Reselling Shoes: How I Make $10,000 a Month Flipping Sneakers


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This contribution comes from JV Ortiz, who found side hustle success in the world of buying and selling sneakers. He’s been at this business for two years and actually quit his job to pursue this venture full-time.

(And at $10k a month, I don’t blame him!)

reselling sneakers

To go deeper, JV has co-authored a detailed guide on how to break into the sneaker flipping game. You can use code SIDEHUSTLENATION to take 12% off

Take it away, JV!

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From $1 T-Shirts to $1,000 Sneakers: My Reselling Story

As someone who always had an entrepreneurial ambition and a hustler’s mindset, I was craving the right environment to really reach my potential.

I had seen documentaries about such environments that were meritocracies like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where formal education didn’t matter at all. In this realm, people were paid based on their trading performance, making millionaires out of some from blue collar backgrounds.

Buy Low, Sell High

Because I was so inspired by traders, I first tried my luck trading stocks — but ultimately lost money.

Still the opportunity to make money like traders do, by buying low and selling higher, made a lot of sense to me.

I decided that, rather than dealing with speculating market forecasts (i.e. actually gambling), I should sell things that real people actually buy.

And I was attracted to the idea of reselling as a hustle because there is no need to build a brand from the ground up.

Instead, you can piggyback on the popularity of existing brands. With this new strategy in mind, I headed for the clearance racks at local discount clothing stores and thrift shops, looking for brand-name items that I could sell at a profit on eBay.

I started to develop an idea of what brands resold for, and realized that on eBay, brand new items were selling below retail prices, so to make a profit with my used inventory I would have to find a steep discount.

Note: flipping sneakers made it into our list of top side hustles for the year!  You can watch it below…

YouTube video

My First Profitable Flips: Starting with $1 T-Shirts

At thrift stores, I could pick up t-shirts for $1 or $2 and sell them for about $10.

I was able to make money doing this, but it was nowhere near enough to reach my goal of matching the current paycheck. (At the time, I was looking for a better way to make money in college than working a retail job that paid slightly more than minimum wage.)

At best, I was making a $10 profit for each item I sold, and at the peak was selling 5 items per week. It’s good that I was making some money on the side pretty consistently, but I became hungry for more and started to brainstorm ideas.

Applying the 10x Rule

Thinking back again to the successful commodity traders, I recognized the obvious fact that the reason that these traders became millionaires is because they were trading in large quantities of money.

I had also been watching the TV show Million Dollar Listing at the time, where real estate agents made as much money selling one house as the average American would earn in a year. They did basically the same amount of work as the typical real estate agent but made ten times more simply because they were selling houses that were ten times more.

I was selling $50-$100 items and making about $10 per sale and $50 per week, so I thought, why don’t I sell items that are priced at $500-$1000 and make $100 per sale and $500 per week?

A similar amount of work for 10x the results.

I had saved some money and was ready to start flipping more expensive items but wasn’t really sure where to start, so I searched for higher ticket items to sell. I knew luxury items were expensive, so I researched high end designer items and expensive watches.

Through my research though, I found that it was nearly impossible to make money reselling name brand luxury items. In fact, they were almost universally selling for less on eBay than they were in the store, even when they were on clearance.

Every now and then, I would find a luxury item on deep clearance at the mall and see on eBay that I could make a profit, but that the margin would be too thin and the sale too slow to justify the upfront investment.

Dealing with watches could be profitable but required a great deal of capital, knowledge, and reputation. I was stuck and didn’t know what to do.

Discovering the Sneaker Aftermarket

Searching through eBay, I filtered strictly by price and not by brand name. I was searching for items that were selling for around $500-1000 that I could make a profit from.

This is how I discovered reselling shoes. 

To my surprise, in the $1000 realm, among the name-brand luxury bags and other obviously expensive items were a pair of Nikes.

It was February 2015, and the shoes were the Air Jordan 2 Just Don.

nike just don shoes

Little did I know that this discovery would open the door to my most profitable flipping venture yet, and the one that would match and replace my job income.

I saw that many pairs were selling for nearly $1000 with a lot of bidding action. After doing some research, I found that these shoes were available at retail at $350. Instantly I knew that I wanted to start selling shoes.

Not only did these mark the checkbox of an item that sold for $500-1000, it exceeded my profit goal of $100 per item: I could make over $500 per shoe I sold!

Flipping sneakers was my new side hustle.

