Sneaker News: StockX touts “Big Facts” on collectibles as investments

StockX has released its second Next Gen Investments report seeking to tout how it is riding the wave of individuals viewing items such as sneakers, trading cards and action figures as an investment rather than just an item that has reached its end user.

The company’s first report, released in June 2021, noted that 37 percent of sneaker buyers cited “investment opportunity” as a purchase motivation while 48 percent of collectibles buyers cited “future worth or investment value.” StockX seems to be indicating that trend is continuing as it highlights the resale value consistent of Jordan Brand releases. It notes that 79 percent of Jordan Brand sneakers gained value from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, highlighting certain pairs — the Jordan 4 Retro Black Cat from 2020 (100% appreciation), the Jordan 1 Low Light Smoke Grey (83% appreciation) and the Jordan 2 Retro Low Chicago from 2016 (60% appreciation) — which have seen notable growth.

The company even seeks to compare this next-gen form of “investing” with traditional investing, noting that comparatively just 52% of stocks in the Dow 100 are worth more now than they were a year ago.

It’s obvious to anyone that attempts to purchase a pair of almost any retro sneaker, but especially Jordans, on the SNKRS app that retro sneakers are hot. Whether it be thanks in part to bots or limited production, it’s becoming exceedingly hard to purchase any Jordan Retro for retail, sending those who really want the sneaker to resale platforms such as StockX. Thus creating an opportunity for those who do hit on SNKRS or elsewhere to turn a tidy profit. This will obviously continue the cycle of those who will look to take advantage of this trend until the time when/if the bubble bursts.

But StockX is reporting that this opportunity isn’t limited to sneakers. StockX also notes that Panini NFL boxes are seeing an uptick, with the 2020 Panini Black Football Hobby Box seeing an increase of nearly $570 in average resale price when comparing 2020 and 2022 sales. The 2020 Panini Absolute Football Hobby Box has seen an even bigger increase, going from an average resale price of $286 in 2020 to an average resale price of $918 in 2022. In a hypothetical portfolio StockX created as an example, if you owned the 2020 Panini Black Football Hobby Box, the 2020 Panini Absolute Football Hobby Box, the 2020 Panini Absolute Mega Box (40 ct) and the 2020 Panini Illusions Mega Box, that portfolio would have seen a 238% appreciation rate for a $1,454 return on investment.

Other items sold on the platform seeing major appreciation, as highlighted by StockX, include Kanye West’s 808 & Heartbreak record on vinyl (150% appreciation), the LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper Set (100% appreciation) and the Chinatown Market Smiley Basketball (80% appreciation).

StockX also highlights its Vault NFT editions, the majority of which it says sold out in just minutes. It is interesting to see them tout this as Nike is currently suing StockX for creating NFTs of its sneakers. StockX has fired back at Nike and it still remains to be seen what the final outcome will be.

If you have questions or just want to talk sneakers, hit on me up on Twitter — my username is @a_silva32.