eBay opens a sneaker store in Los Angeles

Hot on the heels of Sneaker Con in Anaheim this weekend, eBay will open Wear ‘Em Out, a brick-and-mortar sneaker shop on Fairfax Avenue Memorial Day weekend. The shop will feature exclusive stock of both new season styles as well as collectibles such as the Jordan 1 Retro High OG Patent Bred and the Yeezy Boost 700 Wave Runner.

However, instead of encouraging sneakerheads to keep prized footwear “on ice,” eBay execs are hoping that shoppers are incentivized to wear their purchases—right out the door.

“Most people can identify with that feeling of getting a new pair of shoes that you love so much, you just have to wear them out of the store,” GM of Sneakers at eBay Garry Thaniel said in a statement. “The Wear ‘Em Out store celebrates a love of sneakers, while acknowledging that sneakerheads are often balancing what they wear with what they keep in the box.”

eBay’s Wear ‘Em Out Store, open on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. [Image: eBay]

To that end, shoppers who choose to wear their new sneakers right away will receive an additional discount on their purchases.

A recent survey commissioned by the resale platform found that most self-identified sneakerheads wear “less than half” of their sneaker collections in real life—preferring, instead, to store items in pristine condition.

On the other side of the sneaker community, there are plenty of collectors who can’t wait to put their most coveted fashion statements to use.

“For sneaker collectors like me who lay awake at night trying to decide if you’re going to wear your new kicks, eBay’s Wear ‘Em Out store makes light of something that haunts the entire sneaker community and gives people a new way to access the shoes they want for the summer,” rapper Offset said in a statement.

Source: Fast Company