, Luber continues, are buying from an exchange, not a person, which results in more democratic pricing. In addition, every pair of shoes bought and sold on the site must pass through StockX's Detroit headquarters to be inspected for condition and provenance before being approved for sale.
While the time spent shipping to Detroit and back means he's not always the first to get the latest shoes, Sutton appreciates the merits of the system as a whole. "You can view all the recent sales prices and know that you're comfortable with the bid you're putting out," he says. "The added authenticity check slightly slows the process, but it's worth it nonetheless."
For sneaker collectors, shoes are assets, says Luber, whose backers include actor Mark Wahlberg, rapper Eminem and Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert. "Some like to wear them; some collect and others leverage the sneaker market to make money." With the global sneaker resale market worth an estimated $6-billion (U.S.) – and StockX taking 10 per cent from every sale – there's a lot of money to be made. It's not, however, called "the stock market of things" by accident. "Sneakers are just the beginning," says Luber. "Today we focus on sneakers, but will soon expand to other high-demand, limited-edition products, and eventually, almost all consumer goods."
Hang onto your Birkins: On deck is a stock market for designer handbags.