In short: where to buy sneakers depends on the job you want done. You buy at retail on Nike’s SNKRS app, adidas, the Footsites and Shopify boutiques, and you buy or resell them on marketplaces such as StockX, GOAT, eBay and Grailed. According to StockX’s seller fee page, a Level 1 seller pays a 9% transaction fee plus 3% for payment processing, so fees compared side by side are where we start.
- Retail: SNKRS, adidas, the Footsites and Shopify stores sell at the brand’s price, if you land the pair.
- StockX: a 9% transaction fee at Level 1 plus 3% processing, per its seller fee page.
- eBay sneakers: an 8% final value fee at $150 or more and 13.6% below that, per eBay’s fee page.
- Consignment: Stadium Goods and Flight Club hold the pair and sell it for you.
- Social: Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and Discord deals come with no platform check.
Where do you buy sneakers at retail price?
Retail means the brand’s own price, and the main places for it are Nike’s SNKRS app, adidas, the Footsites and Shopify boutiques.
Nike posts its releases on the SNKRS launch calendar. The Footsites, the Foot Locker family of stores, and the Shopify stores run drops of their own. The catch, however, is demand. Buying sneakers for retail is a lot harder than buying on the aftermarket, because far more people want a limited pair than there are pairs.
That is where a sneaker bot comes in: software that runs the checkout for you. NikeShoeBot is a checkout bot for sneakers, retail drops and collectibles, and it runs on your own Mac or Windows computer. If you want to see what a checkout bot does with this, NikeShoeBot’s guides walk through it retailer by retailer.
Retail is usually the lowest price on a hyped pair, but a draw or a queue decides who gets it. So most of you will end up on a marketplace for some pairs.
StockX vs eBay: what do sellers pay in fees?
Seller fees are the biggest difference between marketplaces, and StockX and eBay both publish theirs.
According to StockX’s seller fee page, a Level 1 seller pays a 9% transaction fee plus a 3% payment processing fee. However, the same page says the base fee steps down to 7% at Level 5.
According to eBay’s selling fees page, athletic shoes with a total sale of $150 or more carry an 8% final value fee and no per-order fee. Below $150, however, eBay’s page says the rate is 13.6%, plus $0.40 per order over $10.
We checked the StockX, eBay and Stadium Goods seller pages on 9 October 2026. We left out GOAT, Grailed and Flight Club because their help centres would not open for us.
| Marketplace | Seller fee as published | Other fees on the same page | Source, read 9 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| StockX | 9% at Level 1, down to 7% at Level 5 | 3% payment processing; $5.00 minimum in the US | StockX seller fee page |
| eBay, athletic shoes | 8% at $150 or more; 13.6% under $150 | $0.40 per order over $10, under $150 only | eBay selling fees page |
| Stadium Goods | Standard rate not stated; 15% Velocity Bonus rate for items of $250 or more sold within 30 days of intake | Payout through PayPal’s Hyperwallet | Stadium Goods seller page |
| GOAT, Grailed, Flight Club | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Help centres did not open for us |
| Sale price, before shipping and tax | StockX Level 1 (9% + 3%) | eBay athletic shoes |
|---|---|---|
| $120 | $10.80 + $3.60 = $14.40 in fees, $105.60 after fees | $16.32 + $0.40 = $16.72 in fees, $103.28 after fees |
| $200 | $18.00 + $6.00 = $24.00 in fees, $176.00 after fees | $16.00 in fees, $184.00 after fees |
| $400 | $36.00 + $12.00 = $48.00 in fees, $352.00 after fees | $32.00 in fees, $368.00 after fees |
According to eBay’s selling fees page, its fee is worked out on the total amount of the sale, shipping and sales tax included, while these figures use the sale price alone. StockX’s page says it works its transaction fee out on the final sale price.
The $150 line listed on eBay’s page decides it. On a $120 sale the two are $2.32 apart, which is $105.60 against $103.28 after fees. At $200, however, eBay’s listed 8% is less than StockX’s 9% plus 3%, which adds up to 12%. Market prices move and are shown for reference, not as a promise.
How do StockX and GOAT work for buyers?
