The sneaker reselling industry has quietly risen to one of the world’s most lucrative and highest-grossing fashion-related industries. This is despite the sneakerheads in the community keeping things tightly under wraps and hardly ever sharing about how the industry works. So, how can you become part of this multi-million dollar industry? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the sneaker reselling industry and why everyone’s being so secretive about it. We’ll also look at what it takes to make it in the industry and the tools you need, such as proxies and bots. It can be challenging to know who offers the best sneaker proxies – which is why we’re here to help.

We’ll cover the following topics related to the sneaker industry:
- The Sneaker Reselling Industry at a glance
- Why all the secrecy?
- What do you need to get started?
The Sneaker Reselling Industry At A Glance
Reselling sneakers seemed to go from simple side hustle to a legitimate multi-million dollar industry. In 2020 the global market was valued at $79 billion and is only expected to keep rising to approximately $120 billion by 2026. Sneaker reselling has become the most profitable luxury fashion reselling product, even outranking bags and watches when it comes to resale value.
Although the premise is simple enough, buy limited edition sneakers at a good price and resell them for a profit, it’s much more complex than that. Those in the know understand just how competitive and demanding the market is. You have to be aware of everything happening in the industry, when and where the latest drops will happen, what the highest selling brands are and much more. Aside from that, you’ll also need to use certain tools to ensure your success.
One of the main reasons why the resale demand is so high for certain brands of kicks is because popular brands often have limited-edition releases or purposefully release fewer products to ensure the demand is high. During these releases, the brands often limit purchases to one pair of sneakers per person, and they monitor this through your IP address. So, if a purchase has successfully been made from your IP, you won’t be able to make another.
How Much Can You Make Reselling Sneakers?
There is money to be made by reselling highly valued sneakers. Many individuals have been able to earn millions of dollars a year, and many have been able to completely replace their day job by reselling kicks. However, you need a passion for sneakers to make it in the industry. You must live and breathe the industry and never miss a step in monitoring releases.
By choosing the right brands and getting your hands on truly valuable kicks, you can easily make a decent profit by selling a single pair of shoes. For example, the most expensive resale sneakers ever was a rare pair of Kanye West Nike Air Yeezy Grammy Prototypes, which sold for $1,800,000.
Why all the Secrecy?
This industry is notorious for being secretive and tight-lipped. You’ll probably only find any mentions of this in Discord servers, paid Twitter and private Telegram groups. Simply put, if successful sneaker resellers shared all their trade secrets, that would lead to even more competition. In an industry as competitive as this, you need every advantage you can get. This means keeping the strategies and processes that work a secret.
What Do You Need to Get Started?
It may sound easy to start reselling shoes. After all, you just need to buy sneakers and then sell them for a profit, right? There’s actually a lot more that goes into it, and there are a few key tools you need to get started.
Make Connections and Stay on Top of Trends
First, you’ll need to start making connections and staying on top of the market trends. Try to join some of the Discord, Twitter or Telegram groups. You might have to pay a subscription, but these groups are one of the best places to start learning, forming connections and getting information on the industry. You should also monitor websites like High Snobiety and Hypebeast to see all the latest news.
Sneaker Bots
Sneaker bots give you a competitive edge when buying sneakers. These bots are able to make purchases much faster than humans. In an industry where it’s first-come-first-serve, having a bot can give you a greater chance of walking away with a pair (or two) or limited edition sneakers – if used alongside a sneaker proxy.
Sneaker Proxy
Sneaker proxies are essential if you’re going to be using bots. A sneaker proxy is residential and therefore linked to an actual device, so your bot won’t be banned. They also come with a large pool of IPs which you can pair with your bots to increase your chances of success and make it possible to buy multiple pairs.
Final Thoughts
The sneaker reselling industry is very lucrative and still growing. Despite still being shrouded in secrecy, more information is coming out, making it possible for others to join the sneakerheads and make some money.