The fad of buying the hottest sneakers has paid off big for one young teen entrepreneur in New York City. Chase Reed, a 10th-grader at Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, had the bright idea of capitalizing on the high-end sneaker trend and has opened the world’s first sneaker pawnshop. The young teen came up with the idea when he asked his father to borrow $50 for a new pair of sneakers. Chases’ dad, Troy Reed, gave him the money on the condition he would hold the sneakers until Chase paid off the debt.
Seeing a business model in this idea, Chase raised $30,000 in seed money by using his own collection of mint condition sneakers to launch Sneaker Pawn. The store loans money out on high-end sneakers and “dead-stock” sneakers. Typically, a borrower will get a loan for about $100 and must pay a $20 storage fee. Another person who sees the sneakers at the shop can make an offer on the sneakers and if the original owner agrees, the sneakers can then be sold. Sneaker Pawn keeps 20 percent of the sale and the original owner gets percent.
Considering a pair of Nike Air Yeezys sell online for $1,700-$15,000, Sneaker Pawn has the potential to make a nice profit. The shop is located in Harlem at Lenox Avenue and West 120th Street.
