The average American owns six pairs of sneakers. That’s a lot of sneakers, but it’s rookie numbers compared to the hauls of some ling time sneakerheads.
If you love sneakers you might be looking to expand your collection and start shopping around so that you can boast a mighty closet full of all the best kicks. That’s great, we’d actively encourage that, but you shouldn’t go into that venture unprepared.
Here are some of the most common sneaker buyer mistakes that you should try to avoid when shopping for shoes.
1. Buying Before Trying
Well all like a try before you buy, don’t we? You do it with all the rest of your clothes, so don’t go into buying sneakers dry. Make sure to find a few pairs that you like and try them on to see how they feel.
Walk around in them and get to know them. Looks are important for sneakers, but you shouldn’t decide to purchase a pair of sneakers just on looks alone.
Every sneaker manufacturer is different, so although you know your shoe size, not every single shoe is going to feel the same. Sometimes it’s the material the sneaker is made of or it could be the stitching.
Whatever it is, make sure that you’re noticing it before you decide to commit to buying the sneakers.
2. Buying From the Wrong Places
Sneaker retailers aren’t in short supply, and some are going to be better than others. Don’t just buy your sneakers from the very first place that you see them for sale. If they’re being sold in one place, then it’s likely that you’ll find them in another.
Take the time to compare all the stores that you find and try to figure out which one is the best for you. If you’re trying to save some money, then search for the stores with the lowest prices.
If quality is more pressing to you, then make sure that you’re buying your sneakers from a reputable retailer that is known for selling high-quality stuff.
3. Paying Too Much
Sneaker prices can seem absolutely crazy, and it’s really easy to end up massively overpaying for the sneakers that you’re buying. Again, the key here is in shopping around.
Take the time to find out the value of the sneakers that you’re trying to buy and then you can assess whether people are asking for a fair price for them. You’re more likely to run into this problem when buying sneakers from individual traders on sites like eBay, but you should always be vigilant.
If you know how much you should be paying, then you can protect yourself from being taken advantage of by people looking to hawk the sneakers for way more than their market value.
4. Buying Fakes
On the opposite end of the last entry on this list, you should also watch out for outrageously low prices. If the price for a brand new pair of Air Jordan for women seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
Fakes can be hard to spot, so their price and their origin are two of the most reliable ways to be able to tell whether you’re dealing with an authentic product.
Some people are tempted to buy the fakes anyway, as they just want to appear to own the brand of sneakers, but we’d advise against this. Fakes can be of poor quality, and while you’ll save a bit of money initially, the sneakers will not last very long and you’ll end up frustrated with their poor quality.
5. Not Reading Reviews
You should never buy anything from anywhere without first checking out the reviews. They are one of the most important tools available for consumers. Reviews give you a way to vet the products that you’re buying and the companies you’re buying them from.
If you’ve found the sneakers that you want and the store you want to buy them from, take a bit of time to go through the reviews for both the sneakers and the store. If you see too much that you don’t like the look of, then you know you can go back to the drawing board to find a new pair or a new store.
6. Leaving it Too Late
On an almost weekly basis, big-name sneaker manufacturers will release special limited edition sneakers that get snapped up very quickly indeed. If you like to collect sneakers and want to get the limited edition drops, then you need to arrive on time.
Don’t think that you can just show up at the last minute and get your hands on the hot property because you’ll be bruised when you realize you’ve missed your only shot to cop a pair.
7. Ignoring the Secondary Market
You don’t just have to buy your sneakers straight from the manufacturer or the biggest retail stores. A lot of new sneakerheads don’t realize that there is a huge secondary market out there where you can buy some real hidden gems as long as you know where to look.
Keep an eye out for more niche sneaker retailers. These will usually be online stores. You’d be surprised at some of the great kicks that you can find on the secondary market.
Avoid These Sneaker Buyer Mistakes for Success
When you’re new to collecting sneakers, it can be hard to know what to do and what not to do. Now that you’ve read this article, you know exactly the kinds of sneaker buyer mistakes that you need to avoid to get the best sneakers for the right price.
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