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- May 4, 2013
I have checked in the general board and I really did not see anything similar to this. So, I thought we could have, if the mods allow it, a thread to discuss our thoughts on topics involving Jordan Brand and their products. It could, if used properly, be an outlet for informed discussion on the views of collectors of these collectibles.
So, I would like to start this thing off with something I put together after the recent announcement of “Remastering” the Jordan retro line. I hope you enjoy, and if this needs to be moved, I will understand it. I hope to generate conversation not controversy.
"I am the problem; you are the problem, not Jordan Brand."
The first pair of Air Jordans I owned I received as a birthday present as a young man. It was the fall of 1990 and all my friends had been sporting the previous release, AJ IV, and I, in my initial effort to be cool as a kid, sought the shoe. I ended up with the Air Jordan V Black Metallic, which remains one of my favorite, if not favorite models. To this day, I still have not owned another pair of that colorway. I have plenty of different V's, but not that one (I do not have a so-called grail, though I dislike the term, if I did, it is probably this shoe.). I have missed, for differing reasons, over the past twenty years the V Black Metallic re-releases. I paid, 125 plus tax for them back in 1990. Friends of our family called them "space boots". But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
That's how it all started.
Throughout middle school and junior high, I collected these shoes. Once, I was in High School, my priorities shifted, but I never drifted too far from collecting shoes. After I concluded my laughable time there, I joined the military. This was around the time that Michael was returning from his baseball excursion. He wore a new pair of Jordans, a pair I had not seen before, I had just bought during my lone pass a pair of Air Jordan X's (Shadow Grey), but I, like millions it turned out, were captured by these new kicks. The "Concords" as they became known as, but we simply called them the Air Jordan XI. After completing basic training and advanced individual training, I came home (National Guard), met a young woman, and started going to school. After saving enough money, I purchased a pair of Air Jordan XI (BRED)--I still have them and they are in excellent shape. What struck me about the shoes, besides the patent leather, was the cost.
They cost 150 plus tax. At the time, they were the most I had spent on a pair of shoes--in the mid-90's it was an exuberant amount. But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
This story has played out my entire collecting career.
Here I sit, now 38, which is an eternity of time for some of you young cats in the so-called "shoe game". To you new guys, I say welcome and buy what you want. But never put yourself at financial risk over a pair of shoes, pants, music, clothes, or any other inanimate object. Sorry for the disruption, but too many youngsters get caught up in the foolish things I did--I have an affinity for the youth of our country who are chasing items, like I did, when they could spend more time taking care of themselves for the long term. This doesn't mean don't buy "J's", but it means ask yourself what do you want not what the hype tells you to purchase. I suspect if shoe fiends had their stories recanted in the obituaries, we all would have in our epitaphs a small mention of giving into the hype.
Today, the highest I have spent on a pair of Jordans is around 225 plus tax (3lab5 Infrared). But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
That was the standard line: I had the shoes I wanted. With that in mind, I blew off price increases as the unfortunate result of inflation, it has been twenty years since many of the original release of many of these shoes. I also disregarded the questions of quality. I have been fortunate enough to receive rather good shoes. A few had issues: I have a pair of Varsity VI's with horrible glue stains saturated into the toes of the shoes; I have a pair of Fire Red V's that creased horribly on the right flank of the shoes (back around the ankle). And I have read the threads about folks with problems, I empathized with them, but I still bought the shoes. I chalked it up for all of us as luck of the draw. I mean isn't that, in many ways, how it is?
I never thought of it as a systematic problem of overall quality. I thought of it as the cost of doing business (price increases) along with a game of chance (quality issues).
I don't like being duped or feeling that way. I feel a little bit duped, and it is my own fault. I don't blame Jordan Brand for their remastering initiative--they are trying to squeeze a bit more out of the product line. But, I do question highly how they went about it. They essentially are announcing that now they are listening to their customers and are improving the quality of their products, and that this costs a bit more money, which is passed on to the consumer. Hey, that's okay, though, because they know we will pay it, and do so, because of a title, a term, a word: Remastered. Albums and movies are remastered, not shoes. Notice, they do not freely admit that quality has been degrading, in the opinion of many, for years. Improving means, from their point of view, an improvement of an already excellent product. "We are doing this for you...at a cost. This is for you, though." To us, the collecting community (sneaker heads for you youngsters), they are finally improving a sub par product that we have been buying anyway. Think about how many videos you have watched with people, so-called experts, telling you that the shoe was "on point." When clearly, if those who have complained for decades have any credibility, they are not on point. Honestly, if they are close, I am good. But for some that is not good enough. With a current price tag just north of 170 on certain models, close is not good enough.
The defenders will say, "hey, man, at least they are listening. Be happy with that." They are selectively listening to you. They have decided to again raise prices on, a fact many of my colleagues in this thread have already noted, on athletic shoes, "tenny's" if you will, that rely on technology that is out of date by two and a half decades. I will say this, if you are buying these shoes for tech reasons, you might want to consider another line or the Jordan XX9, but not retro's. I don't personally buy retro's for tech reasons, but I must agree to an extent with those who question price increases along these lines.
