I never thought i would tell my kids these words "them jordans cost too much"

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Sep 20, 2003
Wow....It's been a long time since my days here at Niketalk. I'm doing this post to share my thoughts on the prices of these kicks which are insane. ok ok first off I know that the value of a shoe is based on how much one is willing to pay for the sneakers. I also understand that (my own opinion) this entire sneaker culture has taken a turn for the worse. it's not like it used to be like back in my hay day.
I remember back in the 80's and begging my mom for the air jordan 1 which she bought at a cool 65.00 bucks over at sears. my mom who's worked her entire life in a factory sewing, really didn't have that much money, but she raised us well. now forward to the air jordan 2 and this shoe is a wopping 100 bucks like what the heck. so I begged her again this time she said no. through a trade I ended up getting them because I would die if I didn't get them. now fast forward to my adult life and now my daughter is 12 yrs old and because of me a jordan fanatic. being that I still have some connects I tend to get jordans, at times, a lil cheaper and earlier for my kid. sometimes how ever its impossible to find a jordan or a foam etc becvause it was limited etc.
I go to stores like flight club here in nyc and I look on ebay and these prices are simply incredible, the killer is that people still buy these sneakers no matter what. I went to flight club and bought my daughter the black toe 1's (i told her the story behind the shoe and the nike air on the tongue and blah blah she got hooked. i was able to get her size for 180.00. as I walked around the store I see retro 88's for 500 bucks it doesn't even say NIKE on the bottom. I look at the quality of these retros and it's sad that these kids continue to buy these badly made and over priced retros. I don't get my kid every single release but she does get kicks if it's not me, it's her mother who gets them. and i mean all types of kicks not just j's.. the last shoe she wanted was the grapes. when I saw the price I told her "them jordans cost too much" lol :lol: I had to trade some vintage polo gear just so that she could get them. maybe it's just that Im getting older and no longer collect kicks and now I'm seeing what a waste of money it is. i have the entire og jordan collection which im fine with, but instead of the sneaker industry getting better quality wise its horrible. i just don't see the point of paying so much money for retroes. then again at one point i did it. thanks for hearing me out! lol
 
I agree that shoe prices are too high theres no doubt about that. 

What I dont understand about your situation though is that you are saying that the prices are too high yet you are buying them for your kid(from Flight Club too) who will outgrow them. I mean thats dope that shes got retroes I had retros growing up as well but she wont be able to rock them for a long time.

Its one thing though when youre an adult and you drop 160 dollars on some shoes because you can wear them as long they last really. You arent going to outgrow them in a year. 

As far as a waste of money thats really just depends on the person. If buying shoes is a waste of money to you then just dont do it, its pretty simple. Everything is a waste of money to somebody. 

I feel you on the prices both at retail and from the resellers. If you think they are too high then dont buy though, vote with your dollar.
 
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The way athletic shoe prices have risen over the past is crazy.  However, its really nothing new when you look at the shoe market as a whole. Quality dress shoes usually run in the low to upper $100's and oftentimes more than that depending upon the brand.  However, these shoes have noticeable quality and the craftsmanship is unmatched.  

Unfortunately, it was bound to happen with the prices being charged at mom and pop spots, ebay, etc.  Nike and others have seen the ridiculous mark ups for their products and figured they should get in on the action too.  If you see a product that initially sold for $160 being offered at $250-$300 and being bought its a no-brainer.  However, with the mark up you aren't getting the quality that should be standard for a shoe that cost over a $100.  

I still buy the flagship model Air Jordan but I rarely pay retail.  
 
I really took notice with the 140 price tag for rerto hi ones. Most niketalkers have no problem with it at all. Me personally thought that it was pretty effed up. As far as retros, the Air Jordan 1 has always been the one shoe of the sig line that was reasonably priced. For the the longest the AJ 1 "phat" were only like 99 bucks. As far as paying more the "Nike Air", I think that's dumb. A retro is still a retro, "Nike Air" or not. They go out of there way to ensure that these retros pale in comparison to the originals, so what's the point of paying more for a change of words of the tongue or heel of the shoe?
 
