Comments on SneakerPimp.com Wall Street Journal article

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Dec 9, 1999
Eric,

Congratulations are in order. Getting an article and picture about yourself in the Wall Street Journal - on the front page no less - is very impressive, especially for a 16-year-old.

However, though it is no fault of your own, I don't think you have any idea of what might happen as a result of the article being printed in such a widely distributed and highly influential newspaper. Lots of executives and investors read that paper. You may have just made it much harder, if not impossible, for internet (and non-internet) sneaker dealers/hustlers/sellers/pimps to continue to do business the way it currently is. I must say that you probably have raised a lot of flags and piqued a lot of interest from the people at Nike, especially those in charge of allocation and distribution.

I don't think that Nike can take any legal action against the dealers/hustlers/sellers/pimps, as long as they pay full price for the merchandise after the scheduled release dates. I don't think there's anything illegal about that. However, I know that they will not be too happy with the stores that are wholesaling you the shoes before release date. Which, by the way, is a violation of their Nike contracts. Any store that engages in it is just plain foolish.

I will say that Nike is well aware of, and steadily monitors the websites of unauthorized dealers as well as eBay. They check for stuff that isn't supposed to be sold at all, especially on the internet. This includes limited edition releases, player samples, sales samples, weartest samples and other in-house prototypes. How do I know this? We checked our daily website traffic logs. At it's peak, we would see the "c-14.nike.com" address between 12-15 times per day. (I'm not making this up.) They used to check our site out all the time, although not as much since we basically stopped selling shoes.

I take personal enjoyment in seeing Nike look this stupid as a result of this article. Think about it, a few dozen sneaker dealers are effectively circumventing the marketing and distribution strategies of a bazillion-dollar-a-year company. They probably don't like that. While sneaker dealing/hustling/selling/pimping is a pretty crafty trade it's not likely to last much longer in its current form.

Nike will probably come down hard on the rogue stores, as well as the sales reps who handle their accounts.

I think that there will most definitely be repercussions from this, which may include:

1. Store-imposed x-amount-of-pairs-per-customer limits.
2. Nike-mandated strict adhesion to release dates.
3. Closer monitoring of limited edition releases.
4. Increased accountability for sales reps and store owners.

Since most of the valuable shoes are limited editions, that means that they are certainly in low supply. Make no mistake about it, Nike knows exactly what stores get what, how many, and when. Given the low supply, it won't take Nike long to figure out who is wholesaling the shoes and/or selling them ahead of time. Remember, Nike retailers can't act as wholesalers.


I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we at Jersey Joe's were in fact contacted by this reporter to shed some light on how the whole sneaker dealing/hustling/selling/pimping thing works. She said that it had already been explained to her how it all works. She asked us for contact information (and names) of the Niketalk admins/creators, as well as other dealers, but we refused to give it. She seemed to have an understanding of it all, and also seemed pretty nice. (cool voice too, probably 23-24 years old). I think (hope) her intentions were to write a congratulatory article for a 16-year old who has a hell of an interesting business running. I don't think she meant to "blow up the spot" for anybody, but I think that by printing this article, she may have done just that.

Good Luck to all who engage in this. Although it is risky, unstable and filled with uncertainty, it can be pretty profitable way of doing business. However, as a result of the Wall Street Journal article, it probably will become much harder to pull it off. I think the WSJ article will definitely have negative effects on the sneaker dealing/hustling/selling/pimping market. I doubt that a company as large as Nike will sit back and continue to allow a few dozen dealers/hustlers/sellers/pimps to make them look like fools on the front page of the most important financial newspaper in the world.


Regards,
Jersey Joe


PS: Whoever gave our contact information to this reporter - and told her to contact us - PLEASE DO NOT EVER DO IT AGAIN.
 
hey JJ... well thought out response to the article. i have to agree with you too.

and one good result from this is hopefully, us everyday "joe's" will have a chance at future "limited" releases.
Shaquille O'Neal's Toe: I can't wait to kick Keon Clark's butt next year.
 
I thought it was really cool indeed.

I'm not sure what to think as far as what you have talked about Joe.

I think Nike pretty much already knows about the so called "secret" pimping of sneakers.

I'm just undecided right now. I'll edit the post if I decide. But right now I think that it should all be a possitive outlook towards what Eric accomplished.

Eric- don't let your baseball skills drop man because of Sneakerpimping and also don't miss out on pimpin' out your car.. =)

I own www.shoe-center.com
 
Hmmmm that's a damn good response...and with that...I'm off to buy some bulk amounts of West Indies...j/k
Seriously Ewayz' hustle is worth some major respect, but I agree there could be some reprocussions from this...Hopefully positive and they'll start making things more widely available and let all who appreciate dope shoes get a chance to get a pair for a good price.
Peace.
KEEPING IT TOQUE since 1977...and what.....CANUCK FO LIZZIFE.**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Always looking for Footscapes, 227's, Flight 89's, Air Max 95's, Dunks, Huaraches, Vintage Acg's.. Deadstock 9.5 or 10 hit me up!
 
