[Discussion] Downsizing and/or Having a Minimal Sneaker Collection (or Quitting Sneaker Collecting Altogether) - WITH TIPS/RESOURCES

[us3less]

I didn't mention this, but I actually started practicing some breathing exercises recently and. I call it breathing exercises because it's not in a longer state as meditation would normally be, but whenever my mind is racing of thoughts or impulses to buy, I stop and just start focusing on my breath as much as I can. Five to ten normal breaths while my mind is focusing on that and when it wanders again, I switch it back. Actually does help a bit and softens the thoughts/impulses.

 

[05fordgt]

My problem is that I think Ive been using this as retail therapy, especially the past several years. I havent been exactly too happy with how my life has been playing out, making sacrifices/putting my needs on hold for my spouse and immediate family. I would get that rush and excitement of getting/winning something but once I have them, its like whatever. Prior to sneakers, it was collectible figures. I've accumulated so much its become overwhelming and doesnt make me happy at all.

Its like that quote from Fat Bastard from Austin Powers, " I eat because Im unhappy, Im unhappy because I eat"

Ive come to realization of what I have to do, its just a matter of doing it. Part of me makes me want to just bring the collection to a shop and get rid of it all at once but I dont want to take that much of a loss either

I have about 113 shoes that I'm ready to get rid of and I honestly don't care what I get for them. I can get $50-$75 a pair and I'd be happy as heck. Just want them GONE! This was a serious stressful thing years ago, trying to get the newest release. I wanted to take them to a shop that I knew an owner, but they closed up, so not sure how I want to sell these. May just use Craigslist, and post my link to my Google Album with every shoe I have (I got unique retros that oldheads would want). Or, may talk to another shop I used in the past and if they are willing to offer the right amount per show, they can have them (with the exception of a few that are worth more than what I want for the others. Command Force, worn once, is just one of those pairs). I just want them gone as the $$$ can go to good use.

 

[us3less]

My problem is that I think Ive been using this as retail therapy, especially the past several years. I havent been exactly too happy with how my life has been playing out, making sacrifices/putting my needs on hold for my spouse and immediate family. I would get that rush and excitement of getting/winning something but once I have them, its like whatever. Prior to sneakers, it was collectible figures. I've accumulated so much its become overwhelming and doesnt make me happy at all.

Its like that quote from Fat Bastard from Austin Powers, " I eat because Im unhappy, Im unhappy because I eat"

Ive come to realization of what I have to do, its just a matter of doing it. Part of me makes me want to just bring the collection to a shop and get rid of it all at once but I dont want to take that much of a loss either

Yeah I think a lot of us have gone through this before. Sometimes we just end up waking up.

Selling for the loss might be better for the gain of peace unless you're willing to be patient with it. I know for me, I prioritized the peacefulness over money and would be fine to just take the hit.

 

[Geats]

All it took was cancer & quitting my job after. I’m now at 5 pairs that see a regular rotation. When I start working again, I don’t care to re obtain what I sold and instead would just want to travel as much as I can as life is so short. I draw a lot of inspiration from people in New York where I noticed one guy walking into his office job in completely obliterated Banned 1s. From there, I reinforced my minimalist approach. Less is more, practicality and comfort, use what you have, it ain’t worth it if it sits in a box.

 

[Present]

I have about 113 shoes that I'm ready to get rid of and I honestly don't care what I get for them. I can get $50-$75 a pair and I'd be happy as heck. Just want them GONE!

What size do you wear Playa?

Me in this thread creepin' on a come up:

 

[05fordgt]

What size do you wear Playa?

Me in this thread creepin' on a come up:

Works for me buddy. As long as we're both happy with the outcome. I wear 11 on most. A few 11.5 in some shoes, a few older Huaraches in 12s. If you want to see what's for sale, just PM me and I'll shoot you my Google Album of every pair I'm selling. All I ask is, pay for shipping.