I would only have to sell one shoe per week to make my $500 per week goal, and I could even make $1,000 in a week if I sold 2 shoes — maybe even $1,000 in a day.

Nick’s Notes: eBay takes a 10% fee on each sale.

My mind started spinning and I became super driven to learn all that I could about the shoe reselling game.

After spending hours of research and using the little money that I had saved, I bought my first pair of shoes to resell. It was a pair of Jordans that I bought for $190. I sold them hours later for $300 — an $80 profit after shipping and fees.

It was the quickest and easiest money I had ever made. I had finally found a product that met all of my criteria: high ticket items with good margins that sold quickly. Sneakers checked those boxes very nicely.

Nick’s Notes: You may be able to add to your profitability by taking strategic advantage of credit card rewards programs. If you’re buying inventory to flip, it’ll be easier to hit the minimum spending requirements for fatty sign-up bonuses. Here’s a free guide to how these programs work.

Scaling Up the Sneaker Flipping Operation

I kept reselling shoes in that range until I had enough money saved to buy a pair $900. After a few anxious days of waiting, I was able to flip them at $1200 for a profit of about $200. I also began to learn how to secure these $1000 shoes (called Yeezy’s, made by Adidas) at retail for insane profit margins of over $500 per shoe.

I started as an absolute outsider and 4 months in I cleared $10,000 for the month.

Once you know what you’re doing and you take the time to build your reputation and stay on top with sneaker news, the consistency and ease of selling aftermarket sneakers amaze me to this day.

Note: JV isn’t the only one that’s hit success flipping shoes.  Check out this interview we did with Beau on his shoe flipping side hustle.

YouTube video

The Shoe Reselling Industry

Forbes estimates that the resale market for sneakers is estimated to be over $1 billion annually.

Nick’s Notes: By carefully and expertly hyping each new product launch, the manufacturers cater to loyal fans — and strategically never quite make enough to fully satisfy the demand. It’s that constant shortfall on the supply side that fuels the resale market.

This is also trend that doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon. That same Forbes article notes that the international sneaker market is up 40% since 2004.

Even though only an estimated 4% of sneakers end up being purchased for immediate resale, the market has attracted side hustlers and entrepreneurs. At the top of the heap, some resellers are moving more than $2 million in inventory a year.

What Shoes To Buy?

One of the most common questions I get is how do I know which shoes to buy for sneaker flipping?

Which shoe brands and models will be profitable?

To get an idea of what is hot in streetwear, follow sneaker and fashion publishers like Hypebeast or High Snobiety.

Immerse yourself in your local sneaker communities by attending a sneaker convention and getting an idea of what people are wearing and what people are talking about.

Learn about the Jordan brand. Begin to follow Instagram accounts that have to do with sneakers, so you’ll automatically be doing research every time you’re killing time on the ‘gram. Combine all of the above with checking aftermarket prices on sites like eBay and calculating your estimated profit.

Nick’s Notes: In the advanced search, you can check the box just to see completed listings to see how much items are actually selling for.

I suggest starting small with one or two pairs so you don’t have a huge risk.

Where Do You Buy These Shoes to Resell?

I like to buy older models either through eBay or Facebook groups and sneaker conventions.

For new shoes, you’ll go directly to the brand’s website (adidas.com, nike.com, etc.) and either press your luck right on the release time or you can utilize a sneaker bot to greatly increase your chances of securing a pair at retail price.

There are also authorized retailers that stock desired shoes, like FootLocker or Eastbay, but it’s best to go with lesser-known sites like Mr. Porter and END to increase your odds of getting the shoes at retail.

Where’s the Best Place to Resell Shoes?

I’ve done most of my reselling on eBay, but it seems like apps like GOAT and StockX are picking up so I’m selling on those more now as well.

Still, I love the feeling of doing in-person deals either through Craigslist, sneaker conventions, or Facebook/Twitter groups.

Obviously, selling in person requires extra precautions, but if you use common sense and deal with good people through networking, you’ll get the best prices from in person on the buying side because online sellers are paying for shipping and fees to the platform that they’re selling on.

Some Common and Costly Mistakes

Although I had done my research, I was still in over my head and had a lot to learn. After my biggest month, I made some preventable mistakes that nearly caused me to lose everything I had earned.

First, I ended up with some fakes and it was a mess trying to get my money back from the seller or PayPal.

Nick’s Notes: As you might expect with shoes that sell for $1,000, there’s a thriving black market for counterfeit sneakers.

