The State of the Shoe Game

[rojanjon]

Personally, my experiences over the past few years have really sealed the deal for me.

The hype, the negativity, the reselling, the quality taking a serious dive over the past nine years and especially over the past six. 

I'm thankfully at a point in my life that I can keep a few select pairs and walk away from this "game" and make a little money in the process.  Money that will be used for my family and to get my "grown man" suit and shoe game up.

After the White Cement IV release I really have made my mind up to have my money speak for me.

Release retros in the same quality as Motorsport VI's, Oreo VI's, Bordeauxs, Playoff XIII's, and I will buy them.  Those retros are well done and relative to the others that have accompanied them, they are far superior.

Release a well done quality retro and I will give you my hard earned $170.  If you continue to churn out garbage, you can keep it.  I'm done.

Let the kids have it.  It's a changing of the guard.  There is no sense of history or nostalgia left.  It's all hype, trends, marketing, and fanaticism and violence.

That's straight garbage and nonsense and I want nothing to do with it.

 

[jayz0nmyfeet]

Ive been buying kicks since 97 when i got my first job after graduating middle school. I had never own any good pairof kicks cause parents couldnt afford it. Once i gotmy own money i appreciated every release and worked hard to try and buy shoes. Ive been on and off from buyin shoes the last couple yrs cause all these younger generation and resellers have made it hard. Cant knock their hustle cause i dont know their situation. But i Will say this, jordan and nike need fo produce more to keep all customers happy.

 

[secretzofwar]

I think the Concord's started to scare people but...where have you been?

If you want to look back at history as your guide, lots of stuff has gone down for Jordan's in the 90's. And just a few years ago, people camped out and waited days for SB Dunks.

The main difference now is that instead of skate shoes, it's Jordan's, Foams, Kobe's, and LeBron's. Same story, different shoe. Maybe people will suddenly love Nike Soccer, I don't know...But this really isn't anything new.

Heck, even in 03 a bunch of Jordan's sold out on release day. It's really nothing new, except less hyped shoes like sell-out now too.

 

[coreyatou]

Originally Posted by secretzofwar

I think the Concord's started to scare people but...where have you been?

If you want to look back at history as your guide, lots of stuff has gone down for Jordan's in the 90's. And just a few years ago, people camped out and waited days for SB Dunks.

The main difference now is that instead of skate shoes, it's Jordan's, Foams, Kobe's, and LeBron's. Same story, different shoe. Maybe people will suddenly love Nike Soccer, I don't know...But this really isn't anything new.

Heck, even in 03 a bunch of Jordan's sold out on release day. It's really nothing new, except less hyped shoes like sell-out now too.

 

[prince]

this is a double thread in nike and jordan

 

[lacelocka]

Originally Posted by PRIME



Once I realized where the culture was at that point, I made a goal; To cop the last remaining pairs of grails I have always wanted and then moved on. 

I'll always have those select pairs that I might not help but buy in the future, but growing up you loved 2 things about collecting - Having your favorite pairs of shoes, and being a part of a culture that felt like a family in a sense. 

This is exactly how I feel. 
I'm going to cop what few grails I have left out there that haven't been ruined by Nike/JB yet and move on with my life.  I went to the H-Town Sneaker Summit this year and I just felt so....out of place. I was dealing with people who value the damn South Beach LB and Yeezy's over any Original Release nike/Jordan shoe. They don't care how the quality is...they don't care if the shoe feels like clay. They care to be noticed...and admired for being just as good as everyone else. ...

 The only benefit of this current era? Older and hard to find releases are being overlooked for the newer ones...so I grab what everyone has forgotten. .

 

[cnoriega]

I MRDR PEEPS 4 FUN wrote:
I experienced my first line-up in 1995, as a Champs employee, when I witnessed 50 people waiting for the Jordan XI release. The line started a couple of hours before the store opened and everyone received a pair. Times were simple and the culture was entrenched with respect and admiration for other sneaker collectors. 

I'd like to know where you were at because the original XI wasn't a great seller. Those things were readilly available at allll kinds of spots, J.C. Penny's, Dillards, Nordstroms, FTL, etc. I would go as far to say that on the wc they were available weeks if not months after the release. 

 

[swooshbeast]

im so ashamed of the shoe game right now

 

[flood401]

I am fairly new and fell into this game by accident.... Ive spent a lot of my money buying up sneakers and built a very nice collection, but I understand whats wrong with the equation here.

