Flight Club Vs Stadium Goods 2023, Which Is Best For Buying And Selling Trainers?

Flight Club vs Stadium Goods the showdown many sneaker collectors have been waiting for! Today we’ll look at which is best to buy sneakers, which is best to sell sneakers, and which is best overall.

We compare the sneakers on sale, how easily you can sell your own footwear, the customer service, the marketplace and more.

Read on to find out who emerges victorious.

Histories of Flight Club and Stadium Goods

Source

Flight Club:

• Flight opened its doors in 2005.

Stadium Goods:

• Stadium Goods started ten years later in 2015.

History of Flight Club

Flight Club has been around much longer and first opened in 2005. Today they have physical locations in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Flight Club is now a cultural hub where novices and enthusiasts meet up to talk about sneakers.

Just like Stadium Goods, Flight Club’s reputation has always relied on customers being able to find rare, collectible, and highly desirable footwear.

History of Stadium Goods

Stadium Goods entered the game late and first opened in 2015. However, they quickly developed a great reputation and started making sales worth millions of dollars daily.

Stadium teamed up with Alibaba’s Tmall in 2016 which made both Chinese and American markets available to the young company. No small part of their secret to success was selling primarily exclusive and more collectible sneakers.

Stadium soon opened in New York. Coupled with their effective shipping system, they can send their products anywhere in the world.

Guaranteeing Authenticity at Flight Club and Stadium Goods

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Flight Club

Process:

• In-person inspection plus the aid of technology.

Stakes:

• The counterfeit shoe market is huge and involves many tens of millions of dollars in knockoff sneakers. Flight Club cannot rely on law enforcement to stop all of the shipping containers and root all the fakes out of warehouses.

Stadium Goods

Process:

• Dedicated staff with decades of experience personally inspect all inventory regularly.

Stakes:

• The same as above, failing at authenticity ruins reputations and loses customers.

Guaranteeing Authenticity at Flight Club

To answer the question, is Flight Club better than Stadium Goods? One of the most important things to look at is how they authenticate trainers.

Flight Club does inspections in person and with the aid of technology. The exact AI tool they use seems like something they do not want to disclose, but they guarantee authenticity.

Flight Club also saves time on the selling end by doing all authenticity inspections before buying sneakers from sellers. This practice especially saves time for online purchases because the authenticity inspection already happened, so the shoes can get packaged and shipped immediately.

Guaranteeing Authenticity at Stadium Goods

Flight Club and Stadium Goods have similar methods for spotting replicas, but their procedures do differ slightly.

Stadium Goods has a reputation for offering not only authentic shoes but also rare and more collectible lines. In collection markets, rarity drives the price up, so Stadium staff inspect all their footwear in a dedicated warehouse. They do inspections regularly to maintain proof of authenticity.

The inspection teams at Stadium Goods are not only well-trained but bring decades of experience to the table to help spot counterfeit footwear. The shoe inspectors understand that they have to use all their knowledge and keep learning because the market relies on trust.

Stadium Goods boasts the best-in-class inspection standards. All sellers must show proof of purchase as well.

Brick and Mortar Locations Versus Online at Flight Club and Stadium Goods

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Flight Club

Physical Locations:

• Miami, Los Angeles, and New York

Online Presence:

• Very large but more balanced with the three physical locations because customers like to use both shopping methods.

Stadium Goods

Physical Locations:

• Chicago and New York

Online Presence:

• Stadium Goods has a very large online presence because they only have two physical locations with zero in-person west coast exposure.

Brick and Mortar Locations Versus Online at Flight Club

The physical locations of stores for Flight Club exist to serve the respective large cities and to be popular sites to attract traveling shoe enthusiasts.

While anyone who does not live in one of the cities could stick to online purchases, there is enough energy in the collectible sneaker market to have retail hubs that attract people from miles around.

Flight Club has been around longer, so they have stores in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. Despite its urban presence, Flight Club has a massive online sales network that can ship worldwide.

Brick and Mortar Locations Versus Online at Stadium Goods

Stadium Goods only has stores in Chicago and New York.

While both companies rely heavily on online sales, Stadium Goods focuses on catering to online sales more than Flight Club because the companies share the New York market. Chicago is the only city where Stadium Goods has a unique presence.

