No Cactus Jack AJ1 for Me
Just a little memory of the Travis Scott Cactus Jack AJ1 drop after his performance at the Grammys.
I was unsuccessful using Nike SNKRS as well.
sneakers
Gotta Give It to Nike
You gotta give it to Nike and give credit where credit is due. During Super Bowl LIII, sneakerheads were watching the Super Bowl halftime show as Travis Scott performed in his signature Air Jordan 1 model. The hope, of course, was that Nike would shock drop those shoes when Scott took the stage, similar to Justin Timberlake’s Air Jordan 3 Tinker surprise release.
But that would be cliche. Fast forward to today, a Sunday night when Travis Scott performed at the Grammys. Nike did their thing and shook it up with a late night shock drop. Even during this off-peak time, this limited release went fast. I managed to get in the virtual line but did not get the hoped for “Got’em” message.
Although I wasn’t successful, I gotta admire the Swoosh for doing something different, keeping it fresh. Now, I just gotta hope for better luck whenever the bigger release happens.
Adidas Boost Back at Nordstrom Rack
In December, I had come across lots of Adidas Boost shoes (including the Parley version of the UltraBoost ST) at Nordstrom Rack. Well, the Boost is back at The Rack. Here’s what I came across this past week. Sorry, I don’t have the prices, but they were hovering right at $100, except for the Reigning Champ collab. That all terrain high top was discounted to $150!!
EQT Support 93/17, possibly the Welding Pack
UltraBoost Uncaged
Reigning Champ all terrain collab
Arkyn for the ladies
Pure Boost
UltraBoost ST
I also found a Solebox branded Pure Boost (style code B27992).
Although kinda interesting looking, this shoe must not have sold well at all. There was practically a full size run of these shoes, and the price was around $80, down from $200. Resell on these are not good. I tried on a pair, and while comfortable, they can’t beat the support of the UltraBoost.
Anyways, if you’re looking for a personal pair of Boost at pretty good prices, check out your local Nordstrom Rack. And if you don’t like them, you have 45 days to return them.
ResExp: (Sneaker) Size Matters
Whether #coppingkicks or searching for #rossfinds, one notable distinction is that size matters. It really matters. Success in one field doesn’t equate to success in the other.
So here it goes. When doing the #rossfinds thing, you’re hoping to score men’s shoes sized 9-12. These are the most common men’s sizes, so therefore, you have the largest audience of potential customers. Check out this size run of the recent Yeezy Zebra release that illustrates the size breakdown.
Although not 100% accurate (that 85 size 8.5 was an admitted typo), you get the idea of the size distribution with size 9-12 dominating the size run. Here’s a graphical view showing the bell-shaped results.
Now let’s flip it around for #coppingkicks. This strategy targets the extremes. Success with #coppingkicks means copping kicks as small or as big as possible. You want the size 6 or 16. In this market, you avoid the common sizes. You target the small supply to drive the high demand and accordingly, the high cost. Reselling the common sizes aka bricks won’t lead to profit and in fact, could lead to losses. The lower sizes aka “bae sizes” are for the women, youngsters, and small footers. The larger sizes are more of a gamble since the population of size 16-ers isn’t common, but they need fresh kicks too.
The basic idea is to own one of the 256 size 4 shoes and have more bargaining power than one of the 1316 in a size 9.5. It’s the basic principle of supply and demand at work.
ResExp: Buying High End Kicks Is High Tech
The most obvious observation of buying high end kicks aka #coppingkicks is how high tech it is. Software bots, monitors, quick tasks, cloud-based servers, virtual machines, VPN, proxies, and more are just some of the tech you’ll need to be familiar with if you want the high end. It’s amazing to see what tools are readily available to assist with #coppingkicks.
Need a full blown Windows Data Center server? Head to Google’s Cloud Platform and spin one up in seconds. Now you have a remote server to launch your bot assault. Oh wait, you need proxies to differentiate your origin? Scripts are available to create proxies by the masses. Delete when done (or banned) and go again. It’s unreal.
But all of this comes with a cost that should make you think twice about wanting to cop kicks at the high end. All of that mentioned above will cost you. Software bots can range from a few hundred to a thousand dollars and most have periodic renewal subscriptions to keep them active. But a good bot works even better when it knows when to get to work, so you’ll need to pay for a monitor. While you can create your own proxy servers using established tech like Squid, you can also rent them as needed. All set? Not quite. With all this infrastructure, some shoe sites like Nike require valid user accounts to make purchases. After signing up all eligible family members, you have like what, 3 or 4 verified Nike accounts? People can buy verified accounts by the dozen. Configure your bot to send tasks to various proxies using different accounts, and now you’re ready to buy the trendiest out there. Except that there are many, many more with this same exact setup and even better. So after this investment, there’s still no guarantee of #coppingkicks.