The other issue I ran into was with my PayPal account itself. They weren’t used to me taking in such large amounts of money per month, so PayPal put a hold on my money. Since I relied on reinvesting that income into more inventory, that hold took me several months to recover from.

I think I could have avoided that if I’d warned them in advance that I would be taking in as much money in a month that I used to take in in a year, but then again I had no idea that I would make so much money so quickly!

Fortunately, I made a recovery and have gathered more knowledge than if it had been smooth sailing from the very start.

How Do You Deal with Fakes?

Although there are plenty of fakes on the market, there are also plenty of resources that will educate you on fakes and how to spot the differences.

As a buyer, you can ask for detailed, tagged pictures (i.e. with written proof of ownership, often the day/time on a piece of paper next to the shoe in each picture.) and compare them to the numerous tutorials on YouTube or on sneaker forums that will give you a good idea of whether they’re authentic or not.

Also, if it’s a new release, only deal with people who include the receipt from the store that they purchased. That way you’ll know they’re real and also if it’s your intention to turn around and resell them, then you can prove to buyers they’re the real deal as well.

Another issue when dealing with fakes is selling authentic shoes but having the buyer try to claim that they’re fake. This can be solved by including a receipt as mentioned previously, or you can take detailed pictures as you’re shipping to prove that you are in fact shipping authentic shoes.

Be sure to include tracking with signature required and insurance so the buyer also cannot claim that he or she never got the kicks.

How Do You Manage Inventory?

The short answer is I don’t — I try and sell each pair as quickly as I buy them!

When selling shoes, it can be easy to amass a bulky collection that you have to keep somewhere. To avoid that, I focus on brand new releases or shoes that are really hot classics I know will sell quickly.

This strategy translated into less headache and hassle storing and tracking the inventory, and also let me turn my cash over to reinvest in the next flip faster.

What’s Next?

For anyone that wants to get a side hustle going but doesn’t know where to start, selling sneakers is one of the best ways to learn valuable entrepreneurial skills in real life, like customer service, profitably managing inventory, and learning to set and achieve goals.

These skills I have learned through selling shoes have given me gifts that I never got in any kind of formal education.

For more on this side hustle, be sure to check out SneakerFlippers.com and use the code SIDEHUSTLENATION to take 12% off the 100-page sneaker flipping guidebook. 

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What Else Could You Flip?

While sneakers are some of the best items to flip if you have a sense for what’s hot, there are certainly plenty of other options to buy low and sell high.

Suggested Playlist: Flipping Profits

Buying low and selling high is the fastest way to multiply money. Here's how to get it done.

Add to Spotify

Used Shoes and Boots

Nick’s Notes: The resale market for shoes goes far beyond just these limited-edition sneakers. In fact, even gently-used regular name brand shoes and boots can be flipped for profit. 

In this case, it’s a game of spotting deals at thrift shops and yard sales. A typical purchase price might be $5-15 for a pair, but those can sell for $50-300 on eBay depending on the brand and condition.

Check out this online class to learn more.

Clearance Arbitrage

Another flipping business that might be worth exploring is simply buying clearance items locally, and reselling them for a profit on Amazon. This is known as Amazon FBA clearance arbitrage or retail arbitrage. 

It may not be as flashy as the sneaker business, but may be easier to source inventory and begin to multiply your money. Click here to learn more about how to get started, or listen in below:

And head over here to join Jessica’s free 7-day course on getting started selling on Amazon.

Flea Market Finds

Another flipping business I want to share is my friend Rob’s — he runs Flea Market Flipper and Flipper University ( use code SIDEHUSTLE100 for $100 off).

The guy has some crazy awesome stories about the random stuff he’s found and then re-sold for big gains. And he’s turned it into a full-time, 6-figure business!

Check out my interview with Rob to learn more, check out his free webinar, or listen with the player app below:

Used Books

And finally, there’s an entire industry set up around flipping books. One guest of mine reported earning up to $4000 a month re-selling used books.

Stocks and Options?

Another Side Hustle Show guest reported making $1000 a day trading stocks. She didn’t hit that level right away, but through education and practice turned her unique flipping business into a full-time income stream (and then some!).

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Nick Loper

About the Author

Nick Loper is a side hustle expert who loves helping people earn more money and start businesses they care about. He hosts the award-winning Side Hustle Show, where he's interviewed over 500 successful entrepreneurs, and is the bestselling author of Buy Buttons, The Side Hustle, and $1,000 100 Ways.

