I Searched for “Jordan mid”
So on Footlocker.com, I did a search for the terms “jordan mid” and got these results. I don’t get it.
I supposed Jordan is close to “Juicy?”
shoes
Did You Catch the AM90 Mars (Re)Landing?
Did you see that Nordstrom “restocked” the Air Max 90 Mars Landing shoes that recently released? I’m guessing this was more returns rather than a restock, but for a short while, a few (small) sizes were readily available for purchase.
I’m kinda glad I passed on these sneakers. Althought they have a cool backstory and look interesting, the value in these have not been too good.
Crazy Clay Morning
What a crazy morning going for the last Yeezy 350 regional drop, the Clays. I gotta hand it to Adidas for making this an equitable, attainable drop for the masses. Yeah, the release was more than four hours ago, and Adidas finally sold out, so there was lots of time (and opportunity) to snag a pair. Sure, the small and big sizes went first, but if you were fortunate to make it through the Waiting Room early enough, you could have gotten pretty much any size as sizes kept coming back in stock.
Scary moment before the drop as it looked like I was banned from the Adidas site. Closing all browsers and restarting my Mac luckily remedied this issue. Then the waiting began.
Ding ding! That Adidas bell notification has to be one of the simplest and most useful feature ever.
I got in about 45 minutes after launch and had a size 6 in my cart. Sadly, due to payment lag and slowdowns, I could not check out during my session time and was put back into the waiting room. Â About one hour later, I finally escaped the waiting room, but by then, only common sizes remained. So I grabbed a personal pair just in case.
Hours later, I still couldn’t get back to purchasing as sizes gradually went out of stock.
And now the Clay drop is officially over at Adidas.com.
Regional Yeezy Boost 350
Yeezys have been launching fast and furious throughout March. With a release set for each week, besides the grounded Geodes, Yeezy 350s have been filling up the calendar.
First up were the Asian region Hyperspaces available on Adidas Japan and Yeezy Supply Asia. Both sites were easy to get to, but the language barrier was a problem, but small in comparison to needing a physical address in Asia to ship to. Luckily, Wayne’s World pulled through!
On March 16, it was Europe’s turn with the True Form. These were relatively easier to get with a mulitude of vendors carrying the shoe, many of them offering international shipping. No, it wasn’t simple to get the True Forms, but if you endured, you would have landed a pair (or two). Thanks to Size? for the oddly-timed restock!
Lastly, the delayed Clay model finally releases in North and South America on March 30. Seems like the usual suspects will be stocking this shoe which should sell well unlike the Geodes. Of course, I’ll try for the Clays along with everyone else. Hopefully, the Adidas Waiting Room will be good to me.
I don’t know which colorway is the best of the three. Initially, I thought the Hyperspace was safe but looks kinda like the Statics. Now the True Forms are calling with their Beluga-like motif but with those salmon hits of color. Then there’s the Clays which look totally different than any other Yeezys. Need an in-hand look before making a decision.
Wait, is there really a decision to be made?!?
No Frogs But Foam Tigers
Nope, I didn’t get the Frogs, but I did manage to capture these Foamposite Tigers. Total luck and perserverance as I kept trying on City Gear, the only early supplier of this shoe.
Nike has since launched a larger release of the Air Foamposite One Tiger Stripes, but I bombed on getting any more pairs. While I’ve never owned a pair of Foams before, I don’t think I’ll start with these Memphis Tigers-themed ones. Now that I think about it, this is one of the few Penny models I haven’t owned.
No Frog Blazers
Totally didn’t expect how hard it would be, but I just couldn’t find a pair of Nike SB Blazers in collaboration with Frog Skateboards. Targeted at skaters, most inventory accordingly released in skate shops, and many of them didn’t sell online. The few with an online store were wiped out quick.
Hoping these are released in the near future. So different from the typical Nike aesthetic.
Grounded Geodes
Seemingly the darker colored Yeezys just don’t resonate with the (younger) sneaker community. As a “seasoned” shoe head, I personally didn’t mind the 700 v1 Mauves, and I kinda like the 700 v2 Geodes. But even at release, they just didn’t move like other Yeezy drops. Even now, hours later, common sizes are readily available at Adidas, Yeezy Supply, and other retailers.
