The sneaker reselling industry is booming. With more brands starting to release higher-valued, limited-edition kicks, the demand for these sneakers is high. Celebrities are also getting in on the action by partnering with popular brands to create their own signature ranges that can sell for thousands of dollars. However, any successful sneaker reseller will tell you that you don’t stand a chance in this industry without the right tools and technical knowledge. So, what are those tools?
This article will look closely at the tools required to become a successful sneaker reseller. From using high-quality proxies at affordable proxy prices, such as those from Smartproxy, to using the best bots to automate the process, we’ll be covering all these different tools.
What Is Sneaker Reselling – A Brief Introduction?
The basic concept of sneaker reselling is to buy sneakers at a reasonable price and resell them for a profit. This works best with highly valued or limited edition sneakers where the demand is much more than the supply. The sneaker industry has been shrouded in secrecy for a long time, and only in the last few years has it been made public just how lucrative this industry can be. The sneaker resale industry is valued at $6 billion but is expected to reach $30 billion by 2030.
However, the industry is also highly competitive, and it is much more complicated to become successful than many expect. It’s not just buying and selling sneakers – there’s much more behind the scenes that many aren’t even aware of.
How Has The Sneaker Industry Evolved?
The sneaker industry has come quite far from its humble roots. What started as individual rummaging through bargain bins and thrift stores has developed into a highly technologically driven endeavor. Instead of standing in line to be the first one in the door on sales days, most sales take place online. Along with the move to online selling also came buying limitations, especially on high-value or limited-edition sneakers. Now you’re limited to only buying a single pair linked directly to your IP address, so you can’t simply log out of the website and re-enter it to make another purchase. Sneaker resellers had to get creative and tech-savvy to succeed in this industry.
The Technology Required To Make It In The Sneaker Reselling Industry
Users require a few critical tools if they hope to make it in this highly competitive industry. Any sneakerhead worth his salt will require the technical skills to work with these tools and use them to improve their chances of successfully copping sneakers.
Bots
Bots automate the entire sneaker-buying process and have become essential to give users a chance to walk away with a pair of sneakers. Successful resellers will be using multiple bots to improve their chances of success. However, they’ll also need the technical knowledge to set up their bots to ensure success. This goes beyond just giving instructions on what to buy, but also how to make the bot look and act like a real person and how to structure the requests to not raise suspicions on the seller’s website.
Proxies
Residential proxies are another essential tool for resellers. Unlike datacenter proxies, residential ones are linked to real devices with actual IPs. This means that when you pair the proxy with your chosen sneaker bot, it will look like a real person and won’t be blocked for being a bot. When choosing proxies, you need to consider providers with large IP pools and good proxy prices. You might even want to consider a rotating proxy so that a new IP can automatically be assigned to each bot request improving your chances of copping multiple pairs of kicks. Regarding sneaker copping, the proxy prices are well worth the benefits of using these tools.
VPS
Using a virtual private server (VPS) is another tool resellers can use to improve their chances of success. A VPS is located in a specific location close to the physical location of the sneaker website. Having a server close by will improve the website’s connection speed and make the entire process go faster.
Monitoring and Selling Platforms
Finally, sneakerheads need to keep their heads to the ground when it comes to copping sneakers. They have to be on top of everything from release dates and times to the value of brands and where to make sales. Monitoring platforms like High Snobiety is essential, and knowing which private Twitter and Discord groups provide the most useful advice and support is essential.
Then you also need to understand which selling platforms are the best for which case. For example, Grailed is a useful free marketplace with standard fees, but working only through PayPal might limit your selling options. Alternatively, StockX is a great way to reach buyers looking for authentic sneakers (and willing to pay for them), but their fees are slightly higher.
Final Thoughts
Sneaker reselling isn’t easy, and these days it takes a geek with technical knowledge to become successful at reselling high-valued kicks. If regular buyers want to stand a chance, they’ll need to learn more about these technical tools to compete.