I wish somebody would/could do a demographic analysis of who, lower class, middle class, upper class, are buying these sneakers. I say that because change won't happen until the middle class says they have had enough and move on to another product--why the middle? I am betting on the fact that the middle class has the disposable income to purchase these shoes at rates higher than many other because they can. I would further wager that much of the reseller market is dominated by middle class clientele purchasing from lower/middle/upper class resellers. This doesn't mean I am some sort of elitist, but I am looking at the socioeconomic realities. I have no doubt there are individuals from the lower classes purchasing these shoes, but I would venture that more from the middle class do so (Granted, one of you could make an excellent counter to this by highlighting the fact that poorer individuals, out of a desire of acceptance buy these shoes solely for the belief of a proposed status bump that comes with ownership.)
I am not saying this is the moment, but you have to wonder what number is the price point that breaks the bank of many who just can either no longer afford it or just tire out of the pandering. Obviously, Jordan Brand is not hurting, it still makes money hand over fist. And if you work for the company, and you want to squeeze more from the bottom line, you have to reinvent yourself at minimal cost. That is how you make profit. Some companies do it with more earnest and honesty than others. I am not saying Jordan Brand is disingenuous in all of this, they may actually strive to do better; you have to wonder, however, what their end goal really is: better shoes or better profits at minimal cost to themselves, while actually making more money off of you.
Where do I go, where do we go, from here?
Look, I am not going to lie to you, I am still in the hunt for Gamma XI at retail prices--probably won't happen, but I refuse to give in to reseller prices. There is the Columbias (Legend Blues) releasing this December; and now I keep hearing/reading about a 3/4 pack with Nike Air. For me that is a direct strike at the nostalgia of my youth. And like the fool I am, I will go after them all.
I do feel slighted, they would have been better suited to let the year play out, and at the beginning of the new Basketball season, coinciding with the Jordan XX9 release, announced a new line of high quality retros. But my feeling slighted, isn't Nike's or Jordan Brand's fault. It is my own. I am the one that bought the claims of the brand for such a long period of time, when they are just a business; I am the one that still buys these products; and I remain the one that will do so in the future. I also know better than to give you some false proclamation that I am "retiring" from collecting these shoes--I have tried before, but I kept coming back. When I leave, when we leave, it was because it was time.
I turn 39 this November, which means I have been collecting for 25 years. I freely admit, that is a long time to be querying, "money, it's gotta be the shoes!"
So, I would like to start this thing off with something I put together after the recent announcement of “Remastering” the Jordan retro line. I hope you enjoy, and if this needs to be moved, I will understand it. I hope to generate conversation not controversy.
"I am the problem; you are the problem, not Jordan Brand."
The first pair of Air Jordans I owned I received as a birthday present as a young man. It was the fall of 1990 and all my friends had been sporting the previous release, AJ IV, and I, in my initial effort to be cool as a kid, sought the shoe. I ended up with the Air Jordan V Black Metallic, which remains one of my favorite, if not favorite models. To this day, I still have not owned another pair of that colorway. I have plenty of different V's, but not that one (I do not have a so-called grail, though I dislike the term, if I did, it is probably this shoe.). I have missed, for differing reasons, over the past twenty years the V Black Metallic re-releases. I paid, 125 plus tax for them back in 1990. Friends of our family called them "space boots". But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
That's how it all started.
Throughout middle school and junior high, I collected these shoes. Once, I was in High School, my priorities shifted, but I never drifted too far from collecting shoes. After I concluded my laughable time there, I joined the military. This was around the time that Michael was returning from his baseball excursion. He wore a new pair of Jordans, a pair I had not seen before, I had just bought during my lone pass a pair of Air Jordan X's (Shadow Grey), but I, like millions it turned out, were captured by these new kicks. The "Concords" as they became known as, but we simply called them the Air Jordan XI. After completing basic training and advanced individual training, I came home (National Guard), met a young woman, and started going to school. After saving enough money, I purchased a pair of Air Jordan XI (BRED)--I still have them and they are in excellent shape. What struck me about the shoes, besides the patent leather, was the cost.
They cost 150 plus tax. At the time, they were the most I had spent on a pair of shoes--in the mid-90's it was an exuberant amount. But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
This story has played out my entire collecting career.
Here I sit, now 38, which is an eternity of time for some of you young cats in the so-called "shoe game". To you new guys, I say welcome and buy what you want. But never put yourself at financial risk over a pair of shoes, pants, music, clothes, or any other inanimate object. Sorry for the disruption, but too many youngsters get caught up in the foolish things I did--I have an affinity for the youth of our country who are chasing items, like I did, when they could spend more time taking care of themselves for the long term. This doesn't mean don't buy "J's", but it means ask yourself what do you want not what the hype tells you to purchase. I suspect if shoe fiends had their stories recanted in the obituaries, we all would have in our epitaphs a small mention of giving into the hype.
