Early Releases are High Quality Fakes

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ninjahood said:
ask yourself this question..if they were fake then why isn't ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL da websites that sell fakes have stock

of those shoes then?

like i told cats in here a million times... grey market =/= fake...they're not even in da same subject.
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Because not every one of the fake websites has contact with a true Nike factory to produce an unauthorized pair.
 
This whole debate to me is a lot more interesting morally speaking, think about it like this. With these grey market sneakers, you may be putting your money into criminal hands or just the hands of some chinese familes making some side cash and then with these authorized jordans you're putting more money back into his already huge bank account (this is GENERALLY speaking of course) so it's kind of a toss up to me. I personally see nothing wrong in buying these early releases or even buying fakes. In the end it's really just someone elses money being used how they see fit and I could care less about what someone else does with their money.
 
not really a fan of getting early released pairs
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 why would i pay double when i can get it for retail if i only wait a little
tired.gif
 
mork23 said:
not really a fan of getting early released pairs
grin.gif
 why would i pay double when i can get it for retail if i only wait a little
tired.gif
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man you're not looking at the right sites then, do some digging and you can find them for retail. I've got grapes comin in I only paid $200+ for.
 
Sir Charles said:
I'm going to stop here, with my initial and final thesis, since you will never learn my views, and I will never accept yours.

"If early release pairs don't looks the same, feel the same, cost the same, snip, they are not the same"

Peace,
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agreed.

grey market kicks are only good if they are using the right **** and use it well and charge no more than retail (what i paid for my ray xiii).

the authorisation part i don't care one iota for.


when it comes to price, anything you see overcharged at marquee/randy or any early release site is available for much cheaper on taobao. you need to get an agent or chinese friend, and it is hard to be sure if you are getting a real greymarket or blunt fakes. just be smart about your hunt and you'll increase your chance of success.
 
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SneakerHeathen said:
At the end of the day if its not authorized by Nike the item is not genuine Nike product. Never mind the materials, workers & where it's made, that's all irrelevant really. Though I will say to think that carbon fiber isn't accessible to fake-makers is truly a gullible notion.

To me it seems like when I originally brought this very topic up some time ago a lot of people came out of the wood-works to do damage control. Either because they either sell or deal with people who sell this crap or because they've spent an exorbitant amount of their own money on these fakes through these online sites or through local mom & pop spots who they thought sold the genuine article.

Coming from NY, I know firsthand that a lot of mom & pop spots sell HQ fakes or "B grades" as some of you prefer to put it.

You're just simply not going to bring any argument to the table that will resonate with some people here because some people don't even want to touch the truth. The truth would be devastating to an individual who has spent a lot of their money on these overseas sites and unscrupulous mom & pop spots. It's personal for them & what we're suggesting would burn their very soul.

So yeah, there's no winning with certain cats, they will not be convinced otherwise. It's a shame because the trickle down effect is very real and forums, social networks and consignment spots act as a resell market for these fakes.

Buyer beware.
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THIS
 
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i have nothing invested in the topic. i bought one pair, and that was because the authorised pairs of the show i desired are simply not available where i live (australia).

there is more than one truth. the nike tick of approval is meaningless when i don't have a reasonable alternative. that is my truth, whether you like it or not.

i think i'll wear my rays again tomorrow.
 
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smfh at those fugazzi space jams that are floating around. some people are starting to catch on, but there are a lot of others people tricked into buying these high quality fake space jams. :smh:
 
i even checked youtube for "perfect XI" and those are in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM on da same level as grey market

early release XI's..thats da difference between a FAKE XI and a UNAUTHORIZED grey market XI
 
Oh, so now ****** can't even go to their mom and pop shops?

:rofl:

Stop acting like a bunch of paranoid elitist punks. They're ******g shoes.

If its made in a Nike factory by Nike workers with Nike's materials, they are Nikes. Ya'll telling yourselves all of this nonsense to make yourselves sleep easier at night.

He got his from an early release site, you got yours from Footlocker. They both got them from the same damn factory. End of story.

We've touched on this topic many times before. When will people stop bringing his nonsense up.
 