And in that album, a few pairs that would be worth more than what I listed (Command Forces worn 1x ain't going for $75, lol, and a pair of DS Infrared VIs that have a factory flaw won't either, along with a select few others, like the black toes from before the last retro). But we can make stuff work I'm sure 👍

 

[us3less]

All it took was cancer & quitting my job after. I’m now at 5 pairs that see a regular rotation. When I start working again, I don’t care to re obtain what I sold and instead would just want to travel as much as I can as life is so short. I draw a lot of inspiration from people in New York where I noticed one guy walking into his office job in completely obliterated Banned 1s. From there, I reinforced my minimalist approach. Less is more, practicality and comfort, use what you have, it ain’t worth it if it sits in a box.

Damn, sorry to hear about that. Hope things are all good as can be. Did you ever ask that one guy about whether he was into shoes before and if he went through the "outing" phase and ditched sneakers too?

Also not sure if this would be helpful, but I noticed that the YouTube channel Talks with TJ has had more finance-related discussions too. It's not exactly about quitting sneakers, but for those who have had sneakers take over their lives, I feel like this could be a bit helpful but only if you know well enough to avoid the sneaker videos and focus on her finance videos.

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[nstreak]

I'm trying to talk myself out of getting the New Balance JJJJound 991's....the hype/FOMO is getting to me, the real test is letting this time pass by and I probably won't even miss them....it's a want not a need that's for sure

 

[05fordgt]

I'm trying to talk myself out of getting the New Balance JJJJound 991's....the hype/FOMO is getting to me, the real test is letting this time pass by and I probably won't even miss them....it's a want not a need that's for sure

I know the feeling. It has to be something that I REALLY feel is special to me but also I'm going cheap now. I just grabbed the Huarache Resins today. I did for 2 reasons. #1 it was only $64 shipped so that's a steal (and they are STUPID comfy)! But #2, I had the OGs back in 1992 when I did high jump in 9th grade, so THAT color means A LOT to me.

I joined track almost as a lark. I wasn't fast, nor did I have any endurance for distance running. I did it to stay in shape. So I started the team wearing my OG black/infrared VIs, but needed to get running shoes that wouldn't give me issues, so mom took me to Dimmer's in Lansdale (OG Philadelphia peeps know what this was). They had the OG Emerald/Resin color and I grabbed them. The next day, they talked about field events and I gave high jump a try and, wouldn't you know it, I was pretty good. Cleared 5' a few times (this was in 9th grade and I was about 5'8 or so (still growing).

So I actually wound up getting a varsity letter. Never in a million years did I think that was possible. Still have it at my parents house (along with the winged boot pin). So these shoes, I HAD to get. I can count on 1 hand how many pairs I bought in the last 12 months (it's less than 5). So I am getting rid of most of my shoes, but will grab the occasional pair if they are special TO ME (OG Flight Huaraches are next). 👍

 

[nstreak]

I know the feeling. It has to be something that I REALLY feel is special to me but also I'm going cheap now. I just grabbed the Huarache Resins today. I did for 2 reasons. #1 it was only $64 shipped so that's a steal (and they are STUPID comfy)! But #2, I had the OGs back in 1992 when I did high jump in 9th grade, so THAT color means A LOT to me.

I joined track almost as a lark. I wasn't fast, nor did I have any endurance for distance running. I did it to stay in shape. So I started the team wearing my OG black/infrared VIs, but needed to get running shoes that wouldn't give me issues, so mom took me to Dimmer's in Lansdale (OG Philadelphia peeps know what this was). They had the OG Emerald/Resin color and I grabbed them. The next day, they talked about field events and I gave high jump a try and, wouldn't you know it, I was pretty good. Cleared 5' a few times (this was in 9th grade and I was about 5'8 or so (still growing).

So I actually wound up getting a varsity letter. Never in a million years did I think that was possible. Still have it at my parents house (along with the winged boot pin). So these shoes, I HAD to get. I can count on 1 hand how many pairs I bought in the last 12 months (it's less than 5). So I am getting rid of most of my shoes, but will grab the occasional pair if they are special TO ME (OG Flight Huaraches are next). 👍

That's awesome brother..

 

[05fordgt]

That's awesome brother..

