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eBay (EBAY) is looking to claim its position as the primary home of the aftermarket sneaker market. The online marketplace has teamed up with sneaker expert Jacques Slade to launch “Inside Drop,†an initiative that aims to reward eBay’s seller community with some of the rarest sneakers on the planet. Slade joined Yahoo Finance Live to talk about the new initiative and discuss the sneaker market in general.
“I think one of the key things about eBay that sets us apart is the fact that they don’t have a sales charge, on a lot of other platforms they charge you for the sale. eBay being the GOs of the game recognizes the value of community and they have removed these selling fees. If you sell a sneaker over $ 100, â€Slade said.
EBay users who offer a pair of sneakers for sale may have a chance to win one of 25 pairs of authentic and incredibly hard to find sneakers – the Air Jordan 1 Fragment High Friends & Family and the Adidas x Pharrell NMD Human Race Trail Friends & Family. The “Friends and Family” aspect of eBay’s drop is what sets it apart from other sneaker promotions. Sneakers in this exclusive category are created only for friends of the designer, athlete or brand and are rarely made available to the public.
Getting your hands (or feet) on a rare or coveted pair is one of the hallmarks of being a sneakerhead. However, due to robots – software designed to automate the purchase of sneakers – many people end up opting out. In order to thwart this, major sneaker companies such as Nike (NKE) and Adidas (ADDYY) have pledged to take action to prevent bots from taking shoes from the average consumer.
Slade believes these companies, while making an honest effort, have their work cut out for them. “I think they’re doing a good job trying to root them out. It is a very difficult process. It’s like a moving target. A lot of those people who make bots are constantly refining and improving the things they do for their systems. And so it’s harder for these brands to keep up. But I think brands know how it affects the community and they get a lot of feedback from the community, â€Slade said.
“So it’s in their best interests to do their best to fix things up and get rid of as many of these bots as possible. So you see a lot more raffles happening. Nike has its draw on the sneakers app. Adidas confirmed on its confirmed application. So these brands are definitely taking the necessary steps that the consumer can actually get the shoes and not deal with the bots, â€he added.
When it comes to the positive changes within the sneaker game, Slade highlights the diversity within the community, especially when it comes to the genre.
“I think one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the sneaker world is the influence of women. Women have always been a part of sneaker culture, but their voices haven’t always been heard. I think over the last two, maybe three years, you’ve seen a huge influx of women into the sneaker conversation, with women in brand positions and decision makers being brand makers and brands pushing women forward and having them out there in the audience, â€Slade said.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.
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