Some say less is more, but Kanye West clearly missed the memo. As the avalanche of Yeezy releases continues to fall, Ye and his team are working at a relentless pace, with a leaked schedule recently revealing plans to introduce up to 25 new styles before the year’s out.
But with so many releases incoming, what does the abundance of iterations do for the shoe’s appeal and more importantly for us, does it mean their value is about to tank on the resale market? The answer is probably yes, and the explanation for that theory can be found by looking at the basic principle of supply and demand.
There was once a time when copping a pair of Yeezy trainers meant pulling an all-nighter outside a city-centre retailer or convincing friends and family to help you conquer the raffles. These days, however, with multiple colourways dropping in any given month and Yeezys now viewed as decidedly less exclusive, sneakerheads are becoming much more particular with their purchases, and in some cases it’s possible to cop them straight from retail days after they go on sale, which was unthinkable just a few short years ago.
A quick look to see what some of the most recent Yeezy releases are currently fetching will tell its own story. For starters, the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Carbon”, which was released last month is currently priced at around £240 in size 9 which tends to be the most common taken. While the reseller will still make a decent profit on the original cost, this is still in stark contrast to the value of Yeezy styles a few years ago when they were selling for four or five times their retail cost… sometimes more. Enthusiasm appears to be dwindling.
Although the excessive release schedule has probably done most of the damage, it’s impossible to pin the blame on that entirely. Perhaps Yeezys have just lost a little appeal and sneakerheads aren’t currently willing to splash out quite as much as they were previously. There’s no doubt about it though: the main reason for Yeezys decline in value is the oversaturation, and if Ye and his team want to drive up the price once more then they’ll need to reign it in a little and push their footwear back into the exclusive tier once again.
Perhaps that’s no longer the aim. As with any footwear or clothing brand, often the marketing strategy can change course. Maybe Yeezy are happy to alter their position in the market and allow their trainers to become more mainstream – perhaps that was the plan all along. While it’s entirely possible, it’s hard to believe, though, given the collaboration is fronted by a man with an ego as large as Kanye’s. It’s difficult to envisage him getting onboard with the idea of his shoes becoming mainstream when he believes everything he touches turns to gold, so it’s unlikely any of this was planned.
Whether or not this is a blip in the success of the Yeezy empire or the popularity will continue to decline remains to be seen, but let’s pump the brakes on writing them off for now as these are still some of the most in-demand shoes on the market. Their time at the top as some of the most sought-after sneaker releases is by no means coming to an end, although those mad scrambles to cop the new pairs of 350 V2s may well be over. That could spell bad news for resellers who may start to lose one of their best-sellers, although if you’re a collector it’ll be a welcome change as you’ll no longer need to fork out ridiculous amount to nab a pair!
If you’re a fan of the Yeezy styles or for other new trainers head over to our resale market where we have a massive selection of shoes available.