What Shoes Should You Be Passing Up In 2023?

Hey all! Happy New Year and thanks for sticking around during this hiatus! Each and every one of you are appreciated and we’d like to start the year out with a bang. Stick around for a brand new contest that could win you a key piece of reselling gear! Now, who’s up for learning a little bit about shoes?

Beginner Shoe Buys

I often thought at the beginning of my reselling journey that I needed to buy ALL of the shoes for ALL of the reasons. I was wrong. You need not buy ALL of the shoes after all!

To make a profit, you have to take a lot of things into consideration before buying inventory. This is something that I didn’t always think about since I had no experience. Yes, dad, with experience does come wisdom!

I’d buy a multitude of shoes (IKEA bags full!) from EACH store I went to. This was not a smart move. Oftentimes, if I go thrifting now, I’ll find a good handful of “good enough” shoes that will actually make it back to my office.

This is because many of those shoes that are put out and available for sale are actually quite flawed. Sure, you can spend your minutes and hours fixing these up and becoming a shoe-repairing pro, but unless shoes are your only source of inventory, I’d like to advise against that.

Sometimes it’s best to not rush into things, and this is also a flaw I portrayed as a newbie reseller. I’d run around the stores like a mad woman trying to shove as many shoes in my cart as possible while keeping a keen eye out for all the possible resellers nearby trying to get in on the good stuff.

…Joke was on me!

Learning Curve

Like all things, this little shoe journey also had a learning curve of its own. It took me up and down the aisles of some odd stores, during which I saw some odd sorts of shoes.

Lucky for me, practice makes (almost) perfect and I now like to consider myself a decently knowledgeable shoe reseller. Of course, I’m not a pro so please be sure to use your own judgment when out in the wild in determining which sets of shoes in 2023 are really good for your store.

Today I’d like to share with you a few pockets of wisdom that I’ve learned over the years that I think would have been super helpful to know back in my beginning shoe-selling days.

Let’s get into those!

My Top Tips on What Shoes NOT to Pick Up

Here they are! Make sure to keep them in mind when you’re on the hunt.

1. Stained/Water Stained
   1. Anything that is too water damaged or has more than one or two small stains, I pass up right away. Both of these are usually pretty unfixable, so they would have gotten pitched or re-donated at best. Appreciate the beauty underneath and move on!
2. Dry Rot/Too Much Wear
   1. Dry rot. This is one that I was not keen on for quite some time. I thought it was just plain old wear in the beginning until I received a handful of complaints that items were in fact dry-rotted. Take it from me, if they start to crack, put them back!!
   2. If the sole is peeling off the shoe, the laces are completely torn (and you don’t have an extra set), or if there’s holes on the tips of the toes, it’s an easy decision for me. Pass!
3. Too Dirty/Time-Suck
   1. Most days in the thrift, I’ll see a fabulous pair of heels or a super high-end pair of hiking boots. Only to discover that the bottoms have an inch of mud or are completely trashed. This is a huge time-suck to try and remove so even if they’ll fetch me a pretty penny I leave them behind.
4. No Brand/Size Not Legible
   1. Listen, if the brand or size ESPECIALLY is not legible, you’re bound to get a million questions. Sure, sometimes these items still sell, but I’m much more likely to resell a shirt over a pair of shoes where the size is questionable. Even if you do find the perfect fit shoes in 2023 with the perfect buyer for these, they’ll likely end up in a return, in which you’ll be back at square one, not to mention the return fee.
5. Stick around til the end for a BONUS TIP!

Volume Equals Victory

I am more of a volume seller, which means that I tend to focus more on quantity over anything else. I move a lot of inventory at lower prices, so the faster the flip, the better off I am.

*Side Note: Quality ALWAYS counts! But make sure you’re taking all accounts necessary into consideration when thrifting and including your time as one of those accounts.

This means that any of the points above can usually put a pretty big dent in my time during the cleaning process, which in the end just takes away from my bottom line.

I’ve tried reselling a bunch of different shoes, but it seems this has by far been the best way to go. By following the tips listed above, I’ve had a lot less returns, and hardly any headaches with cleaning or prepping shoes in 2023 for photos.

Cleaning the items is important for customer service but not a task I can afford to spend too much time on. Every business model varies, so do make sure to choose what works best for you.

Bonus Tip!

Items that look like top brands but are cheaper alternatives (Doc Martins/Express) or similar. (I didn’t grab a picture, unfortunately, but this is a true example I saw just recently in the thrift!)

These items can often fetch a lot of attention, but sales? Not so much. You’ll end up getting more questions than interested buyers and oftentimes have a chance of getting flagged on most platforms because of the similarities. In my opinion, this is something that’s definitely not worth picking up.

Start getting better at sharpening your skills when you’re browsing through the shoe racks in 2023 and you’ll come out on top with the best shoes every time. Be picky! This will help to keep your time spent in check and lead you down the road of profit and progress!

Thank You!

A giant thanks to everyone that has supported me this far into my journey! I greatly appreciate you returning to read my posts, including this one about shoes in 2023, and hope that you will continue to drop by in the future.

Please feel free to drop any comments below that you would like to add! I am always open to advice, suggestions, or even hearing related stories of your own!