Graphic by staff graphic designer Sumen Imtiaz.
Andrew Ypil, 19, is a sneaker reseller that runs the @fashionjoint page on Instagram. The page began listing sneakers for sale in February of 2020.
His interest in sneakers began during his sophomore year of high school. The first brands he bought were Nike and Jordan.
He began reselling because, like most highschool students, he didn’t have his own money to spend. He wasn’t able to afford most of the things he wanted to buy. He noticed a friend reselling sneakers and got an idea.
“Since I had an interest in sneakers already I put one and one together. Next thing you know, I was learning about how to flip shoes for a profit,” he told Slice of Culture.
When the pandemic hit, Ypil initially had a hard time. He was not able to go to sneaker stores to buy the shoes he wanted to resell. He quickly adapted and invested in bots.
“It’s actually one of the best investments I’ve made. Instead of going to stores, I could buy the shoes through an automated program on my computer and get it shipped to my house without worrying about the pandemic,” he said. “It made me into a better reseller.”
His resale prices are heavily dependent on the supply and demand of any particular sneaker. This means that sneakers with low stock and high demand leads to a higher margin for him to price his sneakers at.
He doesn’t charge more than typical online resellers do.
If StockX lists a sneaker for $320, Ypil would list the same pair for $300. Essentially, any potential buyer would be getting a better price compared to the actual market price of the sneaker.
The most Ypil has sold a pair for was $900. Many sneaker resellers make thousands each month depending on their supply.
His favorite pair of sneakers is the Jordan 1 High Black/White (2014). They are listed on StockX for around $1,000.
Speaking on the reselling community on Instagram, Ypil stated:
“They are very supportive. At the end of the day we are all just trying to grow our pages, I think it’s just natural that we support each other. You’re always going to have the ones who keep to themselves but for the most part I think we are always looking to work with other resellers on Instagram.”
