Does JB really appreciate the loyal consumer?

[wozman23]

I don't know how this thread will go over on NT, but I believe it needs to be said.

Upon reading the letter on the box of my first countdown pack (the IXs and XIVs) I began to questionit. Now I don't believe it one bit. It states that the packages werecreated to "thank us for our allegiance and support" and are a way for JB to "show its appreciation" to the loyal consumer. The countdown package concept has fallen far short of that goal.

Last week I was on vacation with my family. What was the one thingthat went through my mind when I realized when we were going: How am I going to get my countdown pack? I pushed everything aside Friday at 9PST, rushed back to the hotel, and made sure I was at the lobby computer so I could get apackage online. I got to the computer at around 8:30 and anxiously awaited the release on eastbay. I can't evenbegin to tell you how many times I refreshed the web page for them. Then finally they came up and I immediately addedthem to my cart and began to check out. But then I got a page telling me they couldn't process myorder. So I clicked the try again button with no success. I tried again andagain only to get the same error page. Then, a minute or two later, when I finally tried to start the process overagain, they were already sold out. Now if I want the shoes I have to pay over 400 for them on ebay.

How is that "thanking the loyal consumer"? Loyal guys likeme, who have been wearing Jordans for over a decade , get screwed over while resellers make a quick 100 bucks. Thesystem is horribly flawed. And even if I would have been home I would have got screwed. Because due to the limitedness of the shoes, I would have had to drive an hour away just to get to a store with some pairs. So no matter what I would have been up on eastbay getting screwed for being a loyal consumer.

I have a life. And, working at circuit city, I don't have theincome to put down an extra $100+. Honestly I shouldn't be spending the $310, but I do for the love of theshoes. Ever since seventh grade when my parents finally bought me some Taxis for Christmas I've beenhooked. I'm up to just under 30 pairs now (which I consider a reasonable collection since I only got my first realjob 3 years ago). I don't wear the shoes to be cool or as a status symbol. I wear them because I love the shoes and all that they represent.

Now, many of you may flame this post or tell me to quit complaining, but I feel it is important if we wantchange. Complaining is the only way to bring change. Many loyal consumers arescrewed over on almost every release and it's ridiculous. I don't think it's too much to ask for JB to make it easier for their truly loyalconsumers to get what they want. Limiting a high demand release only screws us. Thatsbeen proven time and time again, like with the release of the Premier 23s. And it doesn't look like its going to get any better. More and more of us will continue to get screwed over every month due to questionable business decisions and hype.

So if you've been screwed over in the past I ask you to post your story about your love of Jordans, andpost how you've been screwed over. Maybe, just maybe, somebody important will take note and we could make someimpact. I highly doubt it, but it's worth a try.

Thanks for your time.

 

[k20lee]

your story about the last CDP really has nothing to do with JB, it's more with eastbay. JB will produce what they produce, but they don't do it sotheir loyalist's won't get their pair, trust me they want everyone to buy 20 pair cause it's just more money in the brands pocket.

 

[airportchy]

^ agreed, time and place, and eastbay is never a sure bet ever.

 

[green ice 05]

I see where you coming from, it definitely sucks. But if you sz 8 check out my signature.

 

[rudemiester]

^Chill some cat caught a temp. ban for that in another post...

 

[yungpyro07]

I dont think they appericiate the loyal customer as much as they should because without us, there would be no JB. I remember I got screwed over by a store withthe DMP but I dont blame JB for it. Im not flaming or anything but this just sounds like a personal problem with Eastbay, not JB.

 

[kingk777]

That's a matter of opinion and also what constitutes a loyal consumer.
Jordan Brand doesn't have to appreciate you just because you've been "in the game" for X amount of time.
It all comes back to basic economics. Jordan is a company...who's goal is to profit.
So just because Niketalkers sit around and post their new fits and wait in lines they get preference?
No matter how much you look at a sneaker online, you have to go get it.
This isn't a response to the poster necessarily, I'm just sick of angry Niketalkers blasting Jordan Brand just because
they miss out on sneakers or have failed to obtain the means to purchase the sneakers.

 

[dominican92]

Wozman23 you have a point, but it has more to do with eastbay.

 

[youngmonc]

i feel the reason they dont care is because regardless if the og collectors buy it....someone else is.....so as long as it sells out....they dont care whoswearing it.....

 

[rudemiester]

And OG Poster...I def feel where you're coming from.

I dont think its that JB doesnt appreciate its loyal customers...I think its that the people who run the show want to do what they think they have to in orderto maintain their selfish standards of a collector all the while selling tons of shoes that people wouldnt normally buy.

It's kind of sad when you compare Nike to JB.

Theyre both in the business of selling shoes to profit. As far as company goals I believe Nike first priority in order to sell shoes is footwearinnovation....JB abuses past memories and uses them as the strongest form of marketing to push their sales.

Prime Example..Nike made the ATC's last year and people absolutely hated it...the complaining hasnt stopped till this day. They got a wind of this andevery Retro of an OG has almost been spot on down to the 99th percentile..The ATC's arent keeping them alive...Lebron James, Kobe Bryant etc etc are theones who are marketed and paid $$$ to fly the swoosh adorned flag.

I dont care what anybody says...I believe that the majority of the people who buy these highly priced, highly marketed, and highly hyped shoes are the ones whopost on your various sneaker forums on the internet. With that being said...people have complained for years about the decision making at JB as far as thedesign aesthetics go...and NOTHING has changed. You might get the shoe you had when you were a kid or when you first dunked or whatever but expect those logosto be switched and your shoe to look like a variant flipping banana....