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PRIME said:
Oh, so now ****** can't even go to their mom and pop shops?

roll.gif


Stop acting like a bunch of paranoid elitist punks. They're ******g shoes.

If its made in a Nike factory by Nike workers with Nike's materials, they are Nikes. Ya'll telling yourselves all of this nonsense to make yourselves sleep easier at night.

He got his from an early release site, you got yours from Footlocker. They both got them from the same damn factory. End of story.

We've touched on this topic many times before. When will people stop bringing his nonsense up.
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this.



just found a good video explaining da whole situation....good info
 
I purchased an early pair of motorsport 23s from marqueesole when they came out. I remember getting them and something just not feeling right about them. they made noise literally everytime i walked lol.

I never saw a pair in person, but I imagine they didn't make noises when you walked in them..

Yes, I admit I got got
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(sold them and got my money back though).

Just my experience from someone who has purchased an early pair and knowing they weren't the same thing. I would advise everyone to stay away from early pairs.
 
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I had an interesting read, and I thought I might share;

I briefly mentioned in the Air Jordan thread about the whole Air Randy thing so I thought it’s good to have a separate thread about it. This is my take on it based on my 25+ years’ passion to sneakers. Feel free to share your thoughts as this is NOT the definite info on the issue as I don’t work in the sneaker industry or law enforcement agency.

For starters, this is a good article from sneakerfreaker years ago THE SCOOP ON FAKE SNEAKERS http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/feature/fake-sneaker-info

Enjoy the light read albeit long read

SO WHICH ONE IS WHICH?

FAKE - by definition means not authentic or genuine. Fake product is the term used for the illegal copying and manufacturing of name-brand products. In also goes by the other names like imitation, replicas, knockoffs or bootleg. BOOTLEGGING is to produce, reproduce and distribute without authorization or license. COUNTERFEIT is an imitation with intent of fraudulently passing it off as genuine. In essence Fake is a poor DUPLICATE of the genuine product.

For example, a Fake Jordan IV starts by obtaining an authentic Jordan IV (normally smuggled out from the original factory) to reverse engineer, make a mould and use inferior direct and indirect materials in the build. If you reproduce more Fake Jordan IV for distribution then you are BOOTLEGGING. If you intend to pass your FAKE Jordan IV as genuine, then you are COUNTERFEITING.

VARIANT is a sneaker with slight variation in the official product. Un-released official colorways that is not distributed to the public are also called Variants (like team college sneakers for players).

FACTORY VARIANTS can either be authentic (will discuss later) or fakes made to look different at factory level i.e. colorways or materials. Variants came into prominence in the sneaker hobby after Jordan retired for the 2nd time with the release of the Jordan XV. What’s ironic is variants pave way to Customization of sneakers and in a way, Nike ID.

HYBRIDS are sneakers made from two or more models fused together. In the 80s especially in Asia before Nike gave distribution rights, retailers buy straight from the factories. Any sneakers damaged in transit are fixed and glued together often times resulting in a sneaker with a different top or bottom. So these sneakers are usually one-offs and not necessarily fakes, it’s just the result of the retailer not wanting to lose a sale. Again, ironically, hybrids pave way to Nike fusions.

FACTORY SECONDS means imperfections found on the finish product which is also same as B-GRADES. B-Grades are sneakers that fail the quality inspection. There are two kinds of B-Grades.

FACTORY B-GRADES are sneakers that didn’t make the final cut in the manufacturing process i.e. factory, before shipment to the warehouse for distribution. Usually these sneakers are considered faulty and ‘written off’ (will discuss later).

OUTLET B-GRADES are finished sneakers shipped from the factory but failed the quality inspection for official distribution to the retailers-consumers. Failed units are usually sneakers with minor cosmetic flaws. Usually if one unit fails the inspection, 100 units before and after are taken out and considered B-Grades i.e. 1 fail unit = 201 B-Grades units to the outlets.


OK, SO WHERE DOES AIR-RANDY FIT IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS?

The best way to describe Air Randy, Marquesole etc is that they cater for the demand that never existed before in the sneaker industry. Can I coined this term or trademark it? LOL. Anyway, I call these sneakers == GREY SNEAKERS


GREY SNEAKERS?!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING?!

