Buying older model shoes on Amazon/Ebay

I’ve bought 3 pairs of Vaporfly 2’s off eBay and had good luck.

I wouldn't trust amazon, they have a huge counterfeit issue. I've gotten fake freaking ghosts!

I've bought at least five pairs of older model shoes (multiple pairs of Peg Turbo, Zoom fly 3, some adidas shoe idk) and had no problems at all! I almost always feel uneasy about ordering them, but have never had complaints in terms of getting what's advertised!

Ditto - except I bought Alpha 1s. Never had a bad experience.

I can’t help you but still have and like my Novablast 2 in my rotation. I only use it once a week for a recovery run (though there isn’t a good reason to not use it for longer or harder runs), so it still looks almost like new and I expect it to last a while longer.

Never had a problem with eBay, I've probably purchased 6 pairs of Nike's in the last 3 years.

I’ve been buying peg 36s for years off eBay and Poshmark and never had an issue

10+ pairs consisting of Alpha Next%s, VF2s, Saucony Endorphin Pros and Adidas Prime X - all new and as advertised. Used to get better deals a few years ago but prices are still better than Amazon and most dealers.

Where are you guys finding older model shoes? I searched for both "Christy Brinkley shoes" and "Cheryl Tiegs shoes" and came up with nothing.

I have gotten some fakes and a used pair of shoes too. But probably 90% good.

Are there any obvious signs that shoes are fake? Are the colors off? Will you know the second you go out for a run in them? Never actually have seen a fake pair of shoes lol.

I pulled the trigger and bought a pair from a shoe store that has hundreds of reviews in the past 30 days with a 4.8 rating.

I’ve bought quite a few old models off eBay. They authenticate them and guarantee that they’re not knock offs. I’ve gotten vaporflys, Hokas and asics a few times without any issues.

I buy discontinued shoes on ebay. Check the pictures - sometimes shoes get mislabeled. Sometimes the size gets incorrectly listed (most common is listing uk size or women's size vs mens). If the seller doesn't show the soles - that means its worn. Its easy enough to clean/keep clean a shoe's upper - but the shoe could still be worn out from a lot of uses - see the sole.

Do not buy from ebay sellers with bad feedback or no sales.

If something seems too good to be true, its probably a scam. Sometimes mom sells the old shoes from her kid who has moved out at clearance prices not knowing what they really are, but that doesn't happen too often - nowhere near as often as scams.

Many sellers are weird sellers/shops that just accumulate stuff and sell it on ebay, like virtual thrift stores. These usually ask lower prices and accepts offers more frequently than infrequent sellers offloading a few items they don't want anymore.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen these models on the ASICS road tested site.

Site

why not use this and buy a pair you know is refundable and only has a few miles on them?

Just chiming in with a bit of caution about buying shoes specifically from Amazon, or other huge warehouse businesses that don’t specialize in shoes. Generally these shoes are stored for YEARS in giant warehouses without climate control. This means that even if you’re getting a legitimate pair of shoes, the foam is likely severely degraded (even if they’ve never been out of the box). This isn’t to say don’t - I know especially for older models this may be the only way to find them - just be somewhat more aware, and listen to your body. You likely won’t get the 3-500 miles advertised for shoes with new midsole foam.

They don't have the shoe I'm looking for. Also, per their website: All Road Tested purchases are final, cannot be returned and ineligible for warranty.

Those prices are kind of lame as well. Why buy a used Gel Nimbus 25 (with no picture or quality description) for $90 when a brand new pair is $110?

I always wanted to find the Nike Colombia or Terra TC’s again.

I remember how great they felt on my feet, early in my running career.
I’ll bet after all the decades and advances in shoes, if I put them on today, they’d feel like they were made of wood.

Had the same experience with really old shoes on ebay. Its ended up not being worth the money when the shoes get past 5 years or so old. Every now and then you get that lucky pair that feels great, may have been stored in an air conditioned space or something, but more often in not old shoes have problems, sometimes that appear in the first run.

Returns and getting money back can be a hassle. I imagine amazon has more protections for the consumer than ebay.

Alphaflys, turbo 2s, and many more off ebay.

Only once did a pair get rejected by their authenticators, which is good I guess, but sad I didn't get my shoes for an amazing deal.