Meet the King of Converse

This Spring, when our Church hosted it’s annual Pastor’s Conference, I met the King of Converse, Jeff Sinner.  Except I had no idea it was him!

My dad tends to tell people in general conversation that I sell on eBay and that I have over 900 items in my store (I think he’s proud of that) so I always get people asking me about eBay.

I was in line to get my dinner before the service started that night, and Jeff struck up a conversation with me about eBay. We talked for awhile, and when I asked him what he sells on eBay, he replied “Oh, just tennis shoes.  I buy them and resell them on eBay.”  He gave me his business card with his user ID, and I looked at his completed listings a few days later.”Just tennis shoes?”  I thought to myself. This guy is the King of buying and reselling Converse and Vintage Converse shoes on eBay and he makes a great profit too.

Converse is Jeff’s niche on eBay, they’ve been a favorite of his since he was a teenager. He knows the history of Converse,  can tell you the year they were made and he even knows how to repair them for resale if he comes across a pair that has seen better days.

Jeff’s personal collection of Converse shoes is over 300 pairs (and I thought that I had a lot of shoes in my closet!)  His entire family can be seen wearing Converse on any given day.

In my conversation with Jeff, I learned that he’s a Pastor in Utah, and he uses his hobby of selling Converse on eBay as a way to supplement his income.  Jeff’s approach to selling is a little different than mine.  While I’m sold on having an eBay store and keeping it full, Jeff told me that he auctions his Converse off and usually just lists 1 pair of shoes a day on eBay.

Talk about working smarter, not harder. While most of the items in my store are under $99, Jeff’s shoes sell on auction for well above $100 a pair, some sell at much higher prices than that.

Jeff’s primary buying audience is customers who live over seas and are willing to pay top dollar for made in the USA Converse shoes.

Some of the rarest and most desirable pairs he’s sold are a Camouflaged pair from the 1980’s and a pair of the “Lucky Boy” model from the 1950’s.

Jeff has found the most valuable sizes for resale are sizes 8–11 and  he says the condition doesn’t always matter because many people don’t care how beat up they are.  It’s not unusual to sell a pair that looks ready for the garbage for over $100.

Stop by and look at Jeff’s auctions on eBay at vintage_conver$e