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

[anthracite8s]

It's funny because it went up $25 in 4 years (2011) and $10 in 2 years (2013)

If that fear pack 3 sells out at $175 expect the retro 3's to sell at $175 moving forward along with other number retros.

JB plan to sell all retros at $200 is closer than we know it. Give it 2 years....

more than 2, but less than 5 imo. so sad when you think about it. pretty much gotta step away from the line I've always loved at that point. :/

 

[titang545]

Coming to this thread late, some reason Niketalk sent me a update on this thread. 

I am not sure why people are saying shoes are so expensive now.  Can we agree on the fact that shoes are made with better material than when we were growing up.  Sure some people complained about brushstrokes on the Jordan III's that just came out, but does that take away from the materials.  I don't think so.  I did a quick search online and people were disputing saying the Jordan 1 in 1985 ranged from $65 - $85.  I will use the lower number for demonstration purposes.  I plugged the $65 into an inflation calculator I found online, that same shoe with the same materials from 1985 would cost $141.06.   

I was actually surprised the amount wasn't higher.  I was always taught every ten years the amount of something doubles:

1985: $65

1995: $130

2005: $260

2015: $520

Factoring in all the extra expenses Nike/Jordan has to take on now an extra $30 for a pair of Jordan's doesn't seem that unreasonable.

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

 

[anthracite8s]

Coming to this thread late, some reason Niketalk sent me a update on this thread. 

I am not sure why people are saying shoes are so expensive now.  Can we agree on the fact that shoes are made with better material than when we were growing up.  Sure some people complained about brushstrokes on the Jordan III's that just came out, but does that take away from the materials.  I don't think so.  I did a quick search online and people were disputing saying the Jordan 1 in 1985 ranged from $65 - $85.  I will use the lower number for demonstration purposes.  I plugged the $65 into an inflation calculator I found online, that same shoe with the same materials from 1985 would cost $141.06.   

I was actually surprised the amount wasn't higher.  I was always taught every ten years the amount of something doubles:

1985: $65

1995: $130

2005: $260

2015: $520

Factoring in all the extra expenses Nike/Jordan has to take on now an extra $30 for a pair of Jordan's doesn't seem that unreasonable.

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

the hell they are. we cannot agree on that because they are DEFINATELY not made with better material than when we were growing up.

 

[frenchbreadbuilds]

Coming to this thread late, some reason Niketalk sent me a update on this thread. 

I am not sure why people are saying shoes are so expensive now.  Can we agree on the fact that shoes are made with better material than when we were growing up.  Sure some people complained about brushstrokes on the Jordan III's that just came out, but does that take away from the materials.  I don't think so.  I did a quick search online and people were disputing saying the Jordan 1 in 1985 ranged from $65 - $85.  I will use the lower number for demonstration purposes.  I plugged the $65 into an inflation calculator I found online, that same shoe with the same materials from 1985 would cost $141.06.   

I was actually surprised the amount wasn't higher.  I was always taught every ten years the amount of something doubles:

1985: $65

1995: $130

2005: $260

2015: $520

Factoring in all the extra expenses Nike/Jordan has to take on now an extra $30 for a pair of Jordan's doesn't seem that unreasonable.

http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Dont confuse advancements in manufacturing and technology with advancement in the actual product. Nike's goal isnt to make better shoes. There goal is to make more shoes more efficiently. Meaning making things as cheap as they can get away with as fast as they can to sell more. Increased manufacturing efficiency almost never means increased quality. From a manufacturing stand point what "quality control" actually means is making sure your product is just the bare minimum to meet the standard.

 

[scollard23]

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

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

Another great thread.  Thanks for starting it!

I got my first pair of J's when I was 12 in 1985 and they were the OG black/red AJKO I's that my mother bought for $19.99... yes... $19.99.  And they were a men's size 9, just in case you were thinking maybe they were kids' size.  Nope.

My mom couldn't or wouldn't buy the II's for me, which I now can completely understand, as who the hell would pay $100 for a pair of shoes for a kid who would outgrow them in probably a few months?  But at the time I was devastated and became completely obsessed with the II's and Jordan's in general from then on.

Last night, I took out my 1994 retro I's, which I paid $40 for back then.  I knew I got them for dirt cheep, but I never realized until last night that the retail was only $80.  Unreal.  You pay $140 now for the "privilege" of being given the "Nike Air" or "OG" treatment on this year's retro I's.