Thanks buddy! 👍👍

 

[us3less]

05fordgt - damn, that's one hell of a dope story! Good stuff!

N nstreak - yeah, it's really hard. It's definitely progress to take into account, but being aware of the feelings will really help.

 

[zmdawg]

Just unloaded my 4th pair on eBay. It's been pretty slow with 14 pairs still listed, but most are used and I admittedly probably overpriced everything. Been steadily reducing everything $10 a week.

 

[John Laurinaitis]

Getting, married, settling down, investing in your future and not giving a damn about impressing others made me stop collecting.

 

[05fordgt]

I can say, having put up a CL ad for my entire collection I'm selling, I've gotten 5 emails in only a few days. Sold a few so far and have someone who sent me 8 stills of shoes I listed so if I can make it work, I can be close to 10 pairs down in less than a week.

What I then have to delve into is how to get rid of the shoes that don't generate interest. I know some of the Reebok retros, the Fila Stackhouse & Hill & KJ retros may be tough. And I know I'm gonna have to just either take a few pairs of shoes to some place like Plato's Closet for a small amount of cash, or donate a few pairs of UA and Adidas. But the response to my CL ad has me hopeful that this will work better than I hoped. 🙏🙏

And I still hope that some collectors are lurking in this thread to see what we all are offing for cheap. I've send my Google Album to several NTers (and will send it to anyone who's a size 11 who wants to see what's for sale), so there's that hopefulness that I can move some to a fellow collector. But once most of these are gone, I'll feel a huge weight off my shoulders.

And about the money. If I can sell a decent number of pairs for the minimum what I wanted for everything, then in okay letting some pairs just got for such small amounts. Hope to keep the positive momentum going. 👍👍

 

[John Laurinaitis]

Moving out of NY did help too. Looking back now it seems like a lot of people just want be "seen" there.
Getting off SM helped a ton too. That stuff just triggers FOMO and an "I want to be like that" mentality. I swear like 95% of sneakers you only see on SM and never out in the wild. It is not a true representation of the world we live in.

 

[nice jahb]

My issue is that I love shoe tech, so newer kicks interest me the most based on wanting to try the latest and greatest. I think to counteract that, I will adopt the "One In/One Out" rule.

 

[Public Enemy]

I can say, having put up a CL ad for my entire collection I'm selling, I've gotten 5 emails in only a few days. Sold a few so far and have someone who sent me 8 stills of shoes I listed so if I can make it work, I can be close to 10 pairs down in less than a week.

What I then have to delve into is how to get rid of the shoes that don't generate interest. I know some of the Reebok retros, the Fila Stackhouse & Hill & KJ retros may be tough. And I know I'm gonna have to just either take a few pairs of shoes to some place like Plato's Closet for a small amount of cash, or donate a few pairs of UA and Adidas. But the response to my CL ad has me hopeful that this will work better than I hoped. 🙏🙏

And I still hope that some collectors are lurking in this thread to see what we all are offing for cheap. I've send my Google Album to several NTers (and will send it to anyone who's a size 11 who wants to see what's for sale), so there's that hopefulness that I can move some to a fellow collector. But once most of these are gone, I'll feel a huge weight off my shoulders.

And about the money. If I can sell a decent number of pairs for the minimum what I wanted for everything, then in okay letting some pairs just got for such small amounts. Hope to keep the positive momentum going. 👍👍

How are you doing payment and how are you doing the exchange? Like are you meeting up at a police station or a mall or something or what? Doing venmo or cashapp or straight cash or what

 

[05fordgt]

How are you doing payment and how are you doing the exchange? Like are you meeting up at a police station or a mall or something or what? Doing venmo or cashapp or straight cash or what

Thanks for the question. Will do meetups in public places where people are. Police station, or a car dealership, (I can browse while I wait, lol). And payment is cash or PP if they choose. But cash is always better. 👍

 

[us3less]

Getting, married, settling down, investing in your future and not giving a damn about impressing others made me stop collecting.

