The Buyer's Guide: Yeezy Slides

    This last year was all about change. Change in the way we work, entertain, and even how we shop for shoes. The global shift from offices to work-from-home, outdoor environments to living rooms, and personal gatherings to online has fundamentally altered how we think about fashion. To take one small example: right now, one of the most popular Yeezys on the SinoSneakers market aren’t sneakers at all. It’s a Yeezy slide. 

    After all of the years that Yeezy dominated the resale market with its sneakers, Yeezy Slides are a marked change. They are unlike anything we have seen from the brand, and their history is new and unfamiliar. Yeezy Slides are so new that information and experience aren’t readily available for most buyers that are looking to cop a pair. To assist your buying needs, we rounded up our insights and data for a comprehensive buyer’s guide, to make your next purchase a little bit easier. Here is everything you need to know about Yeezy Slides. 

History 

    Yeezy Slides have opened up the world of Yeezy to a larger audience that extends far beyond sneakers. But none of this would have been possible without their predecessor, Yeezy Slippers.  

    In 2018, Yeezy ventured further into leisure footwear with the first-ever line of Yeezy Slippers. You may remember these slippers when Kanye went viral for wearing a pair that were a few sizes too small, or when he wore a pair that were 50 sizes too big. The Yeezy Slippers look more like slides than the typical mule slipper that one would wear to take out the recycling. Nevertheless, these slippers expanded Yeezy’s range of comfort. They released in various materials, ranging from nylon to fleece to neoprene, each featuring a signature velcro enclosure and thick sole. The first pairs of Yeezy Slippers were only available at retailers who carried Yeezy’s full line of clothing and sold out as soon as they hit shelves. Based on how quickly the slippers sold out at the retail level and their resale prices, it’s safe to assume that the supply of the Yeezy Slippers was scarce. The average pair of Yeezy Slippers resells at a 100% price premium, which is impressive for a slipper that retails for almost two Benjamins.  

    The after-market success of Yeezy Slippers proved that demand for Yeezy footwear transcended the sneaker space. The following year, the brand responded to that demand and unveiled the Yeezy Slide. 

Colorways 

    If you are able to cop a pair of Yeezy Slides at the retail price, they cost around $55. Hitting on a pair for this low of a price isn’t common because they typically sell out immediately after they release. Comfort and style aren’t the only factors that play into the massive demand of Yeezy Slides. Price appreciation and the opportunity to profit in the resale market also drive sell-outs. As a result, the cost of a pair of Slides can vary greatly over time. 

    The chart above shows the average weekly price on StockX for the first three Yeezy Slide colorways: Bone, Resin, and Desert Sand. For a few months after they released in December of 2019, prices for Yeezy Slides stayed relatively low. During this time period, all three colorways averaged resale prices of around $80, or 46% over retail. Then, after the first four months, Yeezy Slides skyrocketed in value and never looked back. In Q4 of 2020, the first three Yeezy Slides colorways averaged resale prices of over $250, sitting at a massive 360% price premium. The Slides now yield some of the highest price premiums in the entire Yeezy line – far more than the majority of adidas Yeezy 350s. 

    Yeezy slides are a perfect blend of comfort, flexibility, and flex. And if you buy at the right time, they offer an affordable entry point into an otherwise-expensive Yeezy catalog. Just don’t wait too long to cop. When it comes to the Yeezy slide market, decisive buyers are the most rewarded.