All of those 1994 and 1999-2000 retros were made damn near identically to the OG's and the retail price was still reasonable, actually pretty close to the OG retail price. Forget about the fact that no one wanted them and they hit sales racks.  I got the '94 retro I's for $40 (as I said), the II's for $65 (2 pairs of high, 1 pair of the lows), I paid retail for the '94 white/cement III's, but later saw them for $50.  I could kill myself for passing on the chance to get the black/cement '94 retro III's, but I was still in university and working part time, so I couldn't afford them.

The reseller prices today are absolutely ridiculous.  It wasn't that long ago (2009-2010) that you could walk into Flight Club and pay maybe $30-$50 over retail for a pair.  I got a pair of the 2003 retro black/red XII's (flu game, but without that awful "suede" upper) for $150.  The retail was $135.  I got the black/grey 1's that release in 2009 for $125, retail was $110.  They are now asking $250 for those same I's and... get this... $500 for the 2003 retro XII's!!!  I paid $150 about 4-5 years ago!

The last few times I've gone to Flight Club, I leave there feeling angry.  The last time I went was just after Christmas last year and the cheapest pair of retro Jordan's I saw were $225.  Unbelievable.

We have Nike/Brand Jordan to thank for this madness too, because for a couple of years, all the retro releases were limited.  That created an atmosphere of high demand but low supply and started all of this craziness with the outrageous reseller prices.

I won't even touch upon the fact that the quality, especially compared to the early retros (which as I said were pretty much identical to the OG's), is horrible and the fact that they keep raising the price for these inferior products is awful.  Okay, so I touched on it a little LOL.  But people keep buying, so why would the company do anything differently? 

It is good to see that a few of the recent releases seem to have been GR's and more pairs were released.  Hopefully, that is a trend that will continue.

 

[dathbgboy]

Man I feel u. Jordan's for my daughter are now around $75, and she's in the size where the next size or 2 up is pushing it over the $100 mark; SHE'S ONLY 5. I want her to have the Grapes, Fire Reds, etc but w/ the decline in quality and increase in price, they can keep em.

Heck, I don't even remember the last time I bought myself some sneakers. I just can't justify the price and quality

 

[marco23]

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.

+1

 

[scollard23]

Man...I just wore my 07 fire red 3's the other day and saw I paid $125. Where did a $35 increase come from in such a short period. It def made me feel some type of way

Long (and unusually civilized) discussion about this exact topic in the fire red 3 thread. Filled with facts, figures, even graphs... seriously. Check it out.

 

[Mamba4life]

I have had similar thoughts about the prices JB charges but then I look around. Man, it's just a sign of the times. Lebron James has shoes that are 260 dollars RETAIL. Lebron's ID shoe is 310 retail. That championship pack that released last week was 500?!? I know it was two shoes and I know the technology is superb, but MAN?!?!? 500?!? Out of the store?! 260?! For a pair of basketball shoes?!? I have no idea what I would wear now if I were a kid. I know what I WOULDN'T wear Maybe it's the fact that I'm 40 and the first pair of these I wanted cost 64.99. Moms looked at me back then like I was crazy. I wouldn't have the audacity to ask my parents to buy a 300 sneaker.

 

[east99]

it'll get expensive when your daughter outgrows her Jordans every 6 months or so and you keep buying her shoes just for the moment until she outgrows them again.
Resell her used pairs and save that money for the next release.

Having your parent tell you those Jordans or any shoes are expensive at the store while trying them on while the store employee is right there helping you is hella embarrassing. lol

 

[jordansmatter]

It's only going to get more expensive from this point on...

 

[dar228]

I wish the days of copping a pair of XI's for $125 or some III's for $100 would come back.

That's not gonna happen.

 

[fresh out dabox]

so is the cost of living. gas prices as well. 

 

[greenmachine]

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.

I can agree with that statement x10... I had to come to the realization that my daughter is 6 and will continue to outgrow her sneakers...I used to buy her tons of Js... but 70+ dollars every so often is dumb because she has worn a few and outgrew them quickly...waste of money...unless they are something that I really want to get her I don't buy them, I'll settle for whatever GS Jordans that are on the sale rack or some regular nike running sneakers that are in the 50$ range...
Fortunately I have another younger daughter and I will save the ones that my daughter barely even wore.

 

[rcjbbp1313]

If i ever have a kid (doubtful) they will live off of the nike outlet hash wall until they are old enough to buy their own stuff and if they complain they will hear about how daddy had to wear payless until after high school so they should be thankful they are even getting nikes or anything not generic.