When one hears the word collectibles one may think of antiques, figurines, baseball cards or comic books. But something many of us wear on a daily basis has also become a collectible: sneakers. Rare sneakers are now being sold through social media and at trade shows. In some cases, shoes bought at retail for $200 four years ago are now listed at close to nine times that. In some cases, sneakerheads—as buyers and sellers of rare sneakers are called—are paying more than $5,000 a pair for the most coveted styles.

In the United States, about 9 million pairs of sneakers are resold each year. Today’s market size shows the estimated value of the sneaker resale market in the United States in 2016.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2016
Market size: $1.2 billion
Source: Diamond, Michael L., “Teen Finds Fortune, Heartbreak in Sneakers,” Lansing State Journal, August 28, 2016, page 6B.