The Hidden Costs of Sneaker Reselling No One Talks About

JOIN KNET

Back

The Hidden Costs of Sneaker Reselling No One Talks About

Nov 12, 2025

Most resellers only look at buy price vs. payout.

But that’s not how profit works.

If you ignore the “small” costs, you can think you’re making 15–20%… when you’re really making 3–5% or even losing money.

This breaks down the hidden costs of sneaker reselling so you can price smarter and stop lying to yourself about margin.

Most resellers only look at buy price vs. payout.

But that’s not how profit works.

If you ignore the “small” costs, you can think you’re making 15–20%… when you’re really making 3–5% or even losing money.

This breaks down the hidden costs of sneaker reselling so you can price smarter and stop lying to yourself about margin.

Most resellers only look at buy price vs. payout.

But that’s not how profit works.

If you ignore the “small” costs, you can think you’re making 15–20%… when you’re really making 3–5% or even losing money.

This breaks down the hidden costs of sneaker reselling so you can price smarter and stop lying to yourself about margin.

On This Page

1. Sales Tax (and Other “Little” Fees)

2. Returns (Even When You Sell on Apps)

3. Cancellations and Oversells

4. Labor Cost (Even If It’s Just You)

5. Supplies Add Up

6. Inevitable Losses (You Can’t Avoid These)

7. The Misc Stuff No One Tracks (But Should)

8. A Simple “True Cost” Formula

Final Take

1. Sales Tax (and Other “Little” Fees)

You pay more than the tag:

Shoe price: $150
Sales tax (say 8%): + $12
Shipping to you (if any): + $10

Your real buy cost is already $172, not $150.

If you then compare payouts against $150, the deal looks amazing.

If you compare against $172, some “good buys” turn into break-even.

Takeaway:

Always use all-in cost when you judge a buy:

1. Sales Tax (and Other “Little” Fees)

You pay more than the tag:

Shoe price: $150
Sales tax (say 8%): + $12
Shipping to you (if any): + $10

Your real buy cost is already $172, not $150.

If you then compare payouts against $150, the deal looks amazing.

If you compare against $172, some “good buys” turn into break-even.

Takeaway:

Always use all-in cost when you judge a buy:

1. Sales Tax (and Other “Little” Fees)

You pay more than the tag:

Shoe price: $150
Sales tax (say 8%): + $12
Shipping to you (if any): + $10

Your real buy cost is already $172, not $150.

If you then compare payouts against $150, the deal looks amazing.

If you compare against $172, some “good buys” turn into break-even.

Takeaway:

Always use all-in cost when you judge a buy:

All-in cost = Price + tax + inbound shipping – discounts – cashback

2. Returns (Even When You Sell on Apps)

Returns hit you in different ways:

Platforms that allow returns → you may get pairs back worn, damaged, or “swapped”
DTC or eBay → you eat the return label, time, and possible loss in value
Chargebacks → money locked up, time spent on claims

Even if the platform “protects” you sometimes, you’ll still lose money sometimes.

Smart move:

Look at returns as a % of sales over 3–6 months and treat it as a cost:

2. Returns (Even When You Sell on Apps)

Returns hit you in different ways:

Platforms that allow returns → you may get pairs back worn, damaged, or “swapped”
DTC or eBay → you eat the return label, time, and possible loss in value
Chargebacks → money locked up, time spent on claims

Even if the platform “protects” you sometimes, you’ll still lose money sometimes.

Smart move:

Look at returns as a % of sales over 3–6 months and treat it as a cost:

2. Returns (Even When You Sell on Apps)

Returns hit you in different ways:

Platforms that allow returns → you may get pairs back worn, damaged, or “swapped”
DTC or eBay → you eat the return label, time, and possible loss in value
Chargebacks → money locked up, time spent on claims

Even if the platform “protects” you sometimes, you’ll still lose money sometimes.

Smart move:

Look at returns as a % of sales over 3–6 months and treat it as a cost:

Return cost buffer ≈ (Total losses from returns ÷ total sales)

If that’s 1–2%, you need to build that into your target margin.

