Trainer collection taking over: wife jokes 'It's me or the trainers!'
Jason Oxlee, a 44-year-old site manager from New Farnley, is testing the patience of his family, after his 150-strong vintage trainer collection has left their four-bedroom house bursting at the seams.
He told the Sun he spends an impressive £100 a month on his collection, but insists that it's not a waste of money, and will actually constitute an investment - which he plans to hand down to his son (assuming he ends up a size nine).
His wife, Faye (36) and three children (Ellis (9), Maisie (7) and Alyssia (3)) have been falling over trainers stacked all over the house.
Jason has suggested the two girls move into a shared bedroom in order to make room for his trainers, but his wife joked to the Yorkshire Post that if he carried on at this rate there would be plenty of room for the trainers, because she'd move out.
Is it an investment?
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Jason hasn't just been picking up any old trainers. He's always on the look out for limited editions and new releases, and estimates the resale value of his collection is around £15,000. He does wear them, but tries to keep them clean, and always washes them with sugar soap after wearing.
Some pairs of trainers have proven surprisingly good investments over the years. There are two types of investors. The first will snap up desirable limited editions in popular sizes, wait a few days or weeks until they have sold out, and sell them on eBay. 'Flipping' shoes can make the dedicated investor thousands of pounds a year. If you know enough about trainers, and what constitutes a desirable pair, then it's not terribly difficult to make at least a small profit with this approach.
The second type will buy especially desirable iconic brands, and time their sale for when they are particularly fashionable. This is something that only the specialists should consider.
Unfortunately for Jason, there are three things that ring alarm bells in his story. The first is that he is collecting Adidas, when it's Nike with the most investment potential.
The second is that he is wearing his trainers - which makes them used items and reduces the resale value dramatically. Finally, the third problem is that he plans to hang onto them for life, and give them to his son to sell. Unfortunately, by then, there's every chance the fabric would have deteriorated to the point that they are worthless.
But who knows? Maybe Jason has actually snapped up a couple of perfect, pristine Yeezy 750 Boost trainers (the most valuable collaboration between Kanye West and Adidas so far), which at the moment are worth more than $1,000. If he sold those on, his collection wouldn't seem like such a daft idea after all.