Ive never seen any company ever (maybe the big oil companies) who havent budged a bit when a majority of their consumers were overwhelmingly dissapointed withtheir performance...Unbelievable.

I know my explanation wasnt the most economically sound but I'm speaking from a long time consumers perspective here.

 

[wozman23]

no offense taken. I agree eastbay is responsible for my situation. They screwed up. I know that every website has its problem. I'm always hesitant to orderfrom finishline because I've heard countless horror stories. I'm simply saying that I wouldn't have had to rely on unreliable internet sources ifJB would just produce X amount more pairs of the shoes. If JBs sole purpose is to make money, they should have produced way more of this package. There isnobody on this board that will say they didn't think the Carmines would sell. JB knew they would sell. All they had to do was look at the hype. Not everyCDP has to be mass produced. As we have seen with the others, some don't go over well. But if i worked at JB i would sure plan to make more pairs of theXI/XII pack than the other packs. Because they will sell. Right now there are a large number of people looking for the last package. For every hundred peoplelooking for this package JB could have grossed over an extra $30000. So if they're concerned with profit then they are doing a horrible job. It doesnt takea Business major to figure that out.

 

[GL Rayner]

Wozman23 - I def. understand your concern how JB "rewards their loyal customers". I do understand that they are a company and are trying to makemoney but I would rather them not give us the same story over and over again. Its a slap in the face to many customers who have waited years to own certainJordans only to find out that they must buy a 2nd shoe that would not be given a 2nd look. I am at a point in my life where I can spend 310 per pack but at theend of the day its just not worth it. As much as I wanted the XIII's in the XIII/X pack, I had to pass because of the X's. They did not appeal to me inthe online pics and they looked worse in person.

 

[zidane4661]

i dont think jb is loyal to customers because they are bringing out sneakers no body wants, i woulda prefer college blu 17s or chicago 10s than dusty shadow10s and i really dont need a third pair of taxis, white and red 12s would be better

 

[ny1979]

all bout the $ MAN!

 

[indohan]

This is why I hate resellers.
Why can't we get the shoes few days (or even few minutes) late? We should pay retail price for the packs!
"Rewards to loyal customer" is more like "Rewards to loyal resellers". It defeats the purpose of "Shoe Collecting".
It turns out to be the source of easy income for resellers.

 

[zidane4661]

Originally Posted by indohan

This is why I hate resellers.
Why can't we get the shoes few days (or even few minutes) late? We should pay retail price for the packs!
"Rewards to loyal customer" is more like "Rewards to loyal resellers". It defeats the purpose of "Shoe Collecting".
It turns out to be the source of easy income for resellers.

im not gonna lie, i am a reseller and the only reason i do it is cuz i have bills to pay.

 

[k20lee]

^^^ so why doesn't the 310 plus tax go towards bills instead of buying up packs and keeping someone that wants to keep it from getting it?

 

[kingk777]

^So he can see some profit
Free Enterprise, The American dream.....
Shoes aren't sacred.
I don't need to pay bills yet, but in my estimation 310$ doesn't quite cut it....

 

[dirtyxcanto]

actually the xiv, ix pack isn't that hard to find for retail, but i agree with ya'll. resellers are ruining the game and hyping it up.

 

[firenflames]

nope. I realized Gentry only looks out for celebrities and himself

 

[burns1923]

I missed out on Eastbay, Finishline, and NDC. AND the NDC re-stock, however limited that was.

I missed out on the DMP as well.

The way I figure it, JB could produce enough for everyone to buy 10 if they wanted. JB doesn't produce that many because they bank on the idea that whensomeone is denied something they really want, they're driven to satisfy that goal even if it means by an alternate route. That alternate route may be tobuy another JB product, or to make sure to lock up the next pack.

The idea is that JB gets a hype kickback from producing an amount lower than demanded. It keeps their product wanted in the marketplace. Which then gives themreason to continue existing as a company when they are clearly bankrupt of originality and quality at this point.

 

[fireflyandfia]

JB should step upo on their quality game and production number, its not much of a hype with some of the crappy 17's out there

 

[gillden]

JB DOES IT ALL FOR THE MONEY, THEY DON'T CARE FOR THE CONSUMER... L0L YEAH RIGHT, I READ THAT TO MY MOMS AND SHE WENT OFF!!!

 

[160jordansdeep]

I DONT THINK JORDAN BRAND/NIKE REALLY CARES ABOUT ITS CUSTOMERS

AND YOU WOULD BE A FOOL TO BELIEVE THIS COMPANY GIVES A DAMN ABOUT US.

ALSO DONT FORGET THIS IS A VERY SHELFISH HOBBY TO START WITH

SO BOTH GO HAND IN HAND

the reason i typed my answers in big lettters is to get my point across LOUD AND CLEAR

 

[airmaxes]

The idea is that JB gets a hype kickback from producing an amount lower than demanded. It keeps their product wanted in the marketplace. Which then gives them reason to continue existing as a company when they are clearly bankrupt of originality and quality at this point.
Exactly. Long term investment in the brand is way better than the short term profits. And when you think about it, Nike is so much more than justRetro Jordan releases. I'm sure there are figures out there that shows the proportion of its running, golf, etc sales as well as all the Team J's, etc.that there is an abundance of. I can bet any amount of money that in terms of gross or net sales those categories are much higher than what they bank on withRetro J's. I can't deny that in terms of inventory as well as investment turnover the Retro J's, especially the ones that are instant selloutsreign supreme for that one weekend but for the long term health of a company I'd beg to differ.