Six-Figure Sneakers: College Grad Earns $10,000/Month Reselling Shoes

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[Music]

What do you think is the most affordable, yet profitable item to resell? What about an item of clothing specifically? Well, the answer might surprise you. While waiting tables, a recent college grad discovers the world of sneakerheads. He then learns to buy and resell shoes, earning a six-figure income, that's right, a six-figure income, and quitting his job within a year.

Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau, bringing you a different story every day of someone who is creating a little bit more freedom for themselves. They often do this through some creativity, through using the skills they already have, but perhaps applying them in a different way. And they don't usually even quit their day job, although as you just heard, today's story did exactly that. That's right, it is all about shoes, six figures in shoes, and the guy you'll hear about today accomplishes quite a feat.

All the details coming up right after this quick thank you to our sponsor. [Music]

When most people leave college, they have a career in mind. After completing their degree, they head out into the real world and look for work in their chosen field. The JV Ortiz wasn't like most people. When college was over, he was only certain of one thing.

He wanted to make money on his own terms. He just wasn't sure how to do it. While searching for an answer, he got a job waiting tables to pay the bills. The job was to work until he could come up with something better to get the dollars rolling in. He started researching what others were doing to make money online.

Since there's no shortage of advice on the internet, this led to him trying a whole bunch of things that didn't work or just didn't work well. He tried selling umbrellas. He tried selling hoverboards. He tried selling other random items through Amazon. He tried affiliate marketing.

He made some money on those ventures, but it was nothing to write home about. Then one day he read a story in a magazine that changed his perspective. That story outlined how a teenager was making six figures a year by flipping, that is buying and reselling for profit, high-end watches. It sounded like a great way to make a living, but JV had a problem. High-end watches were expensive.

Watches like the ones mentioned in the article cost upwards of five figures, not exactly the kind of money a waiter has lying around. Still, the business model intrigued him. He explored other markets where he might be able to apply the same business model. For inspiration, he turned to one of the biggest marketplaces on the planet, eBay. He scoured the recently sold clothing items, looking for ones with a high price point.

Why clothing? Well, he chose it over watches or electronics or anything else because it seemed low risk. Among the high-priced fashion brands, a strange item jumped out at him. That item was a pair of 2015 Nike Air Jordans. It was selling for $800 above retail, $800 above cost.

After researching a bit more, he noticed it wasn't a fluke. They were consistently selling for that price. This was JV's first introduction to sneaker collectors, known as sneakerheads. You see, there are millions of people out there that love sneakers. They converse about them all day long, or was it converse?

And are always on the lookout for the hottest new releases. For some reason, sneakers have a way of consuming the soul of those who covet them. Oh, just wait. It's not that the shoes aren't available at all. It's that they are incredibly scarce.

The demand easily outweighs the supply. When a new pair is released, people go into a frenzy trying to buy them. Some go as far as to line up for days outside stores. With such high demand, inevitably there will be people who miss out. Some of those people have deep pockets and will pay for the convenience of having a pair of the shoes delivered.

The discovery on eBay, along with his exposure to the sneakerhead culture, was all the validation JV needed. He knew he had to find a way to obtain the next set of popular shoes upon release. As luck would have it, he found a way the following week. Some sneaker stores hold raffles, and whoever wins gets the privilege of buying the new shoes at retail price. JV entered one of those raffles for a new pair of Air Jordans, and he won.

But they weren't for him. Before he even went to pick up the shoes, he posted them for sale on eBay using stock images. The retail price was $190, and JV sold them for $350 right away, a $160 profit. The icing on the cake was that he didn't even have to spend any money of his own to purchase those shoes. He simply took the proceeds from the eBay auction, then went down to the store to buy them.

Afterwards, he went directly to the post office and mailed those shoes to the buyer. This means the startup costs for his sneaker-flipping side hustle were effectively zero. Zero dollars. That is, of course, quite a feat. JV didn't do much to celebrate that first sale, but the feeling was intoxicating.