StockX and GOAT are verify-first marketplaces: the seller ships the pair to the platform, it gets checked, and only then does it go to you.
We have long called StockX the stock market of pop culture. In fact, according to Wikipedia’s StockX entry, it launched in February 2016 and shows price histories for specific items. So you can see what a pair sold for before you bid.
- Bid
- What a buyer offers for a pair in one size.
- Ask
- What a seller will take for that pair.
- Sale
- A bid and an ask that meet.
StockX has stirred its share of controversy, including the removal of its “Verified Authentic” tag, which we covered at the time. That said, it is a big name in resale, and we cover whether StockX is legit elsewhere.
Similarly, GOAT checks pairs before they ship. According to Wikipedia’s GOAT Group entry, it uses a ship-to-verify model, and in 2018 it acquired the consignment company Flight Club. Our look at whether GOAT is legit covers the rest.
Is Grailed or eBay better for used pairs?
Grailed and eBay are open marketplaces where sellers list their own items, and that makes them the natural home of used and older pairs.
So Grailed kinda looks like a sus platform at first, but it is pretty legit. You can buy pre-loved kicks and apparel there, and if you like to shop sustainable, a worn pair is a good place to start. We could not open Grailed’s fee page on 9 October 2026, so look up its commission and payment fee before you list.
Because anyone can open an eBay account, fakes have slipped through over the years. eBay runs an Authenticity Guarantee, and its own page describes the check like this:
Meet the experienced team inspecting every eyelet, tongue, and toe box of your new kicks.
Nevertheless, we would still read a seller’s reviews and history before you buy. Unlike StockX and GOAT, eBay lets you deal with the seller directly, so the seller still matters.
How does sneaker consignment work?
Consignment means a shop holds your pair and sells it for you, and Flight Club and Stadium Goods are two big names in it.
Flight Club has been part of GOAT since 2018, according to Wikipedia’s GOAT Group entry. However, its commission page would not open for us on 9 October 2026, so we cannot quote its rate.
According to Wikipedia’s Stadium Goods entry, the shop was founded in 2015, and Farfetch’s $250 million acquisition of it came in January 2019. Its seller page lays out three steps: list your items and set a price, then ship them, drop them off at 412 Broadway in New York or book a pickup at higher seller levels. The same page says payouts go through PayPal’s Hyperwallet the day after an item sells.
The trade-off is control. Consignment costs you a fee and some say over timing, but the shop holds the pair and sells it for you, which Stadium Goods’ seller page says it does across its website, app, Farfetch and Amazon. Our guide to sneaker consignment stores goes through more of them.
Is it safe to buy on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit or Discord?
Social media deals are person to person, so the safety of each deal rests on the seller, not on any platform check.
You can find and follow plenty of reseller accounts on Instagram, and they will not shy away from telling you how to get in touch. Drop a DM or an email and ask for your pair. It is a bit risky, but you can watch an account’s growth and its comments to judge whether it is legit.
Facebook groups work the same way, but there is no authentication whatsoever. It is a trust game when it comes to social media, so only deal with people you trust. Likewise, sneaker Reddit has subs set up for buying and selling kicks.
Discord is safer, because premium groups know their members, especially paid ones. In addition, members know the real worth of your kicks, which helps on both sides of a deal. Our guide to sneaker Discord servers explains how to join, and the best cook groups go beyond buying and selling.
Our take: where we would buy and where we would sell
Our take is simple: buy at retail when you can, buy on a verify-first marketplace when you cannot, and pick where to sell by the fees.
If you are a buyer, StockX and GOAT check pairs before they ship to you. That is worth a fee, because you cannot inspect the pair yourself. If you are a reseller, however, the fee table above is most of the argument. Per that table, the two big platforms land close together under $150, while at $150 and over eBay’s 8% is the lower rate on paper.
Finally, consignment suits you when you would rather hand the pair over and wait. Better yet, if you have regular buyers or know a reseller personally, a direct deal skips the middleman for both sides. But always do your research first. Our guide on where and how to resell sneakers goes deeper, and becoming a sneaker reseller covers the basics.