His work has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Forbes, TIME, Newsweek, Business Insider, MSN, Yahoo Finance, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Financial Times, Bankrate, Hubspot, Ahrefs, Shopify, Investopedia, VICE, Vox, Mashable, ChooseFI, Bigger Pockets, The Penny Hoarder, GoBankingRates, and more.

81 thoughts on “Reselling Shoes: How I Make $10,000 a Month Flipping Sneakers”

  1. I dabbled in reselling shoes earlier this year and made some decent side money doing so before I called it quits due to issues with reliability and scalability. After reading this I have a couple of notes to add that may be helpful to anyone considering this.

    1. Using Bots to win sneakers can/will get you banned from a lot of the more reputable websites (Supreme, Adidas, etc.). In many cases they will ban your IP, your address, and/or even your payment information. This is against the ToS for most sites. Additionally, everyone in sneaker culture hates people who use bots.

    2. Paypal also takes around a 3% cut of your sales revenue to include the shipping cost. So if you sell a shoe for $100 plus $15 shipping, or anything really, on eBay you will pay eBay 10% on the $100, 3% (approximately) on $115, and another finalized cost through eBay that fluctuates.

    3. This a research intensive side hustle that can be unpredictable in your ability to get inventory, see the value for a shoe (by the time you truly know its too late), and will often be more of a 1 or 2 shoes a month that you can get and are worthwhile.

    Lastly, resellers are persona non grata in a lot of sneakerhead circles so if you do join them be prepared for some vitriol to be thrown your way if you admit it. This obviously doesn’t apply to the places you are attempting to sell them so much as it does to the forums you go to just talk about sneakers.

    Reply
      • Hey Nick,
        I am a 13 year old sneaker reseller, I sell my shies through goat stockx and instagram @durham_kix . I have been pretty successful and made about 3000 dollars of profit in my first year, which may not sound like alot to you, but I was pretty proud of it. I want to kick my business up a notch and having trouble getting inventory. I know you suggested facebook and ebay but I dont always know what to search to find deals and when I do find a steal there is only one, making it not very reliable source of inventory. If you have any suggestions for buying bulk or what to search to buy steals and places to get shoes to keep the inventory going and how to build relationships/connections in the sneaker world I would really appreciate. Hope I get a response. Also for a school project I am doing sneakers, reselling, and the secondary market created. I would like to ask you a few questions about that so if you could supply your email maybe so I could contact you when needed would really appreciate it. If you don’t want to though I would totally understand. I would contact you about that in a couple weeks, just trying to get ahead on resources. Thank you for your time,
        Sincerely Theo Pacchiana ( @durham_kix on instagram, theopacc1304 on ebay)

        Reply
          • Can you also give me some advice on where to buy in bulk I’m 15 and just starting to get into reselling

          • Hey JV could you please give me some info on how to acquire shoes in bulk for my resell business? I have good luck scoring 1-2 pairs of each hyped shoe at drop price but cant seem to get much more (if any) than that. I would love to get some advice from someone like you who obviously knows the market well and has quite a bit more experience than myself. Thanks for writing such a great article to read!

          • Hey JV, could you please email me with some advice as well on how to acquire shoes in bulk? I have pretty good luck getting 1-2 pairs of the hyped shoes at drop price but cant seem to cop many more, if any more at all. I would love to hear some advice from someone like you with much more experience and knowledge. Thanks for writing such an awesome article to read!

          • Hey man I am in the same situation where I need a consistent supplier for shoes and supreme/bape if you could help me find something with all of the knowledge you have that would be great.

            Dm me @headforhype on instagram

          • Hey JV,
            I was wondering you could provide any advice for someone trying to get into reselling sneakers. I’ve been really unhappy with my current job, and have been looking for another way to make a living. I’m very passionate about sneakers and have been my whole life. What sort of things would you recommend in terms of getting larger more regular quantities of shoes that I’m able to sell on for a profit, and not necessarily a large profit. Just looking for a way to get my foot in the door. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Really enjoyed your article though. It’s been a helpful guide to get things started. Cheers

        • Hi Theo,
          I know that I’m not as credible as the author up above but here is my thoughts.
          Wow you made 3000 dollars that’s a great start! I’m 14 and I also do shoe flipping. I suggest that you look at websites like Stockx and GOAT to find out what kind of expensive shoes are in the market. Then, you can buy similar brands and style of shoes that you kind would fit the trend. Also remember that a higher margin (profit percentage) is better than more money.

