Impossible Kicks
- Sneaker resale shop Impossible Kicks is selling a 122-pair collection of rare sneakers it recently acquired from an undisclosed seller. The collection, valued at $1.3 million, includes some shoes that rarely hit the market.
- The entire collection will be available online and on display at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando on January 11. The target customers are celebrities, influencers, and athletes, but all sneakerheads will get a chance to purchase the shoes. About one-third of the collection offers sneakers that are more attainable — at about $500-$3,000 per pair.
- Insider spoke with CEO Impossible Kicks CEO John Mocadlo about some of his favorites high-price and limited shoes in the collection. Impossible Kicks operates 17 locations across the US. The company expects to surpass $50 million in sales in 2022.
Courtesy Impossible Kicks
Pairs Available: 1
Cost: $100,000
Size: 9
The “Pigeon” Dunk “changed sneaker history,” according to HighSnobiety. The 2005 release made the cover of the New York Post, introducing many to sneaker culture.
“It was really the sneaker that ignited the resell market, where people were saying, ‘Hey, there’s hype sneakers, limited edition, very fashion and trendy, and we want it,'” Mocadlo said.
Impossible Kicks
Pairs Available: 2
Cost: $100,000 each
Sizes: 9 and 9.5
The Nike SB Dunk Low “Paris” is an incredibly rare sneaker. The last pair that sold on StockX went for $20,000, Right now, sizes are limited, and the cheapest pair on StockX is priced at $81, 200.
“There are pairs on StockX available right now for $250,000. So we figured that the pricing was right,” Mocadlo said. “It’s super rare. It’s going to be a piece that people are going to come in and just want to see, and then the right collector will certainly buy it. It’s something that’s never gonna depreciate in value. It’s almost the equivalent of buying a Monet painting.”
Courtesy Impossible Kicks
Pairs Available: 2
Cost: $20,000 each
Sizes: 11.5 and 13
The “Red October” drop is another signature moment in recent sneaker history.
In 2014, Nike shocked sneaker collectors by tweeting on a Sunday morning that the hotly anticipated shoe was on sale. It quickly sold out for $245 per pair. The last pair sold on StockX went for $15,000.
“It’s just an iconic shoe,” Mocadlo said. “It’s another shoe that kind of changed the trajectory of sneaker reselling. That shoe came out and just ignited the whole market. And that shoe went from $240 to now $20,000.”
Courtesy Impossible Kicks
Pairs Available: 1
Cost: $140,000
Size: 9
Since 2004, Nike designers have worked with patients at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, on small collections of footwear and apparel. The merchandise is auctioned at a gala event, then sold in limited quantities.
In 2021, Nike made 17 pairs of Jordan 1 “What the Doernbecher” sneakers.
Online bidding in February 2021 had to be halted after trolls drove up prices. The shoes subsequently sold for $50,000 online. The sneakers are so rare that there’s no sales history for them on StockX.
“There are no more ever going to be made,” Mocadlo said.
The pair is priced at $140,000, which would set a record for Impossible Kicks on a single purchase. The chain’s highest transaction to date was $112,000 for a pair of Travis Scott Air Jordan 4 “Friends and Family Olive” and a pair of Jordan 11 “OVO Gold.”
Courtesy Impossible Kicks
Pairs for sale: 1
Cost: $40,000
Size: 9
Nike SB has had a lot of collaborative releases over the years, including with streetwear brand Supreme and Jordan brand. The “What the Dunk” Low Pro SB is a combination of 31 separate Nike SB Dunks. According to the Nike SB site, the shoe was intended to be the “Dunk to end all Dunks.”
“What they did was just like a ‘What the Doernbecher,’ they took all the popular Dunk lows that had come out in that handful of years previously, and they made a Dunk shoe of all of the collabs, and it was a very limited release, and it just went crazy,” Mocadlo said.
Courtesy Impossible Kicks
Pairs Available: 1
Cost: $30,000
Size: 9
The Jordan 4 “Manila” was released in December 2020 to mark the opening of a new Nike store in the Philippines. Only 150 pairs of the sneaker were made.
“The caveat of purchasing that shoe was you had to wear it out,” Mocadlo said. “So what was happening was people were putting them on their feet, walking to the counter, paying for them, walking out of the store, and jumping out of their sneakers and putting them back in the box.”