You see, fake sneakers are one of the commodities found in the black market. A BLACK MARKET is the trade of goods and services that are illegal in themselves and/or distributed through illegal channels, such as the selling of stolen goods or counterfeits.

A GREY MARKET is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer. The term grey economy, however, refers to workers being paid under the table, without paying income taxes etc. It is sometimes referred to as the underground economy or "hidden economy".

So thats why I call them GREY SNEAKERS. It’s not fake because its authentic materials etc but not legit because it is un-authorised, un-sanctioned by Nike. These dont "exist" in a way because on paper these "excess units" (see factory B-Grades) are shown as defects and/or write offs in the manufacturing cost of the Chinese OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) when Nike does an audit.

Please picture this scenario.

1. Jordan Brand meeting in Jan 2011, OK’s the retro of the Air Jordan III in Holiday 2011. JB instructed the factory to make a ‘sample’.

2. Sample produced and shown in JB meeting in March 2011. JB’s approved the sample.

3. The sample and ‘TECH PACK’ are given to the OEM factory in June 2011 for mass production of say 1000 units for $XXX money.

4. The OEM factory was given 3 months from July to September 2011 to produce 1000 units.

5. The OEM factory allows OVERRUNS to compensate for possible faulty, defected units or Factory B-Grades. Therefore the factory produces 1000 units + OVERRUN units.

6. The OEM shows these OVERRUNS in the manufacturing cost as write-offs so on paper when Nike does an audit these are considered ‘destroyed’.

7. The OEM instead of ‘destroying’ the write-offs instead sell these units for extra $XXX. This is where Air-Randy etc comes in.

8. Usually the Air Randys get the first batch or the run of units thus the sneakers may look slighty different (see Variant as well) and different packaging and accessories (e.g. the shoe horn used is from previous stock).

9. Air Randy sells these units in July and September online to us, sneaker afficianados, which is the same timeline at the production time at the factory. THUS out in the streets months in advance of the official release date.

10. Once the OEM finished the order and shipped the 1000 units, they can be greedy and sell the TECH PACKS and SAMPLE to the counterfeit industry.

11. JB received the 1000 units in the warehouse in October. Looks for any potential outlet B-Grade units then distribute the remainder to the retailers for the Dec 2011 Holiday release.

Don’t be naïve to think that the Triads etc are not a part of this. They do in the Black Market but they are keeping an eye at the Grey Market as well.


NIKE SHOULD DO SOMETHING!

NOPE! This is the tradeoff for Nike outsourcing their intellectual property to countries with little or even no regard to patents/trademarks, brand protection and lax labour practices in the name of maximizing profits.

At the end of the day, Nike is not pursuing the Grey Market Merchants of the sneaker world like Air Randys and Marqueesoles. WHY?

1. It hardly put a dent on the $$$ billions gross sale profit of Nike

2. Sneakers worn out in the street months in advance of the release are UNPAID PUBLICITY and MARKETING. Nike is really a marketing company as well.


SO ARE THEY GOOD OR BAD?

These sneaker merchants see a market for these grey sneakers and they capitalise on it. It wise business move I say because if Air Randy dont, someone else will. If they stay in the grey market then IMO its all good but if they are doing counterfeiting then HATE HATE.

Again it really is a fine line. In the end we THE CONSUMER WINS because WE HAVE A CHOICE. However its CAVEAT EMPTOR. Let the buyer beware. IT IS WHAT IT IS.
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Now as I have read, I can understand ninjahood point. I label grey market as B grade sellers as of now. Authentic, yet not correctly made. Flawed.

Either way, I'm not going to purchase a flawed pair :lol:


Anyway, enjoy the read. In b4 ninjahood goes on a rant about intellect.
 
So ultimately, that article just explains what me and Ninja have been saying throughout all of these threads...

You can slap as many labels as you want on it, but at the end of the day it is what it is.
 
