Reselling adidas Adilette 22 Slides...Was It Worth It?
Hype around slides? Yeah, there's another one to throw onto your 2022 bingo. Now that adidas' Adilette 22 slides have touched down, resellers have swarmed to claim each colorway as their own, but upon examination of the resale prices, we have to ask, is it really worth it?
If we've learned anything at all in the last five (or more) years, it's that resellers will jump at any opportunity to make a quick buck off of the hype of a release. Early doors, the resale market was a sneaker-dominated space, streetwear brands like Supreme and Palace quickly trickled in, and now, purchasing everything from concert tickets to graphics cards at their original retail prices has become a chore.
Given the landscape at hand, it's no surprise that the attention-grabbing headlines and social media commentary surrounding Ye's spat with adidas via Instagram last week regarding the perceived similarities between the Adilette 22 and YEEZY slides would drive resellers towards the newly released silhouette.
Sure, the slides were already doing the rounds following their initial leak online, but this seemingly ongoing controversy definitely left the secondary market with the scent for dollars.
I'd hoped to secure a "Magic Lime" pair this morning ahead of my holidays in a couple of weeks but found myself unsurprised to see the full size run of all of the colors that were released today (there's more to come throughout July and August) had already sold out two hours after going online.
This lead me to scope out StockX and the like to sus out what I'd be looking to pay after the fact. To my surprise, sales are ranging between £48-61 (approx. $58-74). Given the retail price on adidas is £45 (approx. $55), these are tiny profit margins.
Even though I'd assume these were an easy purchase, even for multiple sizes and colors, to make the kind of profits you'd expect from hype sneaker releases like Off-White or Travis Scott Nike's, you'd be looking at copping 20+ pairs. Is it worth the hassle? Probably not.
Adilette slides have never been a difficult product to get a hold of, and rightly so, they're slides, so hopefully, the minimal profits and an increase of stock in line with other Adilette slides over the years will ensure pairs are available before summer burns out.
If you're keen on a pair, keep your eyes on adidas for the release of more colorways later this summer – and hey, those colorways? Kanye kind of has a point...
