Source: Ultimatewaffle
When the Ave Pro was launched, I thought it would transition the buyers who arrived to Vans, as the brand became a hot legacy option a few years ago, to newer Vans product. The Ave dropped in 2019 at the tail end of when the Yacht Club Old Skool and an abundance of Vans options had spiked and even moved into resale from 2018 through 2019.
Vans Just Modernized The Skate Shoe in a Major Way | Vans Ave Pro
The performance focused Ave Pro was everything right about skate and performance. Just a few weeks ago, however, when I visited the local Vans store the shoes were still sitting after two years. They were on sale. Was this a bad thing? Is this a harbinger for the EVDNT Ultimatewaffle? Why did this happen and why am I attaching this to Jordan Brand’s performance models?
Each year Jordan Brand launches a series of performance models. Because the brand has relied so heavily on its retro footwear and because Nike and Jordan have deviated from being focused on performance to catering to fashion, Nike and Jordan Brand finds itself in the awkward position of creating footwear for hoops, with an audience that doesn’t want to use the product being developed with research and development. The consumer that drives Jordan Brand cares more about Travis Scott and Virgil Abloh’s “The Ten” than they do about the Zion Jordan or Westbrook Why Not. The flagship Jordan XXX5 has to be extremely limited for it to resonate with the audience in any manner. The Why Not series may as well be a Clearance Store staple. Will the EVDNT Ultimatewaffle follow the Vans Ave Pro? Has the Ave Pro been successful and the recent visit I took was just the company clearing out the product after Covid disrupted so much last year? Keep reading…
While there isn’t any readily available data for sales of the Ave Pro, using resale According to eBay with the search “Vans Ave Pro” there are currently 154 listings. 183 items sold under that search doesn’t give as much detail as it could. Taking the first 5 pair sold, the average sold price is: $91.99 That is only a 10% decrease from SRP after two years. That’s neither bad or good as it’s from a third party site. On StockX with the general release models in Blue, White and Black of the Ave Pro, there have been 115 pair total sold in the last 12 months. The average price sold of all colors combined is $104.66. These resale platforms offer some insight into the performance of the shoe, but it would take a considerable amount of math and research to find out how much the shoes have sold. I’ve always used a formula when utilizing resale as a gauge for brand heat. I used to state, before StockX was launched:
“70% of shoes are purchased to be worn
30% of shoes are purchased to be flipped
10% of those shoes will show up on eBay
These numbers are no longer accurate. Most product is sold on StockX now… hyped product. eBay is still a solid platform at the low end. The formula above is also wrong when looking at Vans; I would have to think that almost all of the shoes bought are to be worn. Resale isn’t really a thing with Vans. It was for a moment, but the only time the brand hits resale and hype is via a collab, but even the recent Anderson Paak collab sat in stores and had to be shipped out.
What does all of this mean?
The Ave Pro, like almost all of Jordan Brand’s performance options, is not a resale sneaker. But, if the shoe is selling for above retail between the three options on StockX and only 9% below SRP on eBay, to insinuate that it’s not a success is to rely on the thought process of most readers and fans of sneaker culture. There is a belief that if a shoe isn’t hyped or hot that it’s not successful. While I use Jordan Brand performance as an example, resale there holds some interesting numbers as well. While most “Sneakerheads” would overlook the Jordan Zion 1, over 260 pair are listed on eBay under the search “Jordan Zion 1”. 348 pair have sold recently. The average sold price on the first 5 is $150.57. That’s a 15% increase over SRP at $130. On StockX the Jordan Zion 1 in black and white has 347 sales at $146.00 which StockX lists as 21% over SRP, but that’s not correct and is a comment on StockX’s UI. Either way, the reality and perception of resale and how many sneakers sell is extremely skewed by sneaker culture.
How will the EVDNT Ultimatewaffle perform?
If the numbers above hold consistent in resale for the EVDNT UltimateWaffle I expect, contrary to how I started this post, that the new model will be a solid performer for Vans. This post also speaks towards my consistent discussion that performance is critical for the success of brands. Vans hasn’t relied solely on heritage. They have continued to innovate creating better performing footwear. In doing so a two year old product continues to hold its value even in resale. I expect the UltimateWaffle to follow suit. Use the links throughout to visit the sites used in this discussion.