Product Categories of Flight Club and Stadium Goods

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Flight Club:

Selling:

• Easiest sales experience

Buying:

• Widest array of choices with the most competitive prices.

Stadium Goods:

Selling:

• The best market for the most high-end, rare, and collectible streetwear and trainers.

Buying:

• Collectors who prefer the most unique choices will prefer the inventory at Stadium Goods over Flight Club.

Product Categories of Flight Club

Flight Club is a better choice than Stadium Goods if you have new or used trainers with a good resale value that do not qualify as high-end and rare collectible footwear. Whether at a physical location or online the buying and selling process will be hassle-free and feel streamlined.

The liquidity is high, and the prices are hard to beat by comparison to any other new or used footwear retailer.

Product Categories of Stadium Goods

Stadium Goods has plenty of trainers, but they also cater to accessories and hyped streetwear. Their footwear is particularly notable for being the best for collectors who want rare, expensive, and highly collectible items.

Stadium Goods carries every brand for men, women, and kids including authentic and pre-owned Nike, Yeezy, Adidas, BAPE, Jordan, Anti Social Social Club, Supreme, Nike Air Max, and many more.

Technology Support at Flight Club and Stadium Goods

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Flight Club

Mobile App:

• Flight Club seems to have used most of its tech budget on aiding in-person inspections because they can rely on more foot traffic across three locations.

Stadium Goods

Mobile App:

• Stadium Goods has invested heavily in the functionality of its mobile app to make shopping easier for customers.

Technology Support at Flight Club

Flight Club does a more robust amount of in-person transactions than Stadium Goods. As a result, they had to choose between investing more in quality control when authenticating brands or offering more ways to connect, such as an app.

The company felt compelled to invest in authentication technology and delay the development of an app when Stadium Goods already had an app in all the stores.

Flight Club now has an app that seems new and has few downloads and no comments or ratings.

Technology Support at Stadium Goods

Stadium Goods wisely invested early in an app that has been around for several years. The decision to develop an app was necessary because the online presence of Stadium Goods has exploded. Foot traffic at their stores has lagged compared to what Flight Club enjoys.

Stadium Goods mobile app users can shop, place orders, and get customer and tech support. Stadium Goods has a significantly more dominant app presence than Flight Club with 500k+ downloads.

Shipping and Returns at Flight Club and Stadium Goods

Flight Club

Shipping:

• Flight Club has different shipping options that are all relatively fast. All customers will get an email with tracking information after placing an order.

Returns:

• All sales are final. Due to the nature of the consignment process. The customer buys the shoes, and the seller gets paid immediately.

Stadium Goods

Shipping:

• UPS handles domestic orders, and DHL handles international orders. All customers get tracking details via email after the order ships.

Returns:

• No cancellations after placing an order, but there is a simple process for returns that must adhere to the return policy.

Shipping and Returns at Flight Club

The first thing to understand about why Flight Club does not take returns is that all sales happen on a consignment basis. Consignment means that Flight Club owes the price the customer pays to the seller minus the fees.

Flight Club pays sellers immediately, so they cannot take returns because they cannot ask sellers to relinquish payment. Everybody purchasing from Flight Club should understand this aspect of consignment that makes all sales final.

Shipping at Flight Club works well because two great couriers, UPS and DHL, handle domestic and international deliveries. Customers should be able to regularly expect deliveries within 1-10 business days for domestic and international.

If available, you can choose between Next-Day (the express option in “Fastest to You”) or the “Fastest to You” option which should arrive within 3-5 business days.

The most basic shipping option is “Lowest Price” which takes 7-10 business days. Be aware that these orders sometimes go to Flight Club first for verification before continuing for final delivery.

Shipping and Returns at Stadium Goods

Shipping at Stadium Goods is very simple. UPS handles domestic orders and DHL handles international shipping. The company lets you know that they will need 1-3 business days to send an order to the courier. They may need more time during promotions and holidays.

You will get a tracking number in your inbox once your order gets sent. The advantage of knowing either UPS or DHL will have your package is that you can check their shipping times.

UPS lets you calculate a delivery time. There is no way to know which warehouse Stadium Goods will ship from, so you can get ballpark figures by using their New York and Chicago addresses. UPS is so fast that you will usually find that the calculator says one day.

