Kanye West’s Yeezy sneakers are flooding the resale market as many collectors unload the footwear in the wake of Adidas’ decision to stop selling the brand after the rapper’s anti-Semitic rants.
Google searches for “sell Yeezy” skyrocketed by nearly 600% worldwide on Oct. 26, the day after Adidas made its announcement, according to a survey commissioned by CelebTattler.com.
“People from all over the world have flocked to the internet to sell their Yeezy products, either because they no longer wish to support their inventor or because they thought that since Adidas won’t be producing them anymore the value of the items might increase,” a spokesperson for CelebTattler said in a statement.
Since the Adidas fallout, prices for Yeezys have actually spiked by about 10% and trading volumes have nearly doubled, according to a Bloomberg report citing data from WANTD, which tracks resale sales.
However, many re-sellers have slashed prices to cash out, betting that the backlash against West will not go away and demand will drop. On eBay, a Yeezy foam runner sold for less than the $200 asking price and a Yeezy desert boot sold for less than the $269.
A “supply shock” of Yeezy product will hit the secondary sneaker market predicted Yu-Ming Wu, founder of Sneaker News. “My guess is that prices will slowly go up, but I think people are being cautious.”
One Yeezy fanatic who owns up to 100 pairs of the sneakers said he is weighing selling his collection. He believes prices will go up.
“I bet there will be a lot of activity in a month,” said Jeffrey, who didn’t want to give last name.
In the meantime he added, “I won’t be wearing any of the shoes. I don’t want to offend anyone.”
One south Florida man took the extreme measure of burning about 40 pairs of Yeezy sneakers worth roughly $15,000.
“Someone like Kanye West, people like him cannot use the massive platform to spread this kind of hate,” said David Shiff in a video that has since gone viral.
Wu said many people are sitting on the sidelines as they await Adidas’ plans moving forward.
“Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership. More information will be given as part of the company’s upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on November 9, 2022,” the company said in a statement.
West, who legally changed his name to Ye, poked fun at Adidas and other companies for dumping Yeezy.
“As for Adidas, you can start to make new designs for footwear, apparel and accessories immediately,” West tweeted on Thursday.