Those Nikes … buy, sell or hold? Sneakers are now assets trading like stocks
Like many traders, Johan Aguirre makes a daily check on his holdings' ups and downs across an electronic spreadsheet.
Aguirre, however, isn't analyzing stocks, bonds or cryptocurrencies. He specializes in an increasingly tradable asset class - sneakers - on his favorite shoe reseller platform, StockX. Sometimes, he'll pick up only one pair; at other times, he'll buy in bulk.
"If it's a shoe that I know I can sell," he said, "typically I'll buy the whole inventory that's presented to me. And from the moment I know the sizes and the styles and the product code, I list it on StockX and it's live right away."
Aguirre, 31, is part of the evolution of the multibillion-dollar worldwide sneaker resale market, which is looking less like a hobby these days and more like an occupation.
The people who buy and sell sneakers will camp out at specialty retailers before a product drop, compulsively check Nike's SNKRS app and haunt resale sites such as StockX, GOAT, Flight Club and Stadium Goods where sneakers are authenticated and offered for resale.
Most are small-time entrepreneurs hoping to earn some spending money on one
