Resellers. If there’s something limited or desirable, they’ll grab it and flip it. They play off of desire and thirst, and wherever there’s money to be made, be it tickets, shoes, clothes or really anything, they’re with it.
Resellers are nothing new to the sneaker game. Ever since the demand has outweighed the supply for shoes, they’ve been making good cheddar on sneakerheads who are desperate to have whatever the latest hot jawn is. This goes for clothes too. If any brand releases a limited capsule collection or desirable collaboration, resellers will swoop in and try to make a quick flip.
However, the tide seems to be shifting somewhat. Sneaker reselling ran rampant the last few years, with everyone from an OG sneaker head to a 16 year old looking to make a quick come up grabbing kicks to flip. Now, it seems to be clothes. Everyone who’s able to get their hands on a piece of apparel that’s even partially desirable will put it up for sale. Hell, there’s even whole websites like Grailed for aftermarket limited clothing.
Look at Kanye West’s recent The Life Of Pablo pop-up shop in New York, where album merch was made available for purchase for a few short days. Lines and wait times were ridiculously long…and unfortunately most people weren’t in line to get some new pieces for themselves. They wanted a quick flip, and some easy cash. Tees, which were no more than $30 are now being sold for upwards of $100, and don’t even ask about the jean jackets.
Clothing reselling has always been around, but ever since Complex (some of the biggest culture vultures you’ll find anywhere) published a 5-part documentary on Supreme and the people that resell it, it’s shot into a whole new stratosphere. Kids all over the country saw the documentary, and thought to themselves “Hey, I can do this!” Anyone who manages to score anything at all on Supreme will put it up for sale almost immediately with no hesitation. The number of people who cop to rock seem to be getting smaller and smaller by the day.
And what people don’t seem to understand is this: a real reseller has the most limited items in multiple sizes. Grabbing a random hoodie or tee and posting it up the same day for $50 over retail doesn’t mean you’re “out here”, and since many people aren’t willing to pay resell prices you’re stuck with something you don’t want and can’t sell, and someone else can’t have what they do want.
It’s a vicious cycle, and one that seems to be nearing a breaking point. Here’s hoping that the bubble pops soon. Desirable product is always going to be difficult to get, but it doesn’t have to be impossible to get.
What do you think of the apparel reselling game? Have you paid resell for any apparel? Do you find it more difficult to get the jawnz you want nowadays? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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