Sam Brown

The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Blue Tint” was originally released in December 2017 and has since lost popularity.

In the past few years, volatility within markets has become customary. The illegitimate rise and fall of “meme stocks” such as Gamestop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) have showcased the power of market manipulation and the unpredictability that results from it. 

While the known stock, commodity and crypto markets have been meticulously tracked and anticipated, other niche markets have experienced rapid change and market manipulation. 

One of the markets that recently received attention is the sneaker resell market. 

In the sneaker market, resellers buy limited shoes from retailers and resell them at a higher price. Programs and apps such as StockX, GO​​AT and Grailed have given resellers an online platform to sell, buy and track trends of sneaker prices.

Senior Tyler Sohalski utilizes StockX to buy and sell sneakers. “I use StockX a lot. The app conveniently displays the current price trends and valuations of sneakers, which is something that helps me determine which sneakers to buy and sell and when,” he said.

Recently, in the wake of Kanye West’s turbulent breakup with Adidas, the market of Yeezys has become extremely volatile. During the partnership, Adidas helped West design and produce his signature shoe, the Yeezy. After Adidas announced they would permanently terminate the production of Yeezys, many resellers and sneakerheads rushed to get their hands on the limited shoes. According to publicly available data on StockX, the prices of certain Yeezy sneakers have risen by more than 20 percent. 

Senior Colin Lemoine, an experienced sneaker reseller, thinks that the prices of Yeezys will continue to rise. “I believe that prices (for Yeezys) will slowly incline and soon reach several thousands in the next 5-10 years, similar to the Nike Air Yeezys that were released in 2009,” he said. The price of the discontinued Nike Air Yeezys Lemoine references to have increased to $12,000, approximately five thousand percent, since they retailed at $245.

The volatility and inflated prices of the shoe resell market reveal peoples’ obsession with limited items. Many people and resellers have begun to value shoes not according to their intrinsic value, but rather according to how much the next person is willing to pay. 

Throughout West’s run with Yeezy, he perfectly capitalized on this desire for limited goods. Selling out shoes within minutes of listing them on his website, he made enormous profits off the hype that was generated around his sneakers. After the shoes sold off of the Yeezy website, the prices increased rapidly as resellers gauged how much people were willing to pay for the limited shoes. 

West’s influence on the sneaker industry is undeniable, and even as his dominant clothing business is receding, his impact is still being seen in the markets. As his influence fades in the clothing industry, many other celebrities will most likely continue to try and replicate the hype that West perfectly manufactured and profited off of.