          Hope that helps!
          -Nathan

          Reply
        • Try bidding lower on stock x I picked up a pair of OFF-White Desert Ores for £600 they cost around £840 now if you want to buy them now. I’ve done in quite a lot and got a lot of items for under retail.

          Reply
  2. I really enjoyed this. I actually love sneakers. Growing up a basketball player, it came with the territory. I would spend hours in middle and high school looking at sneaker magazines. This is a fantastic side-hustle that can also be enjoyable. I know the industry is hotter than ever now. At least, it seems to be based on the fact that even ESPN does sneaker segments now.

    Reply
  3. This is why I love your site Nick! I’m exposed business ideas and ways of generating income that I never thought could be so lucrative.

    Reply
  4. What a fun and imaginative way to earn a bunch of extra money. I had a friend that dabbled in this a few years back and made several hundred bucks per flip. It seemed pretty time consuming to me, but you make it sound like it isn’t so bad. I will have to read more about it to see if it’s for me.

    Reply
  5. That is a great idea! I had never thought of applying the 10x model. I have done in the past ebay. I agree with the article as soon as buy them. Sell them quickly. Like mentioned before you must do your homework very thoroughly. I would get my business license and then try to see if i can get a better deal and make a better margin of profit!

    Reply
  6. Flipping sneakers online is a no brainer. What I would do is wait until online retailers like Asics, Brooks, Nike, Adidas, Fila, and others have a super clearance sale. But as much as possible “and don’t forget Clarks Wallabees also,”get free shipping, and then re-up on your $ gUaP $ by upping the price on Etsy, eBaY, AngiesList.com, and sell direct through informative YouTube videos with links in the header description pointing to your Pinterest pins selling your shoes. This way, you can use the energy off of other people to get free advertising and improve your side hustle selling skills. :-)

    Can you say “Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr?” :-)

    Reply
  7. Ebay is becoming nearly impossible to sell on. My brother won two pairs of Yeezy’s a couple years ago at the behest of his son. He gave one to his son and the other pair he decided to sell on ebay. He sent the actual legitimate receipt from Adidas.com, shipped in the original Adidas shipping box that was housed in another box, essentially triple boxed. Well, the buyer claimed they were fakes. My brother showed ebay all the proof of purchase, screen shot of “winning”, shipping, even credit card slip for the purchase and shipping. Ebay sided with the buyer and my brother was forced to give a 100% refund including shipping + he had to pay to have the buyer return the shoes. What did he receive from the buyer? He received FAKES with a fake box, fake key-chain and , with icing on the top a fake Foot Locker receipt! Short of the long is SELLER BEWARE, there are MANY people on ebay scamming people out of their real’s. He now sells to Flight Deck, takes a 20% commission hit, has to pay shipping to them but at least he is guaranteed not to get screwed by unscrupulous buyers and ebays commitment to ALWAYS side with the buyer.

    Reply
    • Man I fell to this too! eBay wouldn’t even listen to my side before or after the return. They need to get there act together with this. Kicker is I had no returns stated and this return was initiated a month later after the buyer had given a five star feedback!!!! My blood is starting to boil again so I’m gonna stop but yes seller beware on eBay!!

      Reply
  8. Is it best to hold on to a pair of “rare” shoes when you get them at release? For example I got The Jordan Retro Wings in Gold, limited and numbered, I held on to them and still have them and they are barely selling for what I paid for them now. Also got a pair of the KAWS Jordan 4’s in black that just released and the prices Im seeing have dropped by the hundreds.

    Basically what im asking is do you unload immediately every time or is it case by case and ive just caught to bad ones?

    Thanks for your time!

    Reply
  9. Let’s get one thing clear. The only way you make $500 profit on a pair of Yeezys is if you buy fake ones, and market them as real ones.

    Which lots of people do on Ebay. I see 20-30 people running this scam a week, and it annoys the hell out of me.

    I seriously doubt he’s making $10k a week, in an honest/legal way. Put it that way

    Reply
  10. A pair of real Yeezy’s is about $550-650………..and he was making $500 PROFIT?

    So he was getting them for $50-100 a pair?

    Yeah dude, he was buying fakes, and marketing them as real pairs. A lot of guys are running this scam on Ebay

    Reply
    • This guy is talking about doing it in 2015, check the pricing then. The Yeezy 750 boost retailed for $350 and resold over $1000. The Yeezy 350s at the time were reselling for $1000 as well.