If that’s 1–2%, you need to build that into your target margin.

If that’s 1–2%, you need to build that into your target margin.

3. Cancellations and Oversells

These usually look like “small annoyances,” but they cost you real money.

Cancellations

Retailer cancels your order after you sell the pair
You cancel on the buyer
Platform charges cancellation fees or dings your account

You also lose:

Time spent fixing the problem
Future sales if the account gets limited

Oversells

Oversell = you sell the same pair twice on different platforms.

Costs:

Fees / penalties
Lost buyer trust
Risk of account flags

If you sell on multiple channels, you need something to sync inventory and auto-delist when a sneaker sells, or you’ll keep bleeding here.

3. Cancellations and Oversells

These usually look like “small annoyances,” but they cost you real money.

Cancellations

Retailer cancels your order after you sell the pair
You cancel on the buyer
Platform charges cancellation fees or dings your account

You also lose:

Time spent fixing the problem
Future sales if the account gets limited

Oversells

Oversell = you sell the same pair twice on different platforms.

Costs:

Fees / penalties
Lost buyer trust
Risk of account flags

If you sell on multiple channels, you need something to sync inventory and auto-delist when a sneaker sells, or you’ll keep bleeding here.

3. Manual OA = Extreme Couponing for Sneakers

Online arbitrage (OA) done right is basically extreme couponing:

New account offers
Email sign-up discounts
Stacked promo codes
Free shipping thresholds
Cashback portals (Rakuten, TopCashback, card issuer portals, etc.)
Card rewards (2–5%+)

On a lot of bricks, that stack is your margin.

Example:

Retail: $120
Sale: 20% off → $96
Code: extra 10% → $86.40
Cashback: 6% → effective $81.22
Card rewards: 2% → effective ~$79.60

If your net payout after KNET fees on the right channel stack is $88–$90, you’re making $8–$10 per pair on something that looked dead at retail.

Bricks rarely look sexy on the surface.

Your edge is in the stacking.

4. Labor Cost (Even If It’s Just You)

This is the cost almost no one wants to admit.

Every task has a cost:

Sourcing
Unboxing
Checking pairs
Printing labels
Packing boxes
Dropping off at UPS/FedEx
Answering messages

Even if you don’t pay staff yet, your time still has a value.

Ask yourself:

“What could I earn per hour doing something else?”
“How many hours per week do I spend on reselling tasks?”

Example:

Your time is worth $25/hour
You spend 20 hours/week on reselling
That’s $500/week or about $2,000/month

If your “profit” is $2,000/month but you never count your own time,

you’re actually working for $0/hour.

You don’t have to track this down to the minute, but you should:

Set a rough hourly value for your time
Compare that against how much you actually take home

If that number is low, you either need to raise volume, raise margin, or automate/delegate more of the work.

4. Labor Cost (Even If It’s Just You)

This is the cost almost no one wants to admit.

Every task has a cost:

Sourcing
Unboxing
Checking pairs
Printing labels
Packing boxes
Dropping off at UPS/FedEx
Answering messages

Even if you don’t pay staff yet, your time still has a value.

Ask yourself:

“What could I earn per hour doing something else?”
“How many hours per week do I spend on reselling tasks?”

Example:

Your time is worth $25/hour
You spend 20 hours/week on reselling
That’s $500/week or about $2,000/month

If your “profit” is $2,000/month but you never count your own time,

you’re actually working for $0/hour.

You don’t have to track this down to the minute, but you should:

Set a rough hourly value for your time
Compare that against how much you actually take home

If that number is low, you either need to raise volume, raise margin, or automate/delegate more of the work.

4. Labor Cost (Even If It’s Just You)

This is the cost almost no one wants to admit.

Every task has a cost:

Sourcing
Unboxing
Checking pairs
Printing labels
Packing boxes
Dropping off at UPS/FedEx
Answering messages

Even if you don’t pay staff yet, your time still has a value.

Ask yourself:

“What could I earn per hour doing something else?”
“How many hours per week do I spend on reselling tasks?”