People need to get a grip and not trade their car!!! for a pair of sneakers ever!

 

[flintgrey]

Originally Posted by cnoriega

I MRDR PEEPS 4 FUN wrote:
I experienced my first line-up in 1995, as a Champs employee, when I witnessed 50 people waiting for the Jordan XI release. The line started a couple of hours before the store opened and everyone received a pair. Times were simple and the culture was entrenched with respect and admiration for other sneaker collectors. 

I'd like to know where you were at because the original XI wasn't a great seller. Those things were readilly available at allll kinds of spots, J.C. Penny's, Dillards, Nordstroms, FTL, etc. I would go as far to say that on the wc they were available weeks if not months after the release. 


I worked at a Foot Locker in 1995. People lined up for the blk/red XIs. But the Concords and Columbias took weeks to sell out.  Any playoff colorway Jordan (blk/red) in the Chicagoland area sold like hot cakes.

 

[vaddy]

Originally Posted by PRIME

Originally Posted by Vaddy

Originally Posted by beerdrum108

I, too, would like to see Nike mass-produce popular models like the XI's to completely meet the demand of consumers. That is the only way we can get rid of resellers because, if everyone has their pair, people who scoop up 10+ pairs to resell will be unable to make their profits and the whole "game" can return to the level we all wish it was at. Unfortunately, by limiting production runs, they are able to gain publicity and market appeal without spending a single penny on advertisement, and by doing so, they maximize the amount of profit they can bring in. I'm disappointed that Nike has chosen to follow this route instead of satisfying the overwhelming majority of consumers' wishes and making enough shoes to meet the massive demand.

It's totally fine if they have SOME limited releases, but I feel that shoes like the Concords and Cement 4's shouldn't be so limited as to cause widespread riots around the country, as well as having people get hurt over a pair of shoes. Why should I need to do "homework" to buy a pair of sneakers??

Call me selfish but I disagree mass producing a sneaker like the XI or III tarnishes the legacy if everyone and their mom has a pair on deck IMO. In a imaginary world Nike would make everyone take a online quiz about the sneaker they are trying to cop to weed out the resellers...

75% correct and you get to add your sneaker to the cart.... 

Back in the day everyone and their mom had EVERY Jordan release. No sort of legacy will be tarnished by giving people what they want. 
The Jordan III used to go on SALE racks, that didn't tarnish the sneakers legacy... 

People like air jordans, they aren't just exclusive to dudes who are part of an online message board. EVERYONE deserves to have the shoes they want. And its Nike's job to supply the people with what they want. 

More shoes = more money for Nike. 

More shoes = Satisfied customers

Less shoes =/= Satisfied customers or more money for Nike. 

%#+# just doesn't make sense to me. 

 I understand all of your post, I was alive and well in the 90's, don't let my babyface fool you.

I know XI's sat on the shelves back then aside from the Breds... What I meant in my original post was more directed towards PRESENT DAY events. The popularity of Jordan brand has risen to astounding heights my dude. Concord release has put JB in the public light in a positive/negative way..... Again IMO making mass quantities of XI's/III's or V's will bastardize the shoe. Your telling me you would be happy if the whole block had on your favorite pair of J's like they were a pair of New Balance's or Adidas Superstars? I'm not happy with paying re-seller prices trust me, no one is but I would rather have JB come up with a solution other than mass producing my favorite sneakers. Again its my opinion, not a selfish guy but thats how I really feel about this situation. 

 

[cowcolor]

I completely agree, even thought i am a new collector and even thought i was on time for the new releases i still am not able to get them because oft he hype and resellers so i am forced to buy from resellers.

 

[bigbadbennyism]

I agree totally, I have a different perspective given in Australia the hype isn't so extreme.

How about I was able to walk in store, pick them up and try them on (Concords, III's and IV's) and pass on my size knowing full well I could buy and re-sell at some crazy price (The Game) , truth is I just cant stand the extremely poor quality of the retroes, its pathetic. So pathetic I wont even hand over my credit card just for the hell of it. There would be no issue buying all the pairs in store, but why?

This Game you speak of is now about $ and nothing else. Truth is I'm not interested, I'm interested in the shoe not looking worse than some of the fakes out there and cracking and creasing after a 1/2 hour of wear.