      Yeah today Yeezys are selling for $550-650, but times have changed that was then and this is now.

      Reply
    • Bro they are dropping yeezys right now for 300 and they will resell for 800 easy you clearly didn’t do your research before making a comment did you?

      Reply
    • Did you forget to read the part where he mentioned he was flipping Yeezy’s back in 2015? This was when they were reselling for a minimum of $1,000 or more. Of course you can’t make a $500 profit off of Yeezy’s in 2018…nobody wants them!

      Reply
  11. Too funny. I can hear the suckers saying now, “wow check out this article from this guy helping people!” LOL. If people aren’t smart enough to ask why would you sacrifice your hustle by writing an article telling everyone about it, then they aren’t gonna make donkey donk hustlin sneakers. One of the main reasons your hustle worked is that not everyone and their mother were doing it. And now you’re selling a book on it…. so obviously you’ve given up the gig for a reason you’re not telling and your next hustle is selling a book on your former hustle. Now THAT’S hustlin!!

    Reply
  12. Hey JV. Just ready this article. It’s very interesting and I’m seriously considering getting involved in it (on the side) and getting experienced and then going from there and seeing what happens. But I do have a few questions if you don’t mind answering. I’m going to assume since you did this article you’re trying to educate people on the sneaker reselling industry and I’m desperate to learn more. So please email me. I have a few questions but the big one is how you consistently make $10,000/month considering that there aren’t limited release sneakers released every month and not every one that does get released is a yeezy or has the same profit margins as a yeezy. So please email me and I’m looking forward to talking to you about this. Thanks and I really appreciate it.

    Reply
  13. Hey JV, Great article and motivation. Just been scrolling and was wondering if you could email me I got a couple of questions I would like to ask just from one reseller to another.

    Reply
  14. @Frederick Ritz @Curt hey it’s JV just saw this anyone else who wants to contact feel free to reach out jvg@sixfiguresneakerhead.com to make $10,000 consistently you need knowledge in actively trading historic sneakers with a network, the new Hypemaster Playbook guide address all of those things it’s on my website.

    Reply
  15. Hey JV, I just bought your eBook on reselling, excited to delve into it!

    One question I had was how you have handled the business side of things. I’ve been selling / re-selling on eBay for a few months now as a side hustle and I’ve started making decent profit off of shoes / hype fashion items. Since I’ve never owned my own business before, my question is what is the best way to handle finances / taxes? If I were to do this full time, should I file my taxes as a sole proprietor? Do I need to start an LLC for my eBay business? Hire an accountant? I just don’t want to get to the end of the year and realize I made 10k in profit and didn’t think through the tax implications.

    Thanks for your insight , and great article!

    Reply
    • idk why im even bothering to respond to your post. feeling charitable i guess lol… most resellers ignore the tax implications and try to stay below the limit and notice of the feds. My recommendation if you’re planning on doing this as anything more than a passing hobby is that you figure out the tax and business thing now.

      This guy is profiting 10k/month? That means hes probably doing $50-100k in sales per month. That is a lot of money to be running through your accounts hoping to stay below the radar. Sneaker reselling is largely an online proposition, running money through your credit cards, bank account, and paypal account. The government can track all of this… so eventually if the feds take notice of you, they will audit, and you will owe back taxes and penalties on your profits for all years in operation. Many people have gone bankrupt as a result of this.

      So yeah, going legit sucks cause youre paying the government taxes on work and risk you did yourself, but it is what it is. I think about the 5th year in for me, the feds tried to assess ~ $30k in taxes on me for the previous year, but I demonstrated that I reported all business activity on my tax return, and they dropped the audit/inquiry. If I had been found to actually have owed the tax, they would have expanded the audit to previous years. Most people found to be evading taxes in an audit is subject to audits of their return every year going forward as well. It’s up to you if you want to roll the dice on the govt not finding out or not.

      Reply
  16. I see a lot of people saying they want to make 10k+ a month. You have to hustle for months maybe even years. Every day you have to grind. You don’t just start selling and immediately make 10k a month

    Reply
  17. How do you buy the shoes quickly once released? Like do you add to a part and once you start checking out it’s yours? Bc I would think putting in credit card info and shipping stuff to your house would take a while.

    Reply
  18. I have some questions if you wouldn’t mind emailing me? I’ve recently became interested in buying and reselling shoes. Just really don’t know where to start.

