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If you love sneakers, why not start building a sneaker collection? There are some intensely collectible sneakers out there, which means that starting a sneaker collection can lead to fun and potential profit!

Yet what are the sneaker collection essentials? If you’ve never had a collection before, it’s easy to be at a loss about what to do. That’s why we’ve put together this simple guide to starting your sneaker collection, where we’ll cover everything from sourcing sneakers to displaying them and more.

Are you ready to learn more and start building your collection? Then read on and prepare to be the envy of sneakerheads everywhere.

1. Know Your Shoe Size

Your feet stop growing when you’re around 20 or 21 for most people. If your feet are growing, you may want to hold off on starting a shoe collection until your feet are done growing. If you outgrow your favorite pairs of sneakers, your collection will have far less actual utility.

However, it’s not only your feet growing that you need to worry about. You should also know your shoe size across multiple different manufacturers. If you’re buying rare kicks from another collector, you might not be able to return them if you get this wrong.

2. Budget Properly

As fun as it is to collect sneakers, it’s not an essential need. You should never miss rent, utility bills, groceries, or other essential expenses to buy a fresh pair of sneakers.

Make sure that you have a budget set up that you can use to track monthly income and outgoings. This way, you can see how much spare cash you’ll have leftover that you can spend on your hobbies like collecting sneakers. 

Sneaker collecting can be expensive, so it’s a hobby that you should pursue when you’ve got a full-time job.

3. Consider Your Personal Style

When you start collecting sneakers, you’ll want to concentrate on one particular kind of sneaker. Maybe you love the look of low-top Air Force 1s and would like to start a collection of low-top sneakers. Maybe you adore hi-tops, and want to build up a world-class collection of these instead.

Silhouette is a great thing to consider but it’s not the only way to categorize your collection. If you’re a die-hard Adidas fan, for instance, you could try to collect multiple different Adidas sneakers.

You should also start out simple with a pair of sneakers that will go with your typical fashion sense. For instance, if you’re looking for a great pair of clean-looking sneakers to start your collection, you could consider Adidas Sambas, which go with pretty much everything.

4. Do Your Research

Before you buy a pair of sneakers, make sure that you do your research. Take a look at the average selling price of these sneakers and take collectibility into account. This is especially important if you’re buying preowned sneakers, as you could easily get ripped off by someone trying to sell them for too high a price.

5. Grab Some Future Collectibles for Your Sneaker Collection

If you want to treat your sneaker collection as a way to make money, as well as a hobby, you should start investing in sneakers that could rise in value in the future. Sneakers with a limited run are a good place to start for these, especially if they were designed by a celebrity or come with an endorsement.

For instance, Nike Yeezys are now worth thousands of dollars. This is because Kanye West doesn’t work with Nike anymore, so there won’t be anymore Nike Yeezys for a long while, which makes these original pairs a serious collectible.

If you think that you’ve got a collectible on your hands, don’t wear these sneakers. Keep them in mint condition. This can give their future value a massive boost.

6. Storing and Caring for Your Sneakers

A collection requires a little TLC if it’s going to look its best and keep its value. A sneaker collection display is a good way to store your sneakers, but you might not have enough room to display all of your sneakers, especially once you’ve been collecting them for a while.

You may want to keep hold of your sneaker’s original boxes, especially if you’ve got a collectible pair. However, plastic boxes are a more hardwearing way to store your kicks. You should also make sure that you store your sneakers in a cool, dry environment, which will inhibit mold growth.

You should also never store your sneakers when they’re dirty. Take the time to clean them before you store them away, or the dirt and residue will be much harder to clean off later. 

As for inserts, these are a godsend. Some plastic inserts will stop the material from shrinking over time, which will help keep your sneakers in great condition.

7. Join Sneaker Collecting Communities

Like every other hobby, there are dedicated online communities that love sneaker collecting. Joining these groups is a fantastic idea for the novice sneaker collector. 

The members will likely list some of their shoes for sale from time to time, which will help you get those rare kicks that your collection is missing. These communities will also be able to offer you some advice about which sneakers you should be buying next.

This kind of feedback and help is invaluable when you’re just getting started.

Ready to Start Your Sneaker Collection?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at how to start your sneaker collection. While you might only own one pair of kicks right now, the world and its sneakers are your oyster. Even the biggest collections started with one pair.

When you’re ready to start buying some great kicks, take a look around our site and find the shoes that you’ve been dreaming of. For more great articles check out our blog. If you’ve got any questions for us, contact us today!

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