I’ve never been much of a sneakerhead or given much thought to my shoes at all for most of my life. Yet, a few years ago, I started taking a bit more of an interest in my footwear when I started running and, later, found myself taking a shine to what Allbirds offered in terms of everyday shoes. In particular, I loved the idea of their water-resistant Mizzles being a good travel shoe after getting caught in the rain on more than one trip. While I have enjoyed the two sets of Allbirds I have, one thing that’s stopped me from picking up additional pairs that I’ve been eying has been the price. However, the company has now introduced a new option that could help alleviate that painpoint, while also reducing waste: the Allbird ReRun marketplace.
On the ReRun site, you’ll find a number of pre-owned shoes to pick from. Currently, I suspect most of these shoes have been returns, but the company is also now accepting trade-ins at select retail locations. Moreover, those who trade in eligible pairs of their sneakers (AKA ones that are in good enough condition to resell) can earn a $20 credit. Sadly, though, this will only be an option if you happen to be in L.A., New York, or the Chicagoland area as those are the only three participating Allbirds locations at this time.
Turning to the buyer side, customers can browse ReRun options as well as filter by style, material, color, size, and more. For each shoe listed, there are two condition options: Excellent or Very Good. According to the site, the former will only have faint tread wear on outsoles, while the latter might have moderate dust, moderate tread wear, moderate discoloration, minor debris, and faint creasing. From what I’ve seen, the Very Good condition shoes go for $10 less than their Excellent counterparts.
Speaking of pricing, looking around the shop, the average discount seems to be about $30 to $45. For example, the pair of Medjool Runner-up Mizzles (which I have) could be purchased in Excellent condition for $99 or Very Good condition for $89 — compared to the retail price of $135. Something to note, however, is that Allbirds’ free shipping now starts at $100, so you’ll likely need to add $6 in shipping costs to your purchase price unless you’re buying a couple of ReRun pairs at a time.
One thing that’s kind of cool about the ReRun marketplace is that you may encounter limited edition colors that you can no longer purchase firsthand. Take, for instance, these “Sunset Sunset” Wool Runners that I think look fly as hell (is that a thing people say?). Of course, finding the shoe you want in the size you want with the condition you want might prove to be a bit difficult given the finite supply.
Personally, I think the concept of the ReRun marketplace is a great one. In fact, if I were to buy another pair of Allbirds, it’s probably where I’d start. Yet, one downside is that, even with the discount, they’re still pretty pricey. That said, based purely on description, I think I’d be much more inclined to pay the extra $10 for Excellent condition shoes instead of the Very Good ones. All in all, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the ReRun site and perhaps picking up a “new” pair of kicks sometime in the future.