    Reply
  19. Waasup man im trying to get into reselling shoes and need help on finding where to get shoes to resell and advice on how to go about it, the article was extremely informative and helpful. could you email me and give me more tips

    Reply
  20. Hey, I noticed that when you mentioned the use of using sneaker bots you added a link to AIOBOT’s website. I’m guessing you’ve used this particular bot or have heard it’s good. Do you have anymore info on aiobot? I also noticed in the comments about being banned from websites or your payment details, address being banned ect. Can you explain more about that please.
    Thanks
    P.s your article was extremely helpful.

    Reply
  21. Hey this is Tj, I have a couple questions about buying reselling shoes. I have a pretty good knowledge of shoes and which ones that has a higher resell value, for instance I just bought the off-white UNC 1s for $400.00 and I have a buyer that is wanting to pay over $1,000 for them. I am wanting to know about buying shoes in bulk and being able to make $5,000 a month or so buying and reselling shoes if you could email me at tjturner23@yahoo.com that would be great! Thanks.

    Reply
  22. Hey JV,
    I’m a young reseller but have had trouble buying inventory for retail. It seems almost impossible to buy shoes on release date. Is there any advice you can give me please. Please email me @ldblyz11@gmail.com

    Reply
  23. Jv I want to start I’m 13, I have the money but don’t know we’re to start. Do you have any tips? I am really intrigued and have been watching lots of YouTube videos about this.

    Reply
  24. Hello, Im Quin ive been reselling for about 2 months now, Ive been pretty successful with new releases. I created a IG page & want tips on how to find steals and buying bulk. Thanks @pluggofnc

    Reply
  25. Hey Nick/JV,

    I am very interested in starting this type of business and would like to know if I may be sent any additional info like the commentors above. This would be with regards to buying a bit more sneakers in bulk and some of the places to get these kicks from. I appreciate the assistance in advance, thank you!

    – Shani

    Reply
  26. I really enjoyed reading this article and just recently, I have some brand new shoes that were purchased as collector’s items. I am trying to sell local, but have added one pair of Air Jordan to start on Ebay. In my local area, some guy was only offering me $160 for two pairs of brand new Reebok pumps! I suppose he thought I was giving it away for free. One pair would have made more sense. If any of you could help me sell some shoes, that would be great! I will also do further research with advice provided on this page!

    Reply
  27. Thank you so much for this article and story! I started reselling shoes and it’s been a roller coaster! I’ve sold over 50+ shoes but my money hasn’t been well managed! One mistake I’ve been making is buying lots of shoes and having an inventory! Some shoes sold fast and others still sit in my room! I think you’ve opened my eyes and changed my strategy! I will work smarter! Also I just learned that people sell fake shoes and I almost ruined my whole business with this issue but luckily I sold the shoes to my friend and he came back and showed me the way to identify fakes from reals! I’m learning more and more and I know after reading this article I’m about to apply this knowledge and improve everything! I will come back to let you know how I’m doing! Thank you!

    Reply
  28. By reading the comments above, I see that almost all are asking the poster of the article for info on buying in bulk, despite the fact the he clearly stated the he doesn’t. The commenters are also asking the writer to EMAIL THEM. If you want the info, shouldn’t you contact him? Why should he go out of his way to email you? If you can’t or won’t simply read his detailed overview in THIS VERY ARTICLE, how do you expect to be successful?

    Reply
  29. I have 25000 pairs of skicks sneakers with college logos on them,brand new in original boxes for resale,high and low top,slip on,for sale,if interested let me know

    Reply
  30. Please help. I’m SOOOOOO overwhelmed
    I have been buying anime Jordan Addis Gila and other name bands For a year to resale. I’m Not able to start now and have over 700shoes and clothing new.is there any way You can put me safety in contact with someone who want to purchase my items. 90%are with receipts

    Reply
  31. Hey! I can get most of the released shoes. I just do not how to start selling because after looking to apps it would be easy if I get them before released so I mean how I would get pre released shoes. If I get them a like 5 days before the released local retail would be a way to make money. Many people selling shoes now and they mostly not profiting anything. I can go to the store at no problem and get all the drops on released day. But i don’t want to sell to just make 20 bucks that means I have to buy more pairs and probably stick with inventory. Any help on that?

    Reply
    • There fees to pay to all the apps. And also there’s tax to pay at the end of the year. If you make a certain amount of more. I need more details.