I agree wholeheartedly.


InB4 "its just inflation, get over it"



In 1988 theAJ 3 wht/cement cost $100, in 1994 AJ 3 wht/cement cost $100, in 2003 the AJ 3 wht/cement cost $100

in 2013 the AJ 3 wht/cement cost [COLOR=#red]$200[/COLOR]. This has nothing to do with inflation my friends.
 
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I agree wholeheartedly.


InB4 "its just inflation, get over it"



In 1988 theAJ 3 wht/cement cost $100, in 1994 AJ 3 wht/cement cost $100, in 2003 the AJ 3 wht/cement cost $100

in 2013 the AJ 3 wht/cement cost $200. This has nothing to do with inflation my friends.
People would be fine with inflation if the quality was still superb Jordan quality.
 
It is inflation. Shoes are a lot cheaper now than they were in 1988. Use an inflation calculator for proof
 
I'm glad to see the truth is out there, and sometimes finds it's way here

Thanks for the cool story G
 
Such is life.  My mom (until I got a job) used to complain about paying $70 for Adidas.  She don't know how lucky she is that I didn't get into Jordans until the last few years.
 
hey guys thank you all for your responses. I appreciate every single one. the only pair i bought my daughter from flight club were the black toes, not sure if I will ever shop there again. what kills me is how the retail of certain kicks say 175.00 and mom and pop shops sell the sneakers for 250.00 on release day. thats insane.
 
you see young parents with young kids, always showing off on instagram and FB how they "hook up" their kids..

they find it all "swag" or cool or cute or wahtever, but when they get older and they want their MEN SIZES full retail.. it wont be so cute with that hurting your pockets.

when i have kids. they are wearing payless shows
 
$100 is nothing.  to have my kid looking great in a nice pair of Js is worth the $100 to me. its not like they will have multiple pairs.
 
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^maybe. I'm just not about to start my kids out like that. They get nice stuff, name brand stuff and all but I'm still teaching them about shopping of the sale racks and making sure they leave the store with money in their pockets and saving. Kids in Jordans at this point just represents the wrong mindset to me. Back in my days they were just shoes but now when I see toddlers and young kids with them on I just shake my head!
 
Well if you wait until after release date some jordans(retros) go on sale. My girls daughter wears a 9c i think... ill usually buy her a 10c or 11c :-/. Her shoes are merely $55.00 and so are other shoes in finishline or hibbetts i get either $10.00 off txt messages from hibbets or 20%off. We get some shoes from kohls/jcpennys/k mart mainly dress shoes for $24.00. Ill rather kids focus on being kids not worried about teenage and pre-adult things like appearance so early, they education lol
 
It's crazy how fightclub will rape you in prices ... I remember you could just wake up and walk into stores not having to worry about long lines or kicks selling out in a matter of seconds. It still shocks me that after the 2008 Playoff 8s released and JB dropped all those countdown packs that there on out every model released at 160 and the 11s at 175 smh
 
100 dollar shoes are and will always be "the thing". It was the same thing 10-15 years ago, just now slightly inflated. It will only get more inflated. I used to ball at the schoolyard and loved rockin my Js/paytons on the court. Made me feel like i was playing like a pro. real talk though. It helped motivate me to play ball everyday. My love for basketball was shared with my love for kicks. Dont get me wrong, I had some payless kicks in there too, but when i put those Js/Gloves on, man 8) :smokin. It was that serious!
 
The game has changed drastically, either keep up with the times or may way for the next person to play. Either adapt or become extinct.
Well said.

I remember my first pair of Jordans WAY back in the day--I had the black/gray/red Jordan 4's, my older brother had the same sneaker in the white/blue variant. Back than since we were like 10-11 years old, those sneakers were 55.00 a pair for kids sizes. Times have definitely changed, either adapt to them or just quit the sneaker game.
 
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