The eBay Wear ‘Em Out Store was a retail sneaker pop-up store that shook up the current state of the sneaker industry by giving shoppers below market prices if they committed to actually wearing pairs of coveted, limited-edition sneakers instead of keeping them as mint condition investment pieces. As the popularity of sneaker culture has boomed, the industry has been bombarded by greedy resellers and bots buying out retailers seconds after new designs drop, only to flip them for a profit. This leaves many sneakerheads unable to afford the pairs they actually want to wear on their feet. To reward the core sneaker community, eBay— the oldest and largest marketplace for both new AND pre-worn sneakers— built a first of it’s kind retail experience that gave guests an important choice: Either pay full resale price and keep the sneakers in “deadstock” condition, or lace ‘em up on the spot and wear ‘em out of the store for a discount. We worked with Rapper/Sneakerhead/Tastemaker Offset to curate the store with hundreds of the most popular pairs from Nike, Jordan, Yeezy and New Balance. To build tension and ensure the sneakers couldn’t be resold as new, shoppers who chose the “wear ‘em out price” had to walk a custom-built path of grass, gravel, and concrete on their way out the door. Each path experience was filmed, edited, and sent to shoppers on the spot to post on social media as the ultimate brag for their networks to see. The store was packed, with crowds around the block for three full days. People even camped out overnight to be first in line. The media and social response was massive, with an overwhelming amount of social comments begging the Wear ‘Em Out Store to come to different cities all over the world. This activation further cemented eBay as the platform that truly understands sneakerheads and sneakerhead culture.