A sneakerhead who made nearly $7 million in sales last year reveals the kinds of sneakers that are most worth the investment

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A sneakerhead who made nearly $7 million in sales last year reveals the kinds of sneakers that are most worth the investment
Cool Kicks Shams

For some people, sneaker reselling is more than a side hustle - it's a full-time job.

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Adeel Shams and his business partner, Davon Artis, have hacked the sneaker resale market, which could be worth $6 billion by 2025, according to a recent Cowen & Co. analysis. Shams said he makes millions reselling sneakers through Cool Kicks, a store for buying, selling, and trading sneakers and streetwear.

Shams earned $6.9 million in sales last year, marking a 103% increase from 2017 to 2018. He has three stores in Los Angeles and one in Springfield, Virginia, and is launching a subscription-based app that he says will work to offer subscribers sneakers for less than market value.

Shams previously told Business Insider his expert tips for people looking to break into the exploding multibillion-dollar resale market. One of his pointers was to invest carefully.

"Buy the right product," he said. "Don't buy a product that you think is going to sell one day."

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Here are the shoes that Shams says are worth investing in - and one type people should stay away from:

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1. Collaborations are key

1. Collaborations are key

A sneaker becomes more valuable if it is the result of a collaboration with a celebrity or athlete, Shams said. Examples of popular sneaker collaborations include those with Travis Scott, Drake, and Kanye West.

"I always tell people to always buy collaboration shoes because they're less likely to be restocked," Shams said. "Because as soon as a product gets restocked, the value of the item goes back down because now there's more sneakers in circulation."

2. Right now, Nike and Off-White's collaboration is huge

2. Right now, Nike and Off-White's collaboration is huge

Nike and Off-White have collaborated in the past. Shams told Business Insider that this is one collaboration to look out for.

He explained that although the collaboration sneakers were not selling for much on StockX right away, they were still worth the investment because of the hyped-up nature of the collaboration.

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3. Air Jordans are not always a safe bet

3. Air Jordans are not always a safe bet

Rare pairs of Air Jordans have resold for as high as $20,000.

Still, Shams warns against blindly investing in Air Jordans without checking the production rate.

"Jordans are getting mass-produced to a point where not all Jordans are resellable like how it used to be," Shams said, adding that other pairs of would-be best-sellers that might not be worth the money.

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