Quote:
and also seemed pretty nice. (cool voice too, probably 23-24 years old).

Funny stuff man.

What WSJ was this? Does anyone have an issue I could get my hands on?
"33"

Look At My Perfect Feedback On eBay. Just Click Here. I Am Also On The Legit List #123
 
The real question is....How do I get the job of monitoring ebay for nike???
That's the best job I've ever heard of...I could never get bored of that.
KEEPING IT TOQUE since 1977...and what.....CANUCK FO LIZZIFE.**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Always looking for Footscapes, 227's, Flight 89's, Air Max 95's, Dunks, Huaraches, Vintage Acg's.. Deadstock 9.5 or 10 hit me up!
 
well said i agree with you man someone tell me how the sneaker /game/ pimping work.... i dont want contacts i just am begging to know how it works....
heh how do you get the monitoring job that must be great
 
very informative read...pretty interesting
L i o n h e a r t A nonchalant and shy student from Balamb Garden. Equipped with a gunblade, a combined sword and gun, and eager to join the elite military organization known as SeeD who are elite combat specialists who will fight the ultimate battle against the Sorceress for the sake of the world. He is thrown into the mysterious conspiracy of rivalry in a world soon to be plaqued by chaos.
 
Holy crap...that's a LOT o hits//
KEEPING IT TOQUE since 1977...and what.....CANUCK FO LIZZIFE.**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Always looking for Footscapes, 227's, Flight 89's, Air Max 95's, Dunks, Huaraches, Vintage Acg's.. Deadstock 9.5 or 10 hit me up!
 
good read...

I thought it was kind of funny that Joe continually used "dealing/hustling/selling/pimping" when referring to the re-selling of shoes....

pe@ce
"... nothing's for sure, that's the only for sure thing I do know..."
 
Good post, lots of interesting ideas presented =)

I have to believe that Nike loves the publicity and the buzz that it generates with the limited kicks.

Well, imagine those limited kicks are ONLY available at the designated spots (Nike designated ones). I suppose only a few individuals can get their hands on them. And consequently, less noise, less buzz.

Now, here comes the resellers. The ebayers. The people who will market these limited kicks to the rest of the world. This creates a lot more noise, a lot more advertisements for Nike.

Yes, someone may argue, limited kicks are supposed to "attract" customers to the store, in order to sell them the "normal" kicks. But the way Nike sent the limited kicks to places like "Supreme", or "Kbond", I don't think these stores stock the "normal" kicks anyway. So obviously this is not Nike's intention.

What Nike wants is publicity, is buzz generated by the trendsetters. They want the most "hardcore" group to lead the craziness and sequentially affect the general public.

Well, they get the publicity, from stores charging hundreds of dollars for a pair of dunks or eBayers congesting the stores to get a pair of Acorn AF1s to resell.

Nike isn't happy to see this? I highly doubt Nike "didn't" expect it to happen.

Nike, by making us to think they are fools, they actually better positioned themselves to earn more profits. Just like no matter how ugly some limited kicks are, people line up to buy them, in hope of "earning a few dollars more" later. Well, Nike is the ONLY one who sees immediate and solid gain in this situation.

Nike is now too big to care about idealism or fair-trade. All they care is to earn money and report to the stock-holders.

Ideal: Make good designs, release shoes on time, release shoes at regular intervals, enforce rules on stores to sell shoes at fair price and evenly to customers, listen to public demand and release certain classic styles, etc.

Reality: Nasty new designs, stupid release date policy that no store follows (except the chain stores), weak policy on pricing (a lot of the skate stores selling SBs claim they follow eBay prices.... disgusting), late release (things get delayed), releasing "USA" model shoes overseas instead of US (what the FREAK is that....)

C'mom Nike, you can do better.
 
JJ,

U brought up some very interesting points and I agree with most of it. I agree with someone saying that Nike knew all about this before the article came out. I understand NIke is on blast now because of this, but it isn't all that bad, IMO. Look at it from the Richest guy in america's standpoint, Bill Gates. His operating system/application is leaked out to the masses everytime Microsoft develops another version. Maybe that's like comparing apples and oranges, but it has it's similarities. Nike reps can do all they can to combat the wholesale issue, but somebody will come along with a way to beat what ever guidelines that Nike places on these stores. Not every businessman that has an account with Nike is honest and this article will make the owners rethink their hustle, IMO.

Instead of the ATF fighting the WAR on DRUGS, maybe they should help us out in the shoe world. .

"I'm an emotional chameleon see how I adapt to pain". . CorMega-Ain't Gonna Change
 
I still don't understand why Nike wants to enforce "ethical" trading among their high end product when they will do nothing in order to stop the "unethical" production and wholesaling of Fakes/Variants.

Just don't understand, I'd think that the Variant game is affecting Nike's business a lot more than private deals set up between the business and the buyer.
That's preciousPeople pay thousands of dollars a year to look how I appear naturally
 
funny, that girl was suppose to come to the SoCal summit.

she actually emailed me as well. but I had no idea why.....

