Ridiculous and overpriced are what most people think when hearing about Jordan retro shoes, but to “sneakerheads” there’s a market.
A sneakerhead is a person who collects, trades or admires sneakers as a hobby.
There is a difference between a resale price and a retail price. The retail price is the total price charged for a product sold to a customer, which includes the manufacturer’s cost plus a retail markup.
What makes the shoe worth more than its original price is its rarity and limited-release.
The chances of finding a “retroed” Jordan shoe on shelves are slim to none. Nevertheless, over the past few months there’s been a shift in the resell market.
“Right now I have more Adidas, I sold most of my Nikes and Jordan’s already,” said Delta College sneakerhead Wilfredo Samson Jr.
Resellers and sneakerheads everywhere have followed the recent hype of Adidas. Adidas has been on a tear recently with one successful release after another.
For Adidas, the wearability factor, to go along with the looks, is building a strong following within the sneaker community.
“It’s all about being comfortable, that’s what Ultra Boost is doing. Bringing comfort and just looks in general, hype everything about them,” said Samson.
Retail data from the “NPD Group” indicates Adidas is growing faster than Nike and Under Armour within the running shoe department. An apparent 30 percent, according to Mark King, president of Adidas Group North America, because of the Ultra Boost line.
Adidas took its first step in the right direction when the company signed Kanye West to his own sneaker deal in 2013.
With the signing of Kanye, the company gave him complete creative control over his signature shoes, something he didn’t get with his previous sponsorship at Nike.
West’s recent “Yeezy Season” lifestyle collection has exploded causing sneakerheads and hypebeasts all over to come and try to obtain his exclusive shoe releases.
With West’s two biggest attractions being the low-top Yeezy 350s and the high-top Yeezy 750s.
“My cousin actually got me a pair of Yeezy’s, ‘Pirate Blacks’” (350’s) and I sold them because they were too big for me,” said Samson. “I sold them for about $850-$900 and that’s not rate price at all. That’s reasonable price.”
Not to mention Kanye’s other popular shoe the Yeezy 750 resales for around $1,200 to $1,500. The retail price for an Adidas Yeezy 750 is $300.
To quote Kanye himself in his song “FACTS,” “Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman.” Kanye and high powered Adidas may have jumped over Jordan in popularity within the resale community.
Originally sneakerheads were able to open up their own store to buy, sell or trade shoes. With their biggest attraction being Jordans. However, with the recent astronomical success of Adidas many of these sneaker stores have lost business.
Even more so the captivation is on Kanye with his Yeezy shoes. If you’re a sneaker store owner and are unable to get your hands on Yeezys, it can be the downfall of your business.
This doesn’t mean Jordan’s no longer have a market. There’s a punchers chance of finding Jordan’s on shelves before going into the resale market. Although a recent retro release shows they still have the potential to fly off shelves and hit the resale market.
The OG “Shattered Backboard Away” 1’s released on Oct. 8 for a retail price of $160. On an open resale market the value can range from $300-$375 in men’s sizes.