Today, the highest I have spent on a pair of Jordans is around 225 plus tax (3lab5 Infrared). But whatever, I had the shoes I wanted.
That was the standard line: I had the shoes I wanted. With that in mind, I blew off price increases as the unfortunate result of inflation, it has been twenty years since many of the original release of many of these shoes. I also disregarded the questions of quality. I have been fortunate enough to receive rather good shoes. A few had issues: I have a pair of Varsity VI's with horrible glue stains saturated into the toes of the shoes; I have a pair of Fire Red V's that creased horribly on the right flank of the shoes (back around the ankle). And I have read the threads about folks with problems, I empathized with them, but I still bought the shoes. I chalked it up for all of us as luck of the draw. I mean isn't that, in many ways, how it is?
I never thought of it as a systematic problem of overall quality. I thought of it as the cost of doing business (price increases) along with a game of chance (quality issues).
I don't like being duped or feeling that way. I feel a little bit duped, and it is my own fault. I don't blame Jordan Brand for their remastering initiative--they are trying to squeeze a bit more out of the product line. But, I do question highly how they went about it. They essentially are announcing that now they are listening to their customers and are improving the quality of their products, and that this costs a bit more money, which is passed on to the consumer. Hey, that's okay, though, because they know we will pay it, and do so, because of a title, a term, a word: Remastered. Albums and movies are remastered, not shoes. Notice, they do not freely admit that quality has been degrading, in the opinion of many, for years. Improving means, from their point of view, an improvement of an already excellent product. "We are doing this for you...at a cost. This is for you, though." To us, the collecting community (sneaker heads for you youngsters), they are finally improving a sub par product that we have been buying anyway. Think about how many videos you have watched with people, so-called experts, telling you that the shoe was "on point." When clearly, if those who have complained for decades have any credibility, they are not on point. Honestly, if they are close, I am good. But for some that is not good enough. With a current price tag just north of 170 on certain models, close is not good enough.
The defenders will say, "hey, man, at least they are listening. Be happy with that." They are selectively listening to you. They have decided to again raise prices on, a fact many of my colleagues in this thread have already noted, on athletic shoes, "tenny's" if you will, that rely on technology that is out of date by two and a half decades. I will say this, if you are buying these shoes for tech reasons, you might want to consider another line or the Jordan XX9, but not retro's. I don't personally buy retro's for tech reasons, but I must agree to an extent with those who question price increases along these lines.
I wish somebody would/could do a demographic analysis of who, lower class, middle class, upper class, are buying these sneakers. I say that because change won't happen until the middle class says they have had enough and move on to another product--why the middle? I am betting on the fact that the middle class has the disposable income to purchase these shoes at rates higher than many other because they can. I would further wager that much of the reseller market is dominated by middle class clientele purchasing from lower/middle/upper class resellers. This doesn't mean I am some sort of elitist, but I am looking at the socioeconomic realities. I have no doubt there are individuals from the lower classes purchasing these shoes, but I would venture that more from the middle class do so (Granted, one of you could make an excellent counter to this by highlighting the fact that poorer individuals, out of a desire of acceptance buy these shoes solely for the belief of a proposed status bump that comes with ownership.)
I am not saying this is the moment, but you have to wonder what number is the price point that breaks the bank of many who just can either no longer afford it or just tire out of the pandering. Obviously, Jordan Brand is not hurting, it still makes money hand over fist. And if you work for the company, and you want to squeeze more from the bottom line, you have to reinvent yourself at minimal cost. That is how you make profit. Some companies do it with more earnest and honesty than others. I am not saying Jordan Brand is disingenuous in all of this, they may actually strive to do better; you have to wonder, however, what their end goal really is: better shoes or better profits at minimal cost to themselves, while actually making more money off of you.
Where do I go, where do we go, from here?
Look, I am not going to lie to you, I am still in the hunt for Gamma XI at retail prices--probably won't happen, but I refuse to give in to reseller prices. There is the Columbias (Legend Blues) releasing this December; and now I keep hearing/reading about a 3/4 pack with Nike Air. For me that is a direct strike at the nostalgia of my youth. And like the fool I am, I will go after them all.
I do feel slighted, they would have been better suited to let the year play out, and at the beginning of the new Basketball season, coinciding with the Jordan XX9 release, announced a new line of high quality retros. But my feeling slighted, isn't Nike's or Jordan Brand's fault. It is my own. I am the one that bought the claims of the brand for such a long period of time, when they are just a business; I am the one that still buys these products; and I remain the one that will do so in the future. I also know better than to give you some false proclamation that I am "retiring" from collecting these shoes--I have tried before, but I kept coming back. When I leave, when we leave, it was because it was time.
I turn 39 this November, which means I have been collecting for 25 years. I freely admit, that is a long time to be querying, "money, it's gotta be the shoes!"
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