The sneaker resale market is booming right now when it comes to Adidas Yeezy merchandise.
Yesterday brought the news that the German athletics giant was end their partnership with Yeezy founder Kanye West, who now goes by the name “Ye,” after the multi-hyphenate made repeated anti-Semitic comments. Adidas announced that it would “end production of Yeezy-branded products and stop all payments to Ye and its companies” and “stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
Following the move, many speculated that demand for existing Adidas Yeezy products could skyrocket, despite West’s tarnished reputation in the fashion world. And indeed, it seems to be.
Barter-based sneaker trading platform Tradeblock today announced that it has seen a 2.5% increase in confirmed Yeezy trade activity over the past 24 hours and an increase of around 10% in the number of users putting the products on their wishlist.
Some of the spike in activity for the shoes could be attributed to the backlash against West and his recent offensive remarks and behavior. News aggregator Celeb Tattler noted that Google search data shows online searches for “Sell Yeezy” soared 581% globally on October 26, after Adidas revealed it was dropping the deal. .
This lines up with what sneaker market pundits told FN.
“I don’t think people want [Adidas Yeezy] shoes without Kanye’s name — and no one wants Kanye’s name on their feet right now,” Sneaker History chief content creator Robbie Falchi said when speaking with FN this week about the future of Adidas and Yeezy.
YouTuber Taja Keasal also predicted that some sneaker traders will likely see dollar signs in the future. “For the request [that is] present, some of them would include people hoping to resell the shoe at a later date due to scarcity with no future productions,” she said.
According to Tradeblock, demand for Yeezy ahead of this week’s news was significantly lower. He noted that the Adidas Yeezy Foam Runner “Onyx” jumped 26 spots on the most traded list for the social market, jumping from No. 33 to No. 7.
Meanwhile, at press time, Adidas Yeezy styles made up seven of the top 10 most popular items on the StockX trading site in the past 72 hours. The #1 shoe on the site was the Adidas Yeezy Slide “Bone,” with over 2,750 sales in the previous three days. The Adidas Yeezy Slide “Onyx” came third, with 1,537 trades over three days, followed closely by the Adidas Yeezy Foam Runner “Onyx”, with 1,281 sales.
Other shoes that made the top 10 included the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 in “Salt” and “Slate” colorways, and two other versions of the slide (“Flax” and “Resin” colorways).
When it comes to resale prices, some sneaker collectors have reported big increases for Adidas Yeezy products. FN’s review of StockX data revealed widespread fluctuations in the prices of the most popular items. The Adidas Yeezy Slide “Bone”, for example, averaged around double its initial MSRP of $60, while the average price of the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Slate” was around 8% higher. its original price.
There is also volatility as to where to buy the shoes. Yesterday the real real announcement on Instagram that he no longer accepts products associated with West. The company joins a growing list of retailers which abandons its marks.
“Since our inception, we have been committed to creating a safe space for every employee, shipper and customer – regardless of age, gender, religion, sexual orientation or race – and we will not tolerate remarks that demonstrate discrimination or call for violence Kanye West’s recent behavior at Paris Fashion Week and comments he made regarding the Jewish community are not only offensive, but go against everything what we believe in,” the retailer said in a lengthy statement.
Labels now banned include Yeezy and Adidas Yeezy, although The RealReal said items already listed will remain available.
FN reached out to StockX, Stadium Goods and other resale platforms to get feedback on their future plans for these products.