The controversial Nike Vaporfly sneaker that could get banned in the next few weeks is now a best seller on StockX

• A controversial Nike sneaker is becoming popular in the resale sphere.
• Some have claimed that the Nike Vaporfly sneaker, the shoe of choice for the man and woman who hold marathon world records, offers its wearers an unfair advantage.
• A ban on the shoe from World Athletics, which oversees international running events, could be announced in the next few weeks.
• The shoe has become a best seller on StockX, a leading resale marketplace.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Nike's Vaporfly shoes are making headlines for the unfair advantage they may or may not confer on their wearers. But that isn't stopping people from trying to cop a pair of their own.

The sneaker has become a best seller on StockX, a leading online sneaker resale marketplace.

The controversial sneakers are the shoes of choice for the man and woman who hold marathon world records. Some have said that the shoes offer their wearers an unfair advantage due to their foam and carbon-fiber sole, which is designed to preserve energy with each step. Both independent and Nike-sponsored studies have revealed that the shoe improves energetic efficiency by at least 4%, Business Insider's Aylin Woodward previously reported.

A ban on the shoe from World Athletics, the body that oversees international running events, could be announced by the end of the month, the group's head of communications told Business Insider in an email last week.

And, all of the attention has meant that they've been heating up in the resale world.

"In the last few months, we've seen more and more Vaporfly (and Vapor Street) sneaker models enter the 'hype' space," a StockX representative told Business Insider in an email.

The representative confirmed that 17 different Vaporfly models have sold on the platform in the last two months, six of which rank among the company's top 2,000 best sellers.

The StockX representative said that the website was only selling six Vaporfly sneakers on its site during this time last year, only three of which were among the top 2,000 best-selling sneakers.

"Given the added cachet and publicity that comes with the competition ban, we expect increased interest in this product category in the coming months," the representative wrote.

The shoe is selling on StockX for an average price of $228, just a bit cheaper than the retail price listed on Nike's website, $250. Amazon lists the running shoes for as high as $479.95.

"Controversy is good for sales," Matt Powell, senior sports industry adviser at NPD Group, told Reuters. "Nike has not made a lot of pairs here, so (there is) no real financial impact. Amateur runners can still run in these shoes."