I’ve been using StockX since 2017. From 2017 to today my average sold price has decreased as more sellers find out about the platform. That’s only natural and it happens on every site. On Amazon, from October of 2011 to December of 2012, I generated almost $600,000 dollars. That number decreased as Amazon removed the restrictions on having a sneaker account in 2014, Third party on Amazon didn’t happen until around 2010 after the acquisition of Zappos in 08. By 2016 my sales had decreased to just over $200,000 a year.
I shifted to wholesale selling almost $500,000 in wholesale, but the damage on Amazon was done. I wrote about this in my first book. I blamed it on Amazon’s backend, but the reality was much more complex. Time brings clarity. Amazon did shift, and it most certainly hit a slump at the four-year mark. After working in resale/retail for almost 16 years, the evidence in my own business mirrors the reality of retail and e-commerce platforms. Every 4-6 years there is an adjustment. Sales slowdown and businesses have to make changes to continue growth.
From Amazon to StockX
When StockX came about, I was adjusting to Amazon. Prior to Amazon opening for third party resale in sneakers, I was on eBay. I played around with StockX in 2017 selling a few hundred sneakers and making around $14,000 dollars. In 2018, I dove in full time in an experiment with Housakicks where we documented the growth and sales on various third-party sites. The 2018 result was over $600,000, but 2019 was stronger, which was in contrast to Amazon, but it was in alignment with new website growth.
Two things happen in resale and retail with e-commerce. There is about a three-year window of growth and then in the fourth year begins a decline. This has been consistent.
StockX is in that 4-6 year window where it has grown considerably, but unlike other channels, the ease of use diminishes the “natural” firewalls around creating a true business. StockX has made resale easy. It’s the beauty of the platform, but it’s also the drawback. I wrote about this in my book Sneaker Resale and Sneaker Retail in the New Normal. The democratization of resale by StockX is a blessing and a curse. This fact is exacerbated by Nike’s Edit to Amplfy. It’s a double edged sword with a consumer that is less experimental than any other time in sneaker resale/retail history. I recently posted a video:
This video goes with an article on the site. I planned to follow up on this post to dive further into the shipping discussion I initiated in the video. I never followed up. I’m presenting some notes that those who use StockX will understand. Please write me for clarification.
Issues with StockX:
- Slow Payouts for the Early Payout system: StockX has an amazing feature that has made it a go to for sellers. Early Payout. As soon as a package is dropped off, within a few hours’ time, your money hits your Paypal account. On Amazon, it can take a month to be paid. On eBay, the payout process is confusing and it’s uncomfortable for the company to have access to your bank account. The decision to remove PayPal was a mistake. On StockX lately there have been issues with the early payout system. I think the slow payouts are due to the updates to the Interface on the site. It is my hypothesis that StockX is preparing to charge sellers for shipping. Bulk shipments initially went to one location. Now that the packages are moving closer to the end user, bulk is now only possible if I’m selling 50 pair per day.
- StockX’s beauty is its fault and as I said Nike has made the problem worse. A seller used to be able to resale from retail. There are only two models a new or experienced seller can flip from retail. Nike created this problem, StockX caters to that and by default, at least for me, my average price dropped considerably. There are a lot of factors why, but the base is that even with a considerable discount on certain sneakers, because so many new sellers are on the platform, I can’t even buy a sneaker that’s 40% off and resale it. That’s a major red flag. If I’m having trouble, the rest of the people selling on the platform have to be facing considerable headwinds. This means StockX has to find the dropping revenue somewhere; hence the fee adjustment mentioned in the video.
I stated in my second book that StockX needed to place restrictions to prevent the issues I see on the horizon. I made a conscious decision to reopen an account on Amazon. I said I was done with the platform. The Air Force 1 35115-112 and other shoes I was once able to sell on StockX I am barely selling there. In the last 14 days on Amazon I’ve sold 69 pair of this model. The average price is 120. On StockX the same shoe sells at an average price of 86 dollars. This is on one SKU. On StockX, I’ve sold 35 of a variety. The only reason I didn’t sell the other shoes on Amazon is because those were consignment. At the same time I’ve sold one B Grade on GOAT and none on eBay.
What does all of this mean? Amazon is still the king of third party. eBay is in trouble and StockX is dwarfing GOAT in traffic and sales. StockX is entering the slump. I know this because of the fee adjustments. I said at the end of the video above that another fee change is coming. This is undeniable now in my opinion. It’s only a matter of time.