Now I don’t think these will be my next #rossfinds, but I do hope I can find a discounted pair for myself soon.
Nordstrom Pricing Mistake
It’s been awhile, but Nordstrom is fallible and does make mistakes. Witness these New Balance 998 in grey and teal. Usually, the 998s made in the USA go for $180, but at the moment, Nordstrom has them priced at $100.
Sizes are slowly going…
Good One Feature Sneaker Boutique
Gotta love Feature Sneaker Boutique for their creativity. Capitalizing on Virgil Abloh’s popularity with his Off-White label’s collaboration with Nike, Feature Sneaker had a draw then released these “NIKE AIR FORCE 1 UTILITY MID – OFF WHITE/BLACK.”
Can you see it the beauty in their product page? If I had a sneaker bot and wanted to cop the in-demand Air Force 1 Low Off-White Black White, what keywords would I tell my bot to look out for? Maybe, your keywords would look something like this “off white air force 1 black.”
Guess what? Feature Sneaker Boutique (or is it really Nike) read your mind and played tricks with this interesting-looking Air Force 1 Utility Mid sneaker. Yes, it’s an AF1 and the name of the colorway is Off White/Black/White and with a price tag of $165 (close to the legit Off White AF1 retailing for $160), most bots would be convinced they found one of The Ten and would have gone into action, buying any and all sizes automatically, hoping to make exorbitant resell profit.
And this shoe did sell out on Feature Sneaker Boutique so this bot-tricking scenario may have been successful. This shoe is still readily available at Norstrom for comparison purposes.
My Relationship with Nordstorm Is Strange
This post’s title says it all. I’ve said good things about Nordstrom, but I’ve shared mostly bad experiences shopping online. Why you ask? Because this customer service-centric company does stuff like this.
They cancel two of my online orders due to lack of stock. Yet, what did I see while poking around men’s shoes this past week?
Yup, this floral Air Force 1 was the first of my cancellations. But it doesn’t end there. Scrolling down on the page, I came across these Air Max 98 Wild West.
No kidding. This had been the second of my cancellations, and to top it off, both of these shoes were nearly the sizes of my cancelled order (I had ordered a size 10 AF1 and a 10.5 AM98. Both of those in stock are size 10). I have to assume both models came from other cancelled orders or returns.
And then, here’s the kicker. Remember back in October 2018 when my Nordstrom order for the Nike React Element 87 was cancelled? Yes, this chronicled one of my earlier disappointments with Nordstrom. Guess what showed up online? The same exact shoe that was cancelled – Nike React Element 87 Total Orange colorway in size 10.5. Some kind of twisted fate?
I placed my order knowing the probable outcome and look what showed up.
There was no original box, but the shoes are fine. I don’t know what happened here – a very late return, hiding in the warehouse, old stock from a retail location? I guess I need to say thanks Nordstrom. Let’s just work on fulfilling orders the first time around. 😉
More Eastbay Games
I thought I was done and over with Eastbay’s games after I eventually placed my order succesfully. Though potentially still a success, my order has hit a significant snag that starts off like this:
Thank you for your order. We are currently out-of-stock, however…
Shoe Palace May Be the Worst
Okay, EastBay and Finish Line may actually be pardoned after what I witnessed with ShoePalace.com. During a hyped release, you’ll see this timer counting down from two minutes.
The accompanying text is below:
PLEASE WAIT…
You are probably seeing this because something HOT is going on right now — a new release, a restock, or something like that.
In the meantime, let us explain…
Shoe Palace has the fairest and most-advanced system in the marketplace. We offer great chances of copping a pair of hot kicks. Our release process is built around two principles:Our system meters out the products over a couple hours. We do this so that you don’t have to have to be there the second it launches and compete against the bots.
Our advanced software monitors each user. If you are a bot, constantly refreshing your browser, being impatient or obnoxious enough, the system will automatically reduce your chances or ban you from the site. Patience and persistence will be rewarded. Play nice.
HINT: For the best chances, try no more than every two minutes. Use the handy timer above to help you know when your next chance may be up.
So every two minutes, you have to manually click on Try Again button and go through the shoe sizing picking process again. Then you hope you don’t get the timer again (which you will, time after time after time). It’s maddening although I have heard that if you persist, you have a legitimate shot of a successful check out. Too painful for me…