Edit: Forgot to mention we also pay $219AUD for the AJIV and AJIII ($235USD) $240 for the AJXI ($255USD), so count yourselves lucky your not also paying rape prices from the beginning.

 

[i mrdr peeps 4 fun]

Originally Posted by bence23

hey op, what size are them royal 1s in your avy?

Sz 13

 

[i mrdr peeps 4 fun]

Originally Posted by cnoriega

I MRDR PEEPS 4 FUN wrote:
I experienced my first line-up in 1995, as a Champs employee, when I witnessed 50 people waiting for the Jordan XI release. The line started a couple of hours before the store opened and everyone received a pair. Times were simple and the culture was entrenched with respect and admiration for other sneaker collectors. 

I'd like to know where you were at because the original XI wasn't a great seller. Those things were readilly available at allll kinds of spots, J.C. Penny's, Dillards, Nordstroms, FTL, etc. I would go as far to say that on the wc they were available weeks if not months after the release. 


Los Angeles 

 

[i mrdr peeps 4 fun]

This thread has raised some interesting points. However, the most provocative was the different tones in each forum. I posted this in Nike Retro and Jordan and if you look at the responses they are very different. Wasn't expecting that.

 

[liljrdn]

Right before the Concords, I thought the "Sneaker" phase had died down. I was able to snatch a few gems from Ebay for very good prices and everything seemed as if kids were moved on to a different thing. However, just in these last few months, reselling has mutated into something scary as now it is becoming almost impossible for people to buy the shoes they like without having to pay mark-up prices.

Things got ugly with the concords and it was expected but now you have a shoe like the galaxy foamposites going for thousand of dollars on Ebay. I would estimate that 80% of the people that bought those shoes are resellers. Now it becomes even worse since now any release is seen as a potential "moneymaker" and that makes it a problem for the rest of us that simply want to buy a shoe they like for retail price and call it a day. If the galaxy foamposites were bad, just wait until the yeezys II's come out.

 

[acekilla408]

I agree with the OP but we all need to keep on thing in mind........... There are no ethics when money is involved.

 

[jumpmanpro97]

Originally Posted by acekilla408

I agree with the OP but we all need to keep on thing in mind........... There are no ethics when money is involved.

^ the economy is bad, people are trying to make a buck any way they can.

 

[s329]

what kills me as an older-!#* collector (30+ yrs old) is that the vast majority of the kids buying the shoes these days have never even seen MJ play live! It was different back then when you'd see mike start the season with that years shoe and we all felt like we were part of something special. Now with the recent retro craze it has nothing to do with the man behind the logo, but just the logo. Anyway, I'll tell you what you guys already know, and that's the mere fact that no matter how much we complain, the game is forever changed. It's up to us to decide if we still want to be in the game with the new rules? or simply decide if it's time to hang em up.

 

[f sharp005]

The white/cement IV release was Feb. 17 at 11:00pm at kickz here in Munich.  They were going to open the shop at that time for the release.  I was on my way home, came up to the store window and noticed they had the shoes already on display.  It was only 10:15, no line up.  The first thing that came into my mind was "This should be an easy purchase", then some nostalgia: Do The Right Thing, seeing Chuck D wearing them on stage in '89, a classmate rocking them back in high school, etc.. 

But after a few minutes I thought, "Do I NEED them?". For me it wasn't a matter of limited availability, nostalgia, Air Jordan legacy, price or even spite towards the shoe collecting "game" anymore.  I had a CHOICE and decided I don't need them.  I kept it moving and don't regret it.

Peace
F Sharp005

 

[bence23]

Originally Posted by Vaddy

Originally Posted by PRIME

Originally Posted by Vaddy


Call me selfish but I disagree mass producing a sneaker like the XI or III tarnishes the legacy if everyone and their mom has a pair on deck IMO. In a imaginary world Nike would make everyone take a online quiz about the sneaker they are trying to cop to weed out the resellers...

75% correct and you get to add your sneaker to the cart.... 

Back in the day everyone and their mom had EVERY Jordan release. No sort of legacy will be tarnished by giving people what they want. 
The Jordan III used to go on SALE racks, that didn't tarnish the sneakers legacy... 

People like air jordans, they aren't just exclusive to dudes who are part of an online message board. EVERYONE deserves to have the shoes they want. And its Nike's job to supply the people with what they want. 

More shoes = more money for Nike. 

