The most dedicated “sneakerheads” will wait in long lines and shell out huge sums to land their most coveted shoes.
So it’s no surprise that a ranking of the coupon code website’s most valuable sneaker investments DealA found pairs of iconic Nike sneakers on resale site StockX fetching a premium of nearly 150,000% over their original retail prices.
At the top of the list — organized by the shoes’ current price versus their original retail price — is the Nike Dunk SB Low Paris, a limited-edition version of a Nike basketball sneaker. first unveiled in 2003. Approximately 200 pairs were produced, and each pair features cutouts from the art of the late French Expressionist painter Bernard Buffet.
No two pairs of sneakers are the same, and they sold out immediately after their release nearly two decades ago. Last year, a pair sold for over $130,000 in the UK, according to HypeBeast.
The sneakers originally retailed for $60. The lowest asking price DealA found offered by dealers on StockX was $89,691. That’s a 149,385% return on investment, for anyone lucky enough to buy one at retail.
Here are the five sneakers with the best ROI on StockX, according to DealA:
- Nike Dunk SB Low Paris: 149.385% premium over original retail price
- 1985 Jordan 1 OG Bred: 145.554% premium
- Nike SB Dunk Low London: 41 400% premium
- Nike SB Dunk Low Tokyo: 38.925% premium
- 1985 Jordan 1 OG Chicago: 22.224% premium
Next came the 1985 Jordan 1 OG Bred sneakers, which the website describes as “perhaps the holy grail of sneakerheads.” The black and red shoes were part of the first product line of Michael Jordan’s decades-long partnership with Nike.
On StockX, DealA found that the lowest asking price for the classic sneakers – which originally retailed for $65 – was $94,675, representing a 145,554% premium over the price of origin. Some pairs of original Jordans are worth even more: In 2020, a pair of game-worn sneakers, autographed by Jordan himself, sold for $560,000 at auction.
The ranking is dominated by Nike sneakers, reflecting the Beaverton, Oregon-based company’s close connection to basketball. Nike and its Air Jordan label helped fueling the rise of sneakerhead culture so much so that DealA’s rankings don’t feature another brand before #34 on the list.
This place belongs to the ASICS Gel-Lyte III Ronnie Fieg Salmon Toe sneakers. Launched in 2011, the ASICS sneaker was the first shoes released in partnership with the famous streetwear brand KITH.
As with everything highly coveted and appreciable asset, the trick is to enter on the ground floor. If you snagged a pair of original Nike Jordans for $65 in 1985 and kept them in top condition for a few decades, you’re in great shape today.
It takes a level of luck and forethought that not all avid collectors can possess.
Some particularly rare pairs of sneakers have also been known to fetch truly mind-boggling sums of money. For example, in 2021, Sotheby’s sold a pair of Nike Air Ships, the first pair of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan in the NBA during his rookie season in 1985, for $1.47 million. That same year, Sotheby’s sold a prototype pair of Nike Air Yeezys – worn by rapper Kanye West at the 2008 Grammy Awards – for $1.8 million.
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