I have to agree with a majority of what was said above. At the end of the day, I doubt things will change in the Mom and Pop world. Those of us who have some connects will be able to buy limited kicks still before the release date and for under retail.

I would never call myself a sneaker hustler or re seller at it's true definition, but I also would never ever quit my day job to sell kicks.

I'd like to see it get harder and harder for heads to get kicks, but really I'd rather see them make less of something and just more coloways..... meaning make 5,000 pairs of every dunk release and stick to that, but make a lot more colorways.
[h1][color=330066]W[/color][color=330099]W[/color][color=3300cc]W[/color][color=3300ff].[/color][color=6633ff]B[/color][color=3366ff]E[/color][color=3399ff]N[/color][color=33ffff]B[/color]ALL[color=99ffff]E[/color][color=66ffff]R[/color][color=33ccff].[/color][color=0099ff]C[/color][color=0033ff]O[/color][color=0033cc]M[/color][/h1]
 
oh yeah btw, how do you check your website stats and see if Nike's been snooping around your pages?
[h1][color=330066]W[/color][color=330099]W[/color][color=3300cc]W[/color][color=3300ff].[/color][color=6633ff]B[/color][color=3366ff]E[/color][color=3399ff]N[/color][color=33ffff]B[/color]ALL[color=99ffff]E[/color][color=66ffff]R[/color][color=33ccff].[/color][color=0099ff]C[/color][color=0033ff]O[/color][color=0033cc]M[/color][/h1]
 
Maybe we can get a sneakerpimp.com response from ewayz himself about it.
Jordans: My anti-drug.Formally mle323, Just uprgraded the name. Live2hoop3@aol.com.#96 on the legit list.
 
Ktown, Do you have a stat service for your site? www.nedstat.com is the service sneakerpimp is using and if you notice on the link I gave earlier in the post it shows where the last 10 visitors are from but that is just what the public can view. There is an section called "mynedstat" which requires a username/password and I'm sure you would get more detailed site stats which could possibily show all that visited on a particular day...then again I could be wrong.
 
Here's the real technical information

If you are hosting your own site on your own server
1) Web logs are stored in a format that lists, in order, the machine which is accessing a web page, the date/time of the access, and what file was accessed
2) You can use a program like Analog (www.analog.cx) to scan all your web logs and record things like the domains that most accessed your site, the busiest periods of activity, which browsers were accessing your site, which pages are most accessed, etc

If you are using space on another server
1) Most web page hosting sites will provide web log analysis utilities, like nedstat which is what sneakerpimp.com uses I think

K town, if you're interested in hooking something like that up for benballer.com, drop me a line at shoes@chrisblackstone.com

cb
"I ain't gettin on that plane, Hannibal"
 
Here's an interesting but totally unsubstantiated theory: What if Nike's the one behind the variant sales or have decided that THEY will take over the variant sales from now on???

While the current fakes/variant rampage might have been started by some rogue Nike overseas employees, there is obviously a market for them, and if Nike starts to 'outsource' variant product manufacturing, that is, Nike just takes a certain percentage or fixed dollar amount (on a per pair basis or on a weight scale) and let whoever's making fakes out there right now keep on making and selling them , Nike has an extra source of income. It makes perfect sense because Nike does NOT have to spend any resources to find any variant parts supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and marketer.

All they have to do is collect the $5 - $10 per pair (or per Kg of semi-finished parts for fakes/variants). This way, Nike has nothing to lose and everything to gain as this sort of agreement is extremely hard to prove.

I think JJ's understating possible ramifications of this article getting published. IF (again this is unsubstantiated) this reporter is also under contract with Nike, and in fact, acted as a Nike probe investigating this sneaker 'insider trading' issue, they could possibly suspend their agreement with the distributors in question, namely Supreme (ever wonder why you just can't get a #@!$ release date out of a Supreme employee when they are the ones who supposedly are running the store?), UNTIL all questionable employees and practices are removed.

I'm almost certain (I know this for a fact) what this reporter uncovered was only a part of the activities going on behind these poorly-run stores' closed doors and true, no publicity is bad publicity, but what Nike could end up doing from now on is giving these stores a given 'lead time' before Nike makes a supposedly limited edition of shoes general release like the AF1 Sheeds. Why make profit on only a certain number of sneakers when you can just make them "limited" for a period of time and then mass distribute them because after all, Nike's profit is made when stores get them in stock, not when the shoes get to our hands???

Worse yet, Nike could employ a "dynamic" lead time system where they give a particular reseller anywhere from 3 days to 3 months of lead time before they make a 'limited' edition of shoes general release. In addition, they could do what Microsoft did, just buy-out these design studios/skate shops (which I think Nike is in the process of doing already) and make them in-house specialty shops that either: 1) purely act as designers only and never distribute shoes again or 2) distribute only a certain percentage of a limited release, with the rest/majority available through NDC or Niketowns where Nike has more control. Can you imagine that, buying a pair of Dunk SB's on NDC as an exclusive???
 
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