Just on a personal sidetrack, it seems like slot providers are the most economical route for personal pairs of shoes. Someone with all the tech sells a “slot” for a shoe release. If the bot for that slot successfully makes a purchase then the shoe is yours after paying a fee to the slot provider for this success. Pay After Success (PAS) fees vary depending on the shoe but can be $75-$200. But if you compare the cost of the bot software, proxies, and accounts, and doing it yourself, that PAS fee is reasonable. You won’t make any personal profit, but you probably have a better chance of landing that shoe you coveted.
So my takeaway from #coppingkicks is to stay away unless you’re willing to spend the time and money to educate and digitally arm yourself.
Adidas Parley, Priced Too High?
Adidas and Parley have a partnership that takes plastic before it enters the earth’s oceans and transforms it into thread. This recycled thread is then woven into some Adidas shoe lines with the signature ocean blue color way. While it’s a great and worthy idea, Parley models go for a higher cost, usually adding a $20 premium. So that $180 Ultra Boost is now $200. Is that premium too costly for consumers?
At the Nordstrom Rack, I have seen many Parley models selling at a discount. That Parley premium does carry over to the reduced price tag, selling at a higher cost than other Boost and Ultra Boost models. Or is the Parley colors not a favorite? I admit that while I personally like the look of the Parley Ultra Boost ST, if I came across an Oreo colorway at $20 less, I would have picked the cheaper one.
Is the Nike Exp-X14 a Failed Experiment?
First of all, I love my X14 featuring Nike React foam. Yeah, so I could never land an Element 87 for retail but the X14 has filled in nicely. But the name of this shoe is simply confusing (for a Nike shoe) and not memorable.
Maybe that’s why the same looking shoe is showing up with the new name of Future Fast Racer.
Or is this just a mistake?
I’m Not Versed in the Spider-Verse
Obviously, I am not versed in the language of the Spider-Verse. Otherwise I would have understood Foot Locker’s rules for the release of the upcoming Air Jordan 1 Origin Story.
Here’s a visual summary of what I got using the Foot Locker app.
If I could read the language of the Spider-Verse, I would have deciphered that the sweepstakes entry closed on Tuesday, December 11. You see that on that black instruction screen right?
So don’t go down to Foot Locker Ala Moana asking for these kicks. Spider-Man has gone into the Spider-Verse.
Holiday Gift Guide 2018 Pink Box of Memories
Talking about nostalgia, how about giving a pink box of memories to a sneaker head for Christmas? But it’s what’s inside the pink box that’ll be the gift itself and also one that triggers memories.
Inside the pink Nike SB box, you’ll find these. Do you remember them?
Okay, they aren’t the replica of the original Tiffany blue colorway, but otherwise these bring back the memories. Even when opening the box, that smell is familiar.
Nike SB did an excellent job with these and at “only” $100. Extra laces, removable swoosh, and those silver aglets are a nice touch. If you can find this 2018 version of the Diamond Dunks (black, white, or even yellow), you’ll make a shoehead happy this holidays.
Call Me Mr. Roboto
Secret, secret, I’ve got a secret. I couldn’t get the Union Jordans today since the site thought I was a bot.
All I can say is “I’m not a robot without emotions, I’m not what you see.” I think I did manage to get every since error code on the site though.
Holiday Gift Guide 2018 Air Jordan 1 Rookie of the Year NOT
Okay, this is NOT how you start the Holidays. When you get a reservation for an item, you, well, assume the item is available to you unless specifically declined. So when I received this notification from Nike, I was very well pleased.
A total surprise for sure since I’m not in Nike’s top tier of purchasers spending big bucks week after week. Still as a loyal, longtime fan of Nike and Jordan brand, it was satisfying to see this dedication rewarded. So I proceeded to make my purchase and saw this.
Key in the bottom of the screen that says “Out of Stock.” Out of stock? For an item reserved for me? What’s that about? Did everyone with a reservation buy before me and snatched up all the reserved pairs? That still didn’t make since since I had until 3pm (HST) to make my purchase.
After an online chat with Nike customer service, it seems the release of the AJ1 Rookie of the Year was premature or mistakenly sent to too many customers. So if you want to gift this interesting AJ1 colorway (themed after MJ’s outfit during the ROTY announcement), you have to try for them when they generally release.
Now of course, Nike can easily make up for this grinch-like faux paux by really reserving me a pair. 😉 Wink, wink Nike.
Yeezy Boost 350 Zebra More Demand than Expected
Using the last few Yeezy restocks as a baseline, I figured the Zebra stripped Yeezy Boost 350 would be easy to get. Not so.
I had no luck on the Adidas site even using multiple Chrome users. I didn’t even get past the waiting room for a chance to buy a pair. Now that Adidas has sold out, it seems like retailers like Foot Locker and Champs have fully opened up their inventory. But that shipping cost makes getting a pair a little less desireable. While I love the look, the fit isn’t great for me and neither is that $200+ price point.