Having a network within the world of sneaker resale is one of the best competitive advantages to have. The truth is, the more potential customers you have, the more eyes see your listings (faster turnaround time) and the more listings (and potential deals) you see.
If you’re shopping from the same 5-10 resellers, you will have great relationships with them, but be somewhat oblivious to the resale world as a whole.
So, how do you gain that competitive advantage so you can take your resale to the next level?
In-person events. Sneaker resale is a largely online-based industry, so you may do business a lot with people you’ve never met. If you make the effort to go to SneakerCon (and similar events), your network WILL grow.
Reach out. It seems simple, but we’re all people. If it’s somebody who runs a company with 6 locations, say you want to learn how to grow from them. If it’s somebody on a smaller scale, say you’d love to team up. Being on somebody’s good side makes them much more lenient over a $20 dispute.
Be genuine. There is a lot of gatekeeping in sneaker resale, people who say things like “yeah I know a guy who can get me the Jarrito’s for cheap” but won’t tell you who. By being genuine, you make valuable connections and others will enjoy working with you. Word of mouth is huge, so if your reputation is good, that’s more potential customers.
There are plenty of ways to expand your network, and these are just a few. Ultimately, though, being nice and taking initiative goes a long way. Everybody wants their network to be huge, but nobody wants to do the grunt work.
There are also other, non-traditional ways. Discord groups, Facebook groups, Twitter groups, etc. Copyt also offers the Copyt Network, which allows you to directly search for certain SKUs with resellers who you connect with.
There is no right answer to networking, but the fact is, having a large network pays huge dividends in the long run. Start expanding your network, no matter how you do it, so you can scale your business too.
Mateo Moyon