      Reply
  32. I’ve got a couple questions for you. I have 4 pair of Yeezys I’m sitting on right now. I have the 350 black, I have the 350 zebra print, I have a pair of citrin, and I have a pair of the 350 yecheli as well. My plan is to sit on them for a bit and wait for the market to go way up on the shoes. Like maybe 1 to 2 years when the shoes get more rare and not too many pairs are out there any longer. But, I’ve only been buying and selling yeezys. I know there is other shoes out there that I can make a profit on. I just dont know where to look. The yeezys have lost those value and I really want to keep selling shoes as a side hustle. I currently have 17,000 saved up that I could invest. I have more coming in too. 3100 more then 500 for a job I did. I own a construction company and I will continue to do the work. But, this is a great side hustle and I want to maximize my profits and money I have and can invest. I really want to score a pair of the reflective shoes as those sell for way over retail. But I never can get them. They sell out so fast. Please, any advice you have please share it with me. Thank you.

    Reply
  33. JV
    Real interesting stuff and congratulations on being way ahead of the game/ essentially becoming an owner of a highly successful company. I fully understand the amount of work and determination you have had to put in to make it, I personally would just love to make a small profit on the side because I am so passionate about sneakers. I would be so grateful for any tips on places to purchase if possible please. Thank you ahead if time and seriously impressive set up you created.

    Reply
  34. “Idea” for kids to “make” money that doesn’t exist. This “business” is shady, full of bots and connections. Nothing else. Simple as shopify is targeting kids to dropship products and be a multimillionare at the age of 3 :D DREAM ON! The one who profit are sites like stockx (multi million business), fake youtubers and so on and on.

    Reply
  35. Hello,

    Thanks for the article. It’s old now and honestly looking at prices in all the websites you linked I dont see practically nothing that would be profitable selling at ebay. Yes, I did chec k the “sold” items on ebay and the averages are not on the reseller side. This is why I have to ask. Why do you mention buying shoes on “Footlocker or Eastbay at retail price”? From what I understand retail price is the final price any final buyer would find in any store. Why would I want to buy at retail price to sell it? Shouldn’t I be looking for items at wholesale price? Isn’t that the objective of the reseller?

    Reply
  36. Hi JV,

    Congrats on your success! Your transparency on reselling is much appreciated. I’m also very intrested in the sneaker business and looking to obtain the same level of success. Could you shoot me an email as I have some questions for you. It’d be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  37. Hello JV i’m not new to the sneaker game but would love to pick ur brain about a few things this was a instresting read. I know this article is old and hope you still reply to these comments. hopefully you see this and can email me

    Reply
  38. Hey where would you say is the best place to sell Jordan diors? Mine still have the green stock x tag and barcode I am trying to flip these for college money and I wanna get a good profit

    Reply
  39. Hello JV,

    And thank you for sharing about your experience. So I have a few questions of my own but first i am extremely aware of the shoe resell market growing up my God Dad used to take me to the warehouse and get the shoes in bulk and you can possibly get the shoes at a wholesale price or even some at retail. But as i am older i am trying to jump back in it and i know you talked about sneaker conventions like Sneaker-con and their events. But what i want to know is when you go to like a Sneaker-con are you able to get the shoes for the retail price or is all the shoes already being sold for resell prices there. The only reason i am asking is because this is something i am very passionate about and you need money to even start in this business and now that i have it i am ready to take the chances and the risks. I have never been to a shoe convention but i follow them a lot and i know there is one coming up march 20,2021 in Cleveland, Ohio and i am thinking about going to that one and the one in October in Arizona. But like i asked are you able to get the shoes at retail price or are they all resell price at the shoe convention. And lastly do you know if there is a minimum amount of money you can bring if so would you be willing to please message me back about that. And sorry i just thought of another question i see a lot of people buy some shoes in bulk at these events is there a minimum amount you have to buy. Thank you so much for all the information on this page and please if you can whenever you can get back to me please!

    Reply
  40. I recently just tried out a new Buy and Sell site called Cloutor that really seemed to work well. It’s subscription based so you have to pay $10/month to get the full set of features but they offer 0% commission on all sales which is really nice. URL is cloutor.io if you want to check it out.

    Reply
  41. Hi, I was just wondering if you could help me with finding places to buy in bulk? I have been selling off and on for over 20 years and trying to get back into it.
    Thanks

    Reply
  42. i have a pair of original Air Jordan V “Fire Red” and have loads of pictures of them,, i know they can go for a lot of money,, just do not know where to sell them

    Reply

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