“Our goal with COLLECT is to change the power dynamics of the secondary sneaker market in favor of the buyer. Too often, it’s geared towards the seller and maximizing their profits. While resell has always been a part of the culture, the way it has evolved [over the years] has shifted the landscape. The level of exploitation that’s seen now, combined with the lack of human connection, has turned what used to be a rewarding peer-to-peer experience into an empty buy it now button.” – SoleSavy Member #1 DP
Last month we officially announced COLLECT, our new marketplace app. It’s currently in a second beta for our members, their feedback and ideas are being carefully combed through so we can continue to build the app of their dreams.
As we work through beta testing, we wanted to lay out some of our policies around buying, selling, and trading on COLLECT. For our community, when it comes to selling sneakers we’ve operated under the mantra of “retail or less.” That stance will extend to COLLECT, meaning:
- You may list new and used sneakers for the price you paid for them or less
- This price is generally deemed “retail” and may include any taxes or shipping fees incurred during buying
- We will allow shoes bought at a premium to be sold within COLLECT. In that case, you may list your shoes for the price you paid but you must include proof of purchase in your listing
- If you would like to sell a sneaker for a premium, you may NOT list an asking price on COLLECT
“Retail or less” is our policy, but the obvious question is “what do I do with my ______ that’s worth $500?” We understand the value of sneakers and that some users may be willing to pay a premium for sneakers that they really want. We will accommodate sales at a premium, but the experience changes a bit.
- If you want to sell a shoe for a premium you may set the “status” of your listing to “accepting offers”
- In this situation, it is in the hands of the prospective buyer to offer you a price they feel is fair for this sneaker
- That price can be a combination of cash + a sneaker for trade or one of the two options individually
- If you want to list a sneaker for resell prices, this is not the marketplace for you
There’s a final transactional element to COLLECT and that’s trading. Trades have always been a part of sneakers. Moving pair(s) you’ve fallen out of love with extends the life cycle of a shoe and ensures it’ll get proper use. Once someone makes a listing and sets their status to “accepting offers,” there are a few ways that trades can occur:
- 1:1, a shoe for shoe
- Multiple shoes for a shoe
- Shoe(s) + cash for shoes
“This is a marketplace for our community. To date, we have operated member sales in Slack with the integrity of the community and self-policing at the forefront. The beta launch of COLLECT is no different. Members will be able to flag listings they feel violate these conditions and we will work in the backend to resolve the situation.” – DP
COLLECT is a work in progress. Together, with our members, we’re learning from each and every interaction in beta. Those learnings will help us to further build technologies that improve the COLLECT experience.