As shoe culture becomes more prominent, many people have been looking to buy Air Jordan 1’s this year. An issue that many consumers have come across is shoes becoming sold out on the Nike website, later to find them on StockX, Stadium Goods, or Goat for $200 over their retail value. Newer “Sneakerheads,” a term used in the sneaker community to describe people interested in high grossing shoes, see this as an issue whereas this has been going on for years. 

Many people have questioned if it is ethical to do so as this trend is heightened day by day. Well, the answer is simple. It is fair game. Nike’s earnings for the year 2020 stand at $34.7 billion. Whereas the shoe reselling market is only about $2 billion and is planned to reach $6 billion dollars by the end of 2025. If you put these calculations into proportion, the reselling market is only making a fraction of the earnings of Nike.

If you keep in mind the economic component in mind, there is no ethical issue with reselling popular shoes. Although people consider it unfair that the shoe they want sells out within five minutes, Nike still offers the chance for people to buy the shoe through their Nike SNKRS app. The app lists all the new shoes coming within the next month listing dates they drop and prices. Along with this comes a feature to receive notifications a week before they drop, a day before they drop, and 15 minutes before they drop. This is supposed to create a fair chance for everyone to buy the shoes.

While many people become frustrated with this, there is no reason shoe reselling should stop. The people who make money through this method should be highly respected. Resellers are able to make an income for themselves by using the products from a multibillion-dollar company. There will always be frustration with consumers having to pay more for a high grossing product, but there is no reason for these entrepreneurs to be looked down on for finding their passion.