The same sneaker can cost twice as much depending on the store: what 725 retailers show
2026-10-20 · We compared live prices for 329,042 in-stock products across 725 US stores. The cheapest pair is often at a small boutique most shoppers never check.
Last updated July 26, 2026
US stores compared
in-stock products
of products sold by 2+ stores are cheapest at a store outside the top 50
median gap between the cheapest and priciest store (products at 3+ stores)
The same pair, very different prices
Most shoppers check two or three big stores and assume the prices are about the same. They are not. These are the lowest and highest prices we saw for the same style code, in stock, across US stores on October 20, 2026:
| Sneaker | Stores | Lowest | Highest | Retail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nike Air Force 1 '07 'Triple White' CW2288 111 | 88 | $90 | $200 | $115 |
| Nike Dunk Low 'Black White' DD1391 100 | 48 | $61.95 | $165 | $100 |
| adidas Samba OG 'White Black Gum' B75806 | 43 | $79.95 | $189 | $100 |
| New Balance 990v6 Made in USA 'Castlerock' M990GL6 | 57 | $122.63 | $220 | $200 |
| Air Jordan 1 Retro Low OG 'Banned' 2026 IW6276 001 | 46 | $76.95 | $175 | $145 |
For reference, here is the Dunk Low 'Black White' at one of the big chains: Foot Locker (affiliate link). Compare it with every other store on the SoleScout product page.
The lowest and highest prices are not always for the same size. Below-retail stock is usually down to a few sizes, which is why SoleScout breaks every product down size by size.
The cheapest pair is often at a store you've never heard of
We ranked all 725 stores by how many in-stock products they carry and called the 50 biggest the "major" stores. Among the 85,725 products sold by at least two stores, the cheapest one is a store outside that top 50 in 30.9% of cases.
For 21.5% of all in-stock products, no major store has it at all. It is only available at smaller boutiques, skate shops and regional chains. These are the stores that marketplace feeds and shopping ads tend to miss, because they never set up a product feed.
How much you save by checking every store
For products sold by three or more stores, the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive store is $40 at the median and $69 on average. 71.6% of those products have a gap of 20% or more. Buying from the cheapest store instead of a typical (median-priced) one saves $32.57 per pair on average.
How to find the cheapest pair yourself
1. Search by style code (for example DD1391-100), printed on the box and the tongue label. Product names vary from store to store; the code does not.
2. Compare by size. The cheapest store for a 9 is often not the cheapest for an 11.
3. Compare the delivered price. A $10 saving disappears once a $12 shipping fee is added.
SoleScout does all three in one search: try it on any sneaker, or browse what is below retail right now.
Methodology
Snapshot of SoleScout's live index on October 20, 2026. Included: listings from US stores, with at least one size in stock. Products are matched across stores by the manufacturer style code. Prices are the store's listed price before shipping and tax. "Major stores" are the 50 stores with the most in-stock products. The price gap uses each store's lowest listed price for that product, which can be for different sizes.
Questions or corrections: support@solescout.ai. You're welcome to cite these numbers with a link to this page.