Example:

Your time is worth $25/hour
You spend 20 hours/week on reselling
That’s $500/week or about $2,000/month

If your “profit” is $2,000/month but you never count your own time,

you’re actually working for $0/hour.

You don’t have to track this down to the minute, but you should:

Set a rough hourly value for your time
Compare that against how much you actually take home

If that number is low, you either need to raise volume, raise margin, or automate/delegate more of the work.

5. Supplies Add Up

You need:

Shipping boxes
Tape
Labels / label printer
Printer ink
Poly bags
Bubble wrap or filler

Each shipment might only cost:

$0.50–$1.50 in supplies

But if you ship 1,000 pairs/month, that’s $500–$1,500 you often forget to count.

Simple fix:

Add up one month of supply spend.
Divide by pairs shipped that month.

5. Supplies Add Up

You need:

Shipping boxes
Tape
Labels / label printer
Printer ink
Poly bags
Bubble wrap or filler

Each shipment might only cost:

$0.50–$1.50 in supplies

But if you ship 1,000 pairs/month, that’s $500–$1,500 you often forget to count.

Simple fix:

Add up one month of supply spend.
Divide by pairs shipped that month.

5. Supplies Add Up

You need:

Shipping boxes
Tape
Labels / label printer
Printer ink
Poly bags
Bubble wrap or filler

Each shipment might only cost:

$0.50–$1.50 in supplies

But if you ship 1,000 pairs/month, that’s $500–$1,500 you often forget to count.

Simple fix:

Add up one month of supply spend.
Divide by pairs shipped that month.

Supply cost per pair = Total supply spend ÷ # of pairs shipped

Use that number in your true cost per pair.

Use that number in your true cost per pair.

6. Inevitable Losses (You Can’t Avoid These)

You will lose money sometimes. That’s just part of the game.

Bad Buys

Prices drop after you buy
Demand is weaker than you thought
Too many people bought the same SKU

You either:

Hold too long, or
Liquidate for a loss

Liquidations

You’ll have:

Old inventory that just doesn’t move
Pairs you’re sick of looking at
Sizes that no one wants

You blow them out on:

Discount sales
Live auctions
Bulk deals
Payout apps at a loss

Getting Burned by People

Even if you’re careful, you may get hit by:

A “wholesaler” who ships late or not at all
Fake invoices
Swapped pairs
Under-counted bulk deals

You can reduce this with better vetting, but you can’t reduce it to zero.

Best way to handle all of this:

Treat it like spoilage in a normal business.

6. Inevitable Losses (You Can’t Avoid These)

You will lose money sometimes. That’s just part of the game.

Bad Buys

Prices drop after you buy
Demand is weaker than you thought
Too many people bought the same SKU

You either:

Hold too long, or
Liquidate for a loss

Liquidations

You’ll have:

Old inventory that just doesn’t move
Pairs you’re sick of looking at
Sizes that no one wants

You blow them out on:

Discount sales
Live auctions
Bulk deals
Payout apps at a loss

Getting Burned by People

Even if you’re careful, you may get hit by:

A “wholesaler” who ships late or not at all
Fake invoices
Swapped pairs
Under-counted bulk deals

You can reduce this with better vetting, but you can’t reduce it to zero.

Best way to handle all of this:

Treat it like spoilage in a normal business.

6. Inevitable Losses (You Can’t Avoid These)

You will lose money sometimes. That’s just part of the game.

Bad Buys

Prices drop after you buy
Demand is weaker than you thought
Too many people bought the same SKU

You either:

Hold too long, or
Liquidate for a loss

Liquidations

You’ll have:

Old inventory that just doesn’t move
Pairs you’re sick of looking at
Sizes that no one wants

You blow them out on:

Discount sales
Live auctions
Bulk deals
Payout apps at a loss

Getting Burned by People

Even if you’re careful, you may get hit by:

A “wholesaler” who ships late or not at all
Fake invoices
Swapped pairs
Under-counted bulk deals

You can reduce this with better vetting, but you can’t reduce it to zero.

Best way to handle all of this:

Treat it like spoilage in a normal business.