More shoes = Satisfied customers

Less shoes =/= Satisfied customers or more money for Nike. 

%#+# just doesn't make sense to me. 

 I understand all of your post, I was alive and well in the 90's, don't let my babyface fool you.

I know XI's sat on the shelves back then aside from the Breds... What I meant in my original post was more directed towards PRESENT DAY events. The popularity of Jordan brand has risen to astounding heights my dude. Concord release has put JB in the public light in a positive/negative way..... Again IMO making mass quantities of XI's/III's or V's will bastardize the shoe. Your telling me you would be happy if the whole block had on your favorite pair of J's like they were a pair of New Balance's or Adidas Superstars? I'm not happy with paying re-seller prices trust me, no one is but I would rather have JB come up with a solution other than mass producing my favorite sneakers. Again its my opinion, not a selfish guy but thats how I really feel about this situation. 

You gotta be kidding though. The 3's and 5s are too of the most WHORED out models ever. The 3's seem to release every 3 months and the 5s too.

 

[jjs]

I am new to this "game" and "culture" because I am only 19 and I didn't have a job to get money to buy nice shoes (and it was not my parents who would have paid for me to have a 2nd pair of sneakers, one was enough they said...and they are right).

But, I don't consider myself like a young hypebeast who will buy everything, because

In high school, where I started playing basketball, I started loving basketball sneakers. I wanted to know everything about basketball, including the kicks. I knew a lot of thing about jordan (even if he was already retired at this time) to the point my brother and I were buying like special edition DVD of some of MJ's best game.. we were really into basketball.

A while ago, I didn't even know guys like you existed (sneakerheads) and I just think it is great to have threads to talk kicks and all (I am enjoying being on NT really bad ).

Now that I have money, I am starting to cop some pairs of sneakers I like, but not everything (passed on the 4's, the 10's, the 11's and others) and I actually don't regret my choice. One thing I regret is not being there when the sneaker game was nice and all. I regret to see big sneakerheads leaving because of all this, it's just sad because when I see a pair of kicks I want, I'll go check info on the kick before buying it(especially Jordan, because there is so much history in those shoes).

Don't get me wrong, I didn't see MJ play back in the days, but I have always loved basketball, MJ as a player and also basketball shoes. To the point where I want to know when did MJ wear that shoe and what happenned with this one, etc. And now that some sneakerheads are leaving I feel like we are losing some of the "knowledge".

One thing I cannot stand is people wearing things (shoes, shirts, etc.) and not knowing what it is. My friend told me once he saw a girl with a nice pair of Jordans, he told her : "hey! nice pair of Jordans" and she respond : "They are not Jordans, they are Jays".

Like what is wrong with you?!?! You are paying 170-200$ for a pair of kicks and you don't even know they are Jordans....

I really love kicks to the point I won't stop buying for now, but I just arrived into the "culture" and I am already disgusted with how people are acting.

 

[sosmoove]

I agree with the majority. I sit back and think about the past few years and its almost as if there was this Jordan "boom". I mean that in a sense of every damn body wants every single release that comes out and its sooooo hyped. Every single one now. With that said, I don't blame Nike for the hype that WE create. WE determine what sales out or not and WE control the market/whats "hot". My problem isn't with Nike/JB production numbers either, I just hate the way the quality has gone to $@+$.

 

[keepemclean23]

AGREE 100%.....I COULD ALSO WRITE A SHORT NOVEL ON THIS TOPIC BUT IN SHORT I FEEL LIKE MORE RETAIL STORES NEED TO PUT THE "1 PER PERSON" RULE INTO EFFECT , THAT WAY WHEN YOUR 25TH IN LINE YOU STILL GET YOUR PAIR WHICH LEADS TO LESS RIOTS,FIGHTS AND MAYEM , IT ALSO PUTS RESELLERS IN A HARD SPOT.......WHEN I WAS WAITING FOR THE CEMENT 4'S THE MANAGER SHOWED UP AND SAID THESE ARE "1 PER PERSON FELLAS !" IT WAS EASY TO LOOK DOWN THE LINE AND TELL WHO REALLY WANTED THE SHOES FOR THEMSELVES AND WHO WAS TRYING TO FLIP EM...........LOVED HEARING THE RESELLERS SAY "THIS IS SOME BULL$#!# I WAS TRYING TO COP LIKE 4 PAIRS"