Finishline don’t BS you on discounts on 11’s like all other foot stores?
Welp, today I wore my Baron lows for the first time in probably almost a year. Barely walked outside in them and ... the dreaded squeaking appeared from nowhere in the left shoe. Took the insole out to confirm and, yup, made no difference. Just like with my emerald lows, the issue is inside the midsole, as if the airbag becomes unglued from the foam and then makes squeaking/almost burping noises as a result. I know from my experience trying to return my emeralds to Nike under the manufacturing-flaw policy that they won't take these back. SMFH, I am so goddamn sick and tired of this issue on 11s. I don't think I wore the barons 10 times prior to today.
If this happens on my navys, I'm going to lose my mind. Let alone on my still barely worn Concords. It depresses the **** out of me because 11s are probably my favorite Jordan. I will say, the newer 11s feel stiffer underfoot and not as squishy in the cushioning as the emeralds or Barons did, though that might just be a result of them now using the polyurethane insoles. I'm hoping, though, that they changed something in the construction and that this might make the squeaking problem less likely. As it is, these Barons are now getting donated to Good Will because I will not wear squeaking shoes, it drives me effing nuts. SMFH
They kept saying they don’t count noises as defects. I sent them back twice with explanations that someone would have to put the shoe on to know something was wrong but it seemed like they just looked at them visually.
It's outrageous, honestly. The first time, I sent them in with the form filled out. They emailed me and said after reviewing them, there was nothing wrong and sent them back to me. I called Nike customer service and explained it all, and the nice girl had me send them back again. This time I wrote a more detailed letter. And then I got an email from someone claiming she had overseen the inspection and my complaint didn't qualify under their policy. I was livid.They are bozos. That is certainly a defect. People don't want to walk around with a squeak.
I hear you but that makes no sense. Are they using a different sole construction on the lows compared to the mids? I dunno, maybe there is something to that. The thing that really gets me is, I bought several pairs of the first black/red IE low retro all the way back in 2003 and they all started squeaking. Sixteen years later, this is still an issue? My OG black/red 11s, I can still wear around the house and they don't make a sound.
It's outrageous, honestly. The first time, I sent them in with the form filled out. They emailed me and said after reviewing them, there was nothing wrong and sent them back to me. I called Nike customer service and explained it all, and the nice girl had me send them back again. This time I wrote a more detailed letter. And then I got an email from someone claiming she had overseen the inspection and my complaint didn't qualify under their policy. I was livid.
The thing about it is, yes it's the money, but even more so, I don't want a refund, I want to wear the damn shoes. I'm actually semi-stressed about my Navys now, and my stockpile of Concords.
The wild **** about the Barons is, I threw them on, on a whim, hit the pavement and almost immediately thought to myself, I wonder when these will start squeaking, I can definitely feel how much squishier they are than the recent releases. Again, that might just be the insoles. Then I thought, dude, stop it, you just got a bad pair of emeralds. And somehow, not 500 steps later, I took one more step and my left shoe ... I could almost feel it before I heard it. Twenty more steps, I really started listening and it was full-on with the noises at that point. It was wild, almost like I willed it into happening LOL
I know @maxmaxjordan23 or someone else posted a while a back that they beat one or two pairs of new Concords into the ground playing ball in them, and said they didn't squeak. I hope that bodes well for the latest releases including the Navys, but I'm definitely concerned about it at this point
I didn't bother because with both the emeralds and now the Barons, removing the midsole and then putting them on made no difference. The sound isn't from a rubbing insole, the problem is INSIDE the midsole. I don't see how baby powder lying on top of it is going to make a difference.
That's what my 2003 IEs were like. They'd be fine when I put them on, but within a few minutes of wearing them the squeaking would start. Then the next time, the same thing would happen. I didn't know about the baby powder trick back then, it might have worked in that case. But it's ridiculous this is even a thing, let alone a common thing, especially after all of these years.
That's why I'm just donating my pair of Barons. I'll never want to wear them again because it.
OH, believe me, I tried. The problem is, the email I got back came from an automated, generic Nike Returns address, not actually from the woman whose explanation was included in the email. I did hit reply to it, and essentially sent back a nasty note explaining they were wrong and clearly didn't try on the shoes to see the problem, and then I blasted them for treating me this way. I said, I'm not some 16-year-old kid or some clown trying to game their returns policy, look at my purchase history and how many times in the past 15 years I've returned anything compared to the thousands and thousands of dollars I've spent with NDC alone, let alone other authorized Nike retailers. Not surprisingly, I never got another reply. They've probably got me on some blacklist now for the next time I need to return something for a defect, even if it's a legit defect under their official policy
in person. Feel like my pics aren’t really doing these justice. Hopefully I get to pull these out sometime this spring/summer.
