Freshman Jack Reidenbach was only 13 years old when he began his business Main Line Soles, where he resells high-end shoes that are difficult to purchase because of their popularity.
Initially, Reidenbach started his business in December 2018 when he was in eighth grade to get rid of the shoes that he had grown out of. He began by selling his old shoes on eBay, but soon transitioned to buying pre-owned shoes and reselling them on platforms like eBay and Instagram. Through this process, Reidenbach began to expand his business.
“I’d sell those shoes for a profit and re-invest the money to build up my capital. Once I made enough money, I registered my business as an LLC and applied for an American Express Credit card, which I was approved for. I use this card to buy product for my business in mass quantities,” Reidenbach said.
Main Line Soles is based under the Instagram account main_line_soles and has more than 12,000 followers. Reidenbach purchases high-demand shoes from stores like Adidas, Nike or Foot Locker. He then uploads pictures of the shoes to his Instagram, and interested customers message him to settle the payment.
“I resell sneakers that are demanded in streetwear, so stuff that the regular person can’t get, or, if they could get it, it would be at a higher cost. So I buy a pair of shoes at the mall that I wait in line for, for say $200, and then I’d sell it for $300, and that would be my profit for the shoes,” Reidenbach said.
Reidenbach believes that his ability to network has helped him to be successful.
“Building connections is key. I’ve learned so much and built so many good connections. That’s how I get most of my shoes now — through people I know — whether it’s at Nike or Adidas or Footlocker,” Reidenbach said. “It helps you so much because it differentiates you from the random person walking in.”
By developing these connections, he is able to get exclusive product in bulk that others may not be able to access as well as discounts on shoes that are on sale on their website. These benefits help to significantly increase his profit by allowing him to purchase larger quantities of shoes.
“I built these relationships by making friends with people lower in the ladder at Nike and Adidas, and then they introduced me to someone higher until I reached someone who could benefit my business by providing exclusive shoes in mass quantities and discounted prices,” Reidenbach said.
According to Reidenbach, he sells 20-30 pairs on average of brand new shoes a day. His customers are not typically students, but rather bulk buyers from around the country who then either resell the shoes themselves or collect them. After coming home from school, he boxes up the orders in his garage and ships them out.
Reidenbach made a large profit when one of these customers bought 200 pairs of Yeezy 700s.
“I felt really proud of myself, and it showed that you can make big money in the industry in bulk,” Reidenbach said.
Shoes that he has sold previously include the Adidas Yeezy by Kanye West, Nike Jordans and Off-White by Nike. According to Reidenbach, shoes that are made from collaborations with rappers and athletes are especially popular.
In terms of determining the price for reselling the shoes, Reidenbach uses an online marketplace called StockX.
“StockX is what most people base the pricing off of. It’s pretty much a Kelley Blue Book for shoes,” Reidenbach said.
According to Reidenbach, Main Line Soles has taught him valuable skills, such as a good work ethic, that he finds effective in both business and his life.
“It’s taught me a lot about business, of course, and maturity dealing with older people. It’s also taught me how to manage people and time, dealing with school and the business. I’ve learned a lot from it,” Reidenbach said. “I’ve definitely seen more work ethic in myself, for both school and working with shoes.”
In the future, Reidenbach hopes to get involved with real estate and the buying and sel -ling of businessves. While shoes are his focus at the moment, he plans to phase out of shoes in the next few years and use the skills he has learned to branch out into other areas of business.
“I see a lot of wealthy businessmen who used to do what I do and now have elevated to a larger scale, and they are extremely successful, which inspires me,” Reidenbach said.