These last two were the things that slowly took over my life. More so with investing in my future mainly, especially when I went jobless for several months and started to burn through my savings. Lately, it's starting to be the impressions thing as well. Also, what's SM? Sneaker market?

Public Enemy - I've sold stuff through CL and Facebook Marketplace via meetups at public spots like Starbucks or grocery stores. Definitely takes a bit of patience for sure.

 

[John Laurinaitis]

These last two were the things that slowly took over my life. More so with investing in my future mainly, especially when I went jobless for several months and started to burn through my savings. Lately, it's starting to be the impressions thing as well. Also, what's SM? Sneaker market?

Public Enemy - I've sold stuff through CL and Facebook Marketplace via meetups at public spots like Starbucks or grocery stores. Definitely takes a bit of patience for sure.

SM is Social Media.
I've learned the last few years that what's on your feet does not change the impressions you make on others and does nothing to help with your character and professionalism.
I also went jobless during the start of the pandemic. And being in "lock down" alone in my apartment with a bunch of sneakers and nothing to show for it really changed my mind about the whole sneaker collecting thing amongst other things.

 

[05fordgt]

SM is Social Media.
I've learned the last few years that what's on your feet does not change the impressions you make on others and does nothing to help with your character and professionalism.
I also went jobless during the start of the pandemic. And being in "lock down" alone in my apartment with a bunch of sneakers and nothing to show for it really changed my mind about the whole sneaker collecting thing amongst other things.

You had you're "epiphany" moment, like I had mine, albeit it in a different way. It felt great the first release that I would normally impulse-buy, I let pass. And it will feel even better when you start to offload the shoes you don't need. Congrats on reaching that moment. 👍👍 It's a huge step for us sneakerheads who knows that it's "that time".

 

[nstreak]

Moving out of NY did help too. Looking back now it seems like a lot of people just want be "seen" there.
Getting off SM helped a ton too. That stuff just triggers FOMO and an "I want to be like that" mentality. I swear like 95% of sneakers you only see on SM and never out in the wild. It is not a true representation of the world we live in.

I know what you mean because I'm in LA and we're so damn fickle here, me included. The truth is we really don't need all these shoes, 10-20 is more than enough. We don't need validation via shoes, if we're good people, people will want to invest time in us, not because we have the latest J's.

I give the sneaker brands credit, they know we crave this stuff, the limited drops, gear to match, FOMO. But honestly, after it subsides, there's another drop waiting in the wings. It's tough....I'm constantly buying/selling my shoes because I'm so damn fickle. I think about selling my shoes and I sell a few pairs but then I'm eyeing 5 pairs that are coming out in the next few months because of these websites and social media.

Sometimes, you don't even care about a pair that's coming out but the way it looks in a photograph or the way it looks for just that one outfit and it's not very versatile but we have to have it because in that one shot, it looks so good.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm no different and I struggle. The honest truth is that nobody cares what we wear, it's all in our head. We use these excuses to justify buying more or buying a pair when we already have 20-30 pairs that we've worn only once. We sneakerheads seek that validation but we really don't need it. We live in an age where all the brands now have collabs, shock drops, limited runs, restocks, it's all too much. I mean look at Jordans, they know the 11 Concord's will always sell out so at this point, is it really even limited?

We need to be mentally strong, it's tough because this rant is on a triggering forum website which is counterproductive but we can all take baby steps in the right direction and just admire from afar without diving all the way in.

 

[Mr.MartyMcfly12]

I love all the positive vibes that everyone is sharing and supporting. I relate to almost every single thing y'all been talking about lol

I've been on my journey of downsizing since the pandemic. It gets hard because our whole society is feeding us nonstop messages of not just buy sneakers but buying everything lol. I suffered from materialism for so long, craving that validation from others and thinking every sneaker purchase will make me complete when in reality it made me more and more insecure and distracting me from the important things in life.

I highly recommend the minimalists. I found these guys on YouTube and their journey and messages have really played a significant part of helping me wake up and stop not just buying sneakers but buying materialistic stuff.

This is their podcast https://youtube.com/@TheMinimalistsPodcast

They also have books and a great documentary on Netflix