It’s no secret that reselling has become one
of the hottest ways to make money. For some, this is a side hustle that brings
a little extra cash in every month, while for others, it’s a full-time job.
Between sneakers, vintage clothing, and collectibles, you can pretty much find
every item under the sun available for resell (including hotels–hello, Hoken!).
But it wasn’t always this way. In fact,
reselling didn’t begin until the middle of the 20th century, when hobbyists
began taking an interest in trade cards. The history of the evolution of
reselling is quite an interesting one. That’s why we’re breaking it down to
show you how we got to where we are today and what we see for the future.
The Evolution of Reselling
Trading Cards
When you think of trading cards, you probably
think of baseball or Pokemon. But these cards date all the way back to the
1600s. However, they didn’t really start picking up until the 1800s, when they
were included in packs of cigarettes as a means of advertising. Though the
printing of them winded down during WWI and WWII, it picked up again in the
late 1940s.
From there, they quickly became the trading
cards we know and love today–primarily focusing on sports. The original
collectible started as a hobby for many but quickly became one of the hottest
selling items worldwide. They became so popular that sites are now entirely
dedicated to selling just trading cards. You can find everything from baseball,
hockey, Marvel superheroes, Nintendo video game characters, and more. Although
the market has definitely slowed down, we see a resurgence of interest every
couple of years, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
The Rise of eBay
EBay is arguably still the biggest reselling
platform out there. With everything from new clothes and the hottest tech to
vintage clothing and antiques, it’s no surprise that the site is beloved by
many. And because it was the first of its kind–founded in 1995–it quickly
became a household name.
The internet was a game-changer for resellers,
and eBay gave people from all over the world the ability to expand their
markets exponentially and enable resale at a much larger scale. In June 1996
(less than a year after being created), there was already $7.2 million worth of
goods sold. By the second half of 1997, a millionth item was sold. Needless to
say, the site picked up steam extremely quickly. Now the company is worth over
$22 billion.
Camping for iPhones
Now that there are over 1.5 billion active
iPhone users worldwide, it’s not hard to see why camping out for iPhones became
so popular when the phone first came out. It’s safe to say that Apple could’ve
never guessed that their phones would create such a buzz, and keeping up with
the initial demand was pretty much impossible. But it didn’t matter to them
because people proved that they were doing whatever needed to be done to get
their hands on one of the hottest pieces of technology.
Resellers began seeing this as an arbitrage
opportunity. If they could get their hands on multiple phones, why not sell
them to those who weren’t so lucky? Although Apple has since increased the
supply to match the demand, this era shifted the way people got their hands on
inventory to resell–which we now see with sneakers, but we’ll get to that in a
second.
Pawn Stars and Storage Wars
People are often influenced by the media, so
when Pawn Stars (first aired in 2009) and Storage Wars ( first aired in 2010)
began, it’s no surprise that people became obsessed with the ideas of flipping
and reselling. Both shows showcase sales that, oftentimes seem like a dud,
bring resellers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. This idea of the
element of surprise tied in with large profits brought in millions of viewers
and put reselling front and center in mainstream culture.
Sneakers
If you’ve ever tried purchasing a pair of
exclusive sneakers, you may be familiar with just how hard it can be to snag a
pair. Thanks to Michael Jordan and the creation of Air Jordans, we’ve now seen
multiple big-name brands create limited-edition lines. And if you’re not on the
site hours before they go live, chances are you won’t get a pair. The resellers
will probably get there first.
The significant surge in interest between 2010
and 2020 created a world where “drops” are culturally accepted–even sought
after. The first come, first serve market has only made the sneakers that much
more appealing to many, creating a worldwide sneaker market valued at almost
$100 billion. What began on eBay has quickly spread to sites like Grailed,
StockX, and KLEKT. The combination of fashion and profits spread, with
resellers picking up vintage clothing on top of the footwear. And with more and
more gen-z’s and millennials opting for pre-worn clothing, it doesn’t seem like
this trend is going anywhere.
Hotels
We’ve seen trading cards, auction platforms,
and reselling everything from tech to clothing. So what’s next in the reselling
world? Hotels. Thanks to sites like Hoken, you can now merge experiences with
profitability. And the best part? You don’t have to worry about holding
inventory, shipping costs, or verification concerns. Book a hotel at a low
price (especially in big cities during large events) and sell it for a bigger
profit if you can no longer attend or you just want a little extra cash.
Ready To Start Reselling?
Looking to make a little extra income or make
the most out of that vacation you can no longer take? You don’t need to spend
hours finding sneakers or trading cards. Instead, focus on the future of
reselling–hotels. And with Hoken, it requires very little effort to get started
anytime you want. Let us help you buy and sell your hotel rooms by signing up
today!