Loss buffer ≈ (Total losses from bad buys + scams + liquidations) ÷ total sales

Whatever % you get, assume that much of your revenue disappears every year and price your business around it.

7. The Misc Stuff No One Tracks (But Should)

These don’t sound like “sneaker costs,” but they’re still costs:

Transportation
- Gas / Uber to outlets
- Driving to UPS/FedEx/USPS daily
Utilities
- Extra storage unit
- Bigger electricity bill if you run a home setup
Food
- Eating out every sourcing trip
- Coffee runs while you ship or go live

Individually, they’re small.

Over a year, they can equal thousands.

You don’t need perfect accounting, but at least:

Put all business spend on one card or bank account
Look at the monthly total
Decide what % of that is real business cost

7. The Misc Stuff No One Tracks (But Should)

These don’t sound like “sneaker costs,” but they’re still costs:

Transportation
- Gas / Uber to outlets
- Driving to UPS/FedEx/USPS daily
Utilities
- Extra storage unit
- Bigger electricity bill if you run a home setup
Food
- Eating out every sourcing trip
- Coffee runs while you ship or go live

Individually, they’re small.

Over a year, they can equal thousands.

You don’t need perfect accounting, but at least:

Put all business spend on one card or bank account
Look at the monthly total
Decide what % of that is real business cost

7. The Misc Stuff No One Tracks (But Should)

These don’t sound like “sneaker costs,” but they’re still costs:

Transportation
- Gas / Uber to outlets
- Driving to UPS/FedEx/USPS daily
Utilities
- Extra storage unit
- Bigger electricity bill if you run a home setup
Food
- Eating out every sourcing trip
- Coffee runs while you ship or go live

Individually, they’re small.

Over a year, they can equal thousands.

You don’t need perfect accounting, but at least:

Put all business spend on one card or bank account
Look at the monthly total
Decide what % of that is real business cost

8. A Simple “True Cost” Formula

To stop lying to yourself, use a full-cost view when you judge your reselling business.

Per pair, include:

Buy cost (after discounts)
Sales tax
Inbound shipping
Platform fees
Average supply cost per shipment
Average return + cancellation + loss + “spoilage” buffer
A rough labor/time cost (even if it’s low)

Then compare that against real net payout, not just the headline price.

If your true margin is:

8–12%+ with fast turnover → solid
4–8% on big volume → strong if cashflow is healthy
20%+ but tiny volume → you’re probably leaving a lot on the table

8. A Simple “True Cost” Formula

To stop lying to yourself, use a full-cost view when you judge your reselling business.

Per pair, include:

Buy cost (after discounts)
Sales tax
Inbound shipping
Platform fees
Average supply cost per shipment
Average return + cancellation + loss + “spoilage” buffer
A rough labor/time cost (even if it’s low)

Then compare that against real net payout, not just the headline price.

If your true margin is:

8–12%+ with fast turnover → solid
4–8% on big volume → strong if cashflow is healthy
20%+ but tiny volume → you’re probably leaving a lot on the table

8. Putting It All Together (Brick Sourcing Flow)

Here’s a simple flow you can copy:

Pull leads from groups
- Use Discord cook/brick groups for initial links.
- Add every new retailer to your spreadsheet.
Deep dive the retailer
- Manually sort sale / clearance / new arrivals.
- Look for similar models, colors, and sizes to what’s already hitting.
Stack discounts like a maniac
- New account, emails, promos, cashback, card rewards.
- Aim to shave 10–25% off sticker, minimum.
Run every candidate through KNET price search
- Check net payout per size and per channel.
- Eliminate anything that doesn’t hit your minimum margin.\
Check volume on StockX
- Look at last 7 / last 30 day sales per size.
- Use the simple “sales ÷ competitors” estimate to decide how deep to go.
List everywhere via KNET
- Cross-list to all available channels.
- Set minimum payout and use undercut lowest ask on auto-pricing.
- Let channels fight to move your pairs.
Review weekly
- Kill slow bricks early (small profit or breakeven).
- Double down on SKUs that are flying.
- Add similar styles to your watchlist when retailers put them on sale.