Retail: £35, Resell: ??
Today was insane. Never have I seen a queue rival anything that Yeezy’s or box logos could muster – but today I did, and neither were dropping.
It’s no shock that the turnout at palace today was massive – aside from their appealing preview, look book and leaks, the influx of celebrities wearing the English born skate brand has also helped. So no wonder why the demand for the brand has increased, whilst the supply remaining relatively low – something Supreme seemed to have mastered over the years.
As with the increase for demand, the increase of people seeking to fill that demand has also – resellers. Yes, we all shudder at the term used to describe the vultures of the clothing world. Anything that can be flipped to make money is, whether it be enough for a mayo chicken or a mortgage, they’ll be out for it.
So you can imagine the queue being made up of clothing enthusiasts as well as resellers, perhaps 70% buying to keep and 30% buying to sell? Guess again. 60/40? Nope. 50/50? Wrong fam. 40/60? Warmer. 30/70? Pretty much. Out of the people I approached, friends and strangers alike, the majority of them, an overwhelming majority, were buying to sell. Nothing wrong with capitalising on a money making chance though, right? I mean, if you were to offer me to stand in the pissing rain for 7 hours, be cut in front of, have some bird shit on my Yeezys and spill coffee on my box logo, of course I’d say yes. I mean I may only make £16.72 after expenses/dry cleaning, but damn, that’s a whole new pair of Palace socks. Plus a couple happy meals, #winning.
I kid, I’m not here to bash resellers, I myself used to resell week in and out. What I want to discuss are the ethics of reselling, and the logic behind it. I managed to build a reputable name for myself through reselling, and without it, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today *softly introduces requiem for a dream* (that really dramatic song that you probably saw in that movie one time). What people don’t understand is that it’s not just buy something from the likes of Palace or Supreme, double the price and put it up for sale. It’s more calculated than that. Just because some ediats who’ve never re-sold as much as a box logo sticker made a video on how reselling is a quick buck (shots fired), doesn’t make it so. Don’t be a fool, the struggle is real.
I guess my real qualms is with the fact that more and more enthusiasts are missing out on items they want to wear for retail, because the brands are getting more exposure – of course this is inevitable. But after attending the queues today, speaking to members of the community and seeing wagwan, I just wonder; how do we solve a problem such as this? With the hype around brands such as Palace at an all time high, demand is surging and so it seems, is the number of resellers. Do you think brands should do something to help out the true enthusiasts and combat reselling? If so, what would you suggest?
Written by Tayler Prince-Fraser
Photo credit: Emil Eftimov