Where can you even find early releases anymore? I was under the impression that all of those sites no longer exist.
 
yall really arguing about b grade fakes variants etc when its all the same exact piece of pleather and rubber... i seen fakes 10 years ago when i was overseas... the quality was pretty much the same as the fakes out here at the time... gucci burberry and LV Xi's ran the streets... now that run of fakes lasted about 4 years or so and the so called best of the best got caught ( fabolous ) wearing some fugazi XI when all them random colors were dropping... Now fast forward to about 3 years ago when Xi's started making a come back.. I spotted fakes a mile away just off the shape of the shoe. I've only owned 1 pair of XI's and that was the LE joints back in 03 or so.. never was a fan of the patent leather look.. but all i know fakes are fakes and the joints flooding the market has been fakes bgrades variants for a looong time... its just certain counterfeiters are getting the same materials now because JB lowered there standards too meet budget requirements...

class over
 
Anyone tr
devildog1776 said:
yall really arguing about b grade fakes variants etc when its all the same exact piece of pleather and rubber... i seen fakes 10 years ago when i was overseas... the quality was pretty much the same as the fakes out here at the time... gucci burberry and LV Xi's ran the streets... now that run of fakes lasted about 4 years or so and the so called best of the best got caught ( fabolous ) wearing some fugazi XI when all them random colors were dropping... Now fast forward to about 3 years ago when Xi's started making a come back.. I spotted fakes a mile away just off the shape of the shoe. I've only owned 1 pair of XI's and that was the LE joints back in 03 or so.. never was a fan of the patent leather look.. but all i know fakes are fakes and the joints flooding the market has been fakes bgrades variants for a looong time... its just certain counterfeiters are getting the same materials now because JB lowered there standards too meet budget requirements...

class over
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I hope the mods save this thread, because once its common knowledge these shoes early release shoes are fake these same dudes advocating will be the same people saying they never said xyz
 
Anyone tr
devildog1776 said:
yall really arguing about b grade fakes variants etc when its all the same exact piece of pleather and rubber... i seen fakes 10 years ago when i was overseas... the quality was pretty much the same as the fakes out here at the time... gucci burberry and LV Xi's ran the streets... now that run of fakes lasted about 4 years or so and the so called best of the best got caught ( fabolous ) wearing some fugazi XI when all them random colors were dropping... Now fast forward to about 3 years ago when Xi's started making a come back.. I spotted fakes a mile away just off the shape of the shoe. I've only owned 1 pair of XI's and that was the LE joints back in 03 or so.. never was a fan of the patent leather look.. but all i know fakes are fakes and the joints flooding the market has been fakes bgrades variants for a looong time... its just certain counterfeiters are getting the same materials now because JB lowered there standards too meet budget requirements...

class over
Click to expand...


I hope the mods save this thread, because once its common knowledge these shoes early release shoes are fake these same dudes advocating will be the same people saying they never said xyz
 
trethousandgt said:
Anyone tr
devildog1776 said:
yall really arguing about b grade fakes variants etc when its all the same exact piece of pleather and rubber... i seen fakes 10 years ago when i was overseas... the quality was pretty much the same as the fakes out here at the time... gucci burberry and LV Xi's ran the streets... now that run of fakes lasted about 4 years or so and the so called best of the best got caught ( fabolous ) wearing some fugazi XI when all them random colors were dropping... Now fast forward to about 3 years ago when Xi's started making a come back.. I spotted fakes a mile away just off the shape of the shoe. I've only owned 1 pair of XI's and that was the LE joints back in 03 or so.. never was a fan of the patent leather look.. but all i know fakes are fakes and the joints flooding the market has been fakes bgrades variants for a looong time... its just certain counterfeiters are getting the same materials now because JB lowered there standards too meet budget requirements...

class over
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I hope the mods save this thread, because once its common knowledge these shoes early release shoes are fake these same dudes advocating will be the same people saying they never said xyz
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I think it depends, if the company uses the stolen b grades the factory was supposed to throw away. It's stolen, not fake.

If they, like a lot of companies, take the b grade they bought from the factory and then make a mold for it in their factory, so they can make their own. That's fake.

And more times than not, it's the latter seeing jb only allows 1000 or so extras to be made.
 
i look at it like this...just let the early release pair get hyped by the beasts let them cop....

then those who can wait slither into retail spots with less bs...

thats where i think this is gonna end up happening

because the hype we are seeing now.....is not going to last forever...
 
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