The price of Trump’s sneakers is already rising to $45,000. Can they maintain their value?
Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lost a recent court case, potentially leaving him with a loss of $355 million. But his newly announced line of Trump-branded sneakers has proven to be a financial hit, at least in the short term.
Now the question remains whether this shoe will have long-term success in the collectibles market.
The $399 “Never Surrender High Tops,” available in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, have already sold out, according to retail site GetTrumpSneakers.com, which says it is not affiliated with any political campaign. President Trump unveiled the expensive pair in gold coloring, depicted with a ‘T’ badge and an American flag collar, at the Sneaker Con show in Philadelphia on Saturday.
“This is something I’ve been talking about for 12, 13 years. And I think it will be a huge success,” Trump told the gathering.
reseller on eBay EBAY;
A pair is already for sale for prices ranging from about $1,500 to $45,000. Nonetheless, sneaker and political memorabilia experts remain divided over whether the shoe will retain its value.
Sneaker collectors, also known as sneakerheads, are known to pay top dollar for custom shoes. Pairs with an initial retail price of $100 to $300 can actually skyrocket on the resale market right away, and some can continue to rise for years.
Trump’s $399 ‘Never Surrender High Tops’ are already sold out.
getty images
For example, renowned auction house Sotheby’s points out a number of Nike NKEs.
Air Jordan sneakers sell for between $15,000 and $32,000. The Michael Jordan brand line was launched in the mid-1980s.
Experts say Trump’s shoes will benefit from two key factors. The first is Trump’s brand name and his loyal supporters.
“His fan base is huge. Whatever he drops will sell.” said Justin Roper, a sneakerhead who hosts his own conventions across the country, including in Cleveland, Delaware and Wilmington, and Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The second element is a limited quantity of 1,000 pairs. Combine the two and there’s plenty of collectible potential.
The originality of the item goes without saying. “He was the first president to launch a shoe,” said Kenny Berbick, an avid sneakerhead and one of the owners of EBKICKS, which makes shoe cleaning solutions.
At the same time, in any collectibles market, what’s hot one day can quickly lose its luster. Trump remains a controversial and divisive figure. It seems like everyone loves Michael Jordan, but Trump clearly has more haters than he does.
Frank Luntz, a veteran political pollster and communications consultant who has a collection of more than 250 sneakers, questioned whether President Trump would end up producing so many shoes that they would have little or no value.
“Starting now, it will be selling for less than $100 a year,” he told MarketWatch in an email.
Currently, Trump is already offering two Trump-branded sneakers (one white, one red) for $199 each. Both are available for pre-order on the GetTrumpSneakers site.
Longtime political memorabilia collector Tom Pilling said it could take time, even decades, to discover the value of Trump sneakers. Peeling, who edits the magazine for the organization American Political Items Collectors, said only a few presidents – Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy – have seen the enduring value of collections featuring them.
Given this reality, Pilling added that if he had to choose between $400 Trump sneakers and a $500 Lincoln campaign badge, he would choose Honest Abe memorabilia.
“I’m not sure if (Trump shoes) will hold up over time,” he said.
Officials with Trump’s 2024 campaign did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment.