He didn't want to just make extra money. He viewed it as a way to make a living and stop waiting tables at the restaurant. He took the profit from that first sale and put it toward buying the next pair of highly sought-after sneakers. Then he kept waiting tables and poured all of his profit into buying more sneakers. As his knowledge of the market grew, JV realized that there were a pair of sought-after shoes released about once a week.

Additionally, once per quarter, saw at least one pair skyrocket in demand, and it was sometimes possible to sell those shoes for a thousand-dollar profit. He would purchase them, list them on eBay, and then sneak all the way to the bank with the money. With regular orders coming in, his hustle began to turn into a real business. He knew that anyone could sell a one-off pair and make a few bucks, but JV had several repeat customers who would approach him directly, asking him to source the latest sneakers. He attributes this repeat business to his customer service mindset.

Early on, he realized if he remained true to his word and was pleasant to deal with, clients would come back for more. It also meant that his reputation spread, and he was soon able to work with high-net-worth individuals. He's even sourced shoes for a few NFL and NBA players. After about a year, JV was able to quit his restaurant job and go full-time. What does that mean?

What does that look like? How much money does he make? Well, the money isn't always consistent, but he's managed to earn a six-figure salary for the past two years. That is correct, six figures flipping sneakers. Over the next year, he plans to spend more time traveling the world, and like sneakers, he realizes that the only way that works is with a pair.

He now has a business partner who will handle the physical sourcing and shipping of the shoes while he's out and about sightseeing. Throughout the process, JV has learned about marketing, customer service, negotiating, and everything else it takes to have a successful side hustle. He's also launched a new website to teach others how to be successful reselling sneakers. With all his knowledge and experience, it seems like additional success is a shoe-in. That's right, crush it.

Shoe-in, you get it? All right, what a fantastic story. Big congrats to JV. I love this, six figures selling sneakers. People who do this kind of thing make my life so easy because it's just such a great story.

I have so much pleasure and joy in bringing it to everybody else. Okay, so do you think this market would exist? Here's the question. Do you think this market would exist if the sneaker manufacturers simply made enough of the popular brands for everyone who wanted them in the first place? The obvious answer is probably not, right?

It's a classic case of supply and demand. And they know this, they're doing this on purpose because through scarcity, they're actually increasing the demand. They're making it a much more desirable thing. So yes, they could make more sneakers and they could make more money on one particular batch, but I think a lot of them are in it for the long run. So even if they adjusted that inventory going forward, there would still be the matter of all the legacy shoes for which there is a strong and active aftermarket.

There are still people buying and selling Air Jordans from 2015 and much earlier. So it's a good business for the person who can figure it out. And this really is the kind of business that a lot of people can figure out. You clearly don't have to be an expert in footwear or fashion. It's all about managing inventory.

It's all about gaining a knowledge of what people want and what are the optimal price points in terms of both buying and selling. So, you know, I'm not saying it's easy, like with everything on the show, I never use the word easy or I try not to, but it is definitely possible. Like this guy was able to figure it out. He was able to decode the process and he's not the only one. So let this be your encouragement for today.

There is something out there for you too. Maybe it's not reselling sneakers, but there's something and I really hope you find it. My job is to bring you as many stories and ideas as possible so that something will spark within you and you'll say, you know what, that's the thing. Or maybe not that specifically, but that gives me a different idea and it gives me the encouragement I need to move forward. I do hope you'll move forward, like I say, every single day.

Lace up your plan of attack. Don't trip on the way out the door. It's time to head to bootcamp. Well, that's not how it goes every day, but you get the idea. Today's show notes are online at sidehustleschool.com/577.

If you want to check out JB's business or just learn more about the world of flipping sneakers, come take a look. You can also subscribe for a free Five Steps to Hustle course there. You can also say hi to me and get a bunch of other free resources as well. Thank you for listening. Be sure you're subscribed.

So much more is on the way. My name is Chris Guillebeau and this is Side Hustle School.