For DHL, you must match their options to how Stadium Goods sent your order.

Stadium Goods is not running the same style of consignment business as Flight Club, so returns are an option if you feel dissatisfied or received a different product than you ordered.

Consignment is an option at Stadium Goods, and returns may not be possible in that case. Stadium Goods does not differentiate in their return policy about consignment versus other sales. However, they pay the seller immediately, so you probably cannot return consignments.

Whether or not your order agrees with the return policy will vary from person to person. If you have a qualifying return, allow 10-14 days for Stadium Goods to re-authenticate the items in the same manner as they did before selling to you.

Ordering an authentic pair of sneakers and successfully returning a pair of counterfeit sneakers for a refund would be a very profitable scam. Plus, the con artist would get to keep the authentic shoes, and Stadium Goods would be stuck with a pair of fakes.

This type of scenario causes authenticating at Stadium Goods to be more rigorous than at Flight Club.

How to Track Shipments with Flight Club and Stadium Goods

Flight Club

Tracking Tool:

• You will find a familiar tracking tool, requiring a tracking number, if you have ever tracked using a major courier before.

Stadium Goods

Tracking Tool:

• The tracking tool at Stadium Goods is almost an identical match to the one at Flight Club and the tools major couriers offer.

How to Track Shipments with Flight Club

The first thing you will need is your order number which Flight Club will send after they send your package with a courier. Each time you want to track your package you will have to input the order number and your email address.

Once you hit the “Find Order” button, the tool will work much like other tracking tools you may have used with major couriers.

How to Track Shipments with Stadium Goods

Stadium Goods and Flight Club both require an order number and your email address to use the tracking tools. Stadium Goods will also send you the order number after turning your package over to either UPS or DHL, depending on whether your order is domestic or international.

Once you hit the “Continue” button, everything should look similar to the tracking tools offered on most courier websites.

Consignment Selling at Flight Club Vs. Stadium Goods

Flight Club

Condition:

• You can sell new or lightly worn trainers in brand-new condition.

Process:

• Create an account, use the listing tool, and ship or drop off your sneakers.

Commission:

• Lower Commission than Stadium Goods because of low rates and a fixed seller fee.

Stadium Goods

Condition:

• Stadium Goods only accepts collectible sneakers that are new, unused, and in pristine condition.

Process:

• Create an account, list your sneakers, and wait for approval. If approved, deliver by shipping or drop off at a store.

Commission:

• A higher commission than Flight Club, but Stadium Goods sells only rare and collectible shoes at higher prices.

Consignment Selling at Flight Club

Flight Club and Stadium Goods have similar processes for setting up consignment selling. You create an account and give information about the shoes you want to sell and go through an approval process.

The condition of the shoes you can sell must be new and unworn, or so lightly worn that nobody can tell the difference. All tags must be present just like at original retail, or shoes will not be eligible for resale.

Flight Club and Stadium Goods do not have the same commission structure. Flight Club takes a pretty low rate of 9.5% plus 2.9% cash-out and $5 seller fees. With this structure, shoes must sell for more than $120 for Flight Club to take away at least $20 in fees.

Consignment Selling at Stadium Goods

Consignment selling at Stadium Goods works similarly to Flight Club. The primary difference is the commission and a slight variation in shoe quality that will pass the approval process.

Stadium Goods only accepts new shoes that are in perfect condition. In addition, they prefer to sell highly collectible, rare, and expensive shoes. For this reason, your new shoes that do not fit the collectibility standards at Stadium Goods might sell better elsewhere.

The submission process is similar at both stores. After you create an account and submit details, you wait for approval if your shoes are new, authentic, and collectible enough to pass inspection.

The primary difference between the two consignment processes is the commission. Stadium Goods takes a 20% commission which will probably always work out to be higher than the 12.4% plus $5 at Flight Club

Stadium Goods Vs Flight Club, Which Is Better? Closing Thoughts

I have to give a slight edge in this comparison to Stadium Goods just because they cater to collectors more and only sell trainers in perfect condition.

However, a person who has new shoes that will sell but do not meet the rarity standards at Stadium Goods can still sell their shoes with low fees at Flight Club.

A savvy collector of trainers should sell the best items at Stadium Goods for premium prices and sell lesser items at Flight Club. Both methods will yield profits.