Resale vs stocks: did sneakers, consoles and Pokémon beat the S&P 500?
If you had bought each item at its launch price and sold it today, would you have done better than putting the same money into the S&P 500 or gold? Here is the answer for 10 popular items, from real sale prices after selling fees.
For information only: past prices, not investment advice or a recommendation. Past results do not predict future results. See the Terms of Use.
Key fact: As of November 2, 2026, 4 of 10 popular resale items tracked by SoldSignal beat the S&P 500 from their launch day, measured as launch price against what a seller keeps today after fees. Best: Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low OG 'Mocha', +1296.9% vs +183.9% for the S&P 500 since 2019-07-19. Source: https://www.aiplannermail.com/resale-vs-stocks/
Launch price vs today, item by item
Bars compare today's value of the same launch money: green is the item sold today after fees, grey is the S&P 500. "Pts" are percentage points.
| Item | Launched | Sold today, after fees | Item | S&P 500 | Gold | Item vs S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low OG 'Mocha' today: median of 13 sales, $2,072 |
2019-07-19 $130 · 7.3 yrs |
$1,816 best payout: GOAT |
+1296.9% | +183.9% $369 |
+170.4% $352 |
Beat by 1113.0 pts |
| Pokemon Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box today: median of 20 sales, $114 |
2025-01-17 $49.99 · 1.8 yrs |
$104 best payout: Mercari |
+107.0% | +29.7% $64.81 |
+45.9% $72.93 |
Beat by 77.3 pts |
| Air Jordan 11 Retro 'Gamma Blue' (2025) today: median of 13 sales, $356 |
2025-12-13 $230 · 0.9 yrs |
$308 best payout: GOAT |
+33.9% | +12.8% $260 |
-8.1% $211 |
Beat by 21.1 pts |
| Air Jordan 5 Retro 'Wolf Grey' (2026) today: median of 13 sales, $317 |
2026-02-28 $220 · 0.7 yrs |
$274 best payout: GOAT |
+24.4% | +11.6% $245 |
-25.8% $163 |
Beat by 12.8 pts |
| Air Jordan 4 Retro 'White Cement' (2025) today: median of 13 sales, $276 |
2025-05-24 $215 · 1.4 yrs |
$238 best payout: GOAT |
+10.5% | +30.7% $281 |
+19.4% $257 |
Trailed by 20.2 pts |
| Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Bred Reimagined' today: median of 13 sales, $251 |
2024-02-17 $215 · 2.7 yrs |
$216 best payout: GOAT |
+0.3% | +58.0% $340 |
+94.0% $417 |
Trailed by 57.7 pts |
| Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Chicago Lost & Found' today: median of 13 sales, $286 |
2022-11-19 $180 · 4.0 yrs |
$246 best payout: GOAT |
+36.9% | +102.8% $365 |
+124.6% $404 |
Trailed by 65.9 pts |
| adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 'Bone' today: median of 13 sales, $195 |
2022-03-21 $220 · 4.6 yrs |
$169 best payout: StockX |
-23.2% | +81.6% $400 |
+101.3% $443 |
Trailed by 104.8 pts |
| Nintendo Switch OLED (console) today: median of 18 sales, $151 |
2021-10-08 $350 · 5.1 yrs |
$136 best payout: Mercari |
-61.1% | +85.5% $649 |
+121.4% $775 |
Trailed by 146.6 pts |
| Nintendo Switch Lite (console) today: median of 35 sales, $100 |
2019-09-20 $200 · 7.1 yrs |
$90 best payout: Mercari |
-55.0% | +181.5% $563 |
+154.4% $509 |
Trailed by 236.5 pts |
What the numbers say
- Beating the index is rare. 4 of 10 items beat the S&P 500. Limited releases are often hard to buy at retail, so the launch price is the best case.
- Consoles are consumer goods, not assets. Every console here is worth less than its launch price, while the same money in the S&P 500 grew.
- Fees matter. We use what a seller keeps after the best tracked platform's fees, not the headline price, so these returns are lower than "resale premium" figures you see elsewhere.
Method
- Launch price and date: sneakers from the GOAT product listing; consoles and Pokémon from launch announcements (source links in the JSON).
- Today's value: what a seller keeps on the best tracked platform after its 2026 fees, from this week's sales (methodology). Only items with real sales and enough data points, held at least six months.
- Benchmarks: SPY (S&P 500, dividends reinvested) and GLD (gold), daily closes from Yahoo Finance, from the first trading day on or after launch to 2026-11-02.
- Not included: sales tax, shipping, storage, the chance of not getting the item at retail, and capital gains tax on either side.
Questions
Did sneakers and collectibles beat the stock market?
4 of the 10 items we can measure beat the S&P 500 from their launch day to November 2, 2026. The best was the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low OG 'Mocha': bought at $130 and sold today for about $1,816 after fees (+1296.9%), against +183.9% for the S&P 500 over the same time. Most items did worse than the index.
How is the comparison calculated?
We take each item's official launch price and launch date, and what a seller keeps today after the best tracked platform's fees (from this week's real sales). The S&P 500 and gold lines show what the same launch price would be worth today if it had gone into SPY (dividends reinvested) or GLD on the launch day. Taxes, shipping and the cost of storing an item are not included.
Is this investment advice?
No. This page compares past prices for information only. Past results do not predict future results, most limited items do not resell above retail, and the items here are survivors chosen because they are popular. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any item, stock or fund. See the Terms of Use.
Why do consoles lose so much?
Consoles are made in millions, get cheaper over time and wear out, so their resale price falls like a used car's. Hype sneakers and sealed trading cards are made in limited numbers, so some of them hold or gain value. Even so, a limited release is no guarantee: compare the sneakers in the table.
Why are watches not on this list?
Our watch prices are dealer asking prices, not finished sales, and official list prices for watches change every year. We only compare items with a verified launch price and real sale prices.
Use this data
Free under CC BY 4.0: /api/v1/resale-vs-stocks.json. Please cite as: SoldSignal (https://www.aiplannermail.com/resale-vs-stocks/), CC BY 4.0. Updated every week with new prices.