One expensive soft shoe

One expensive soft shoe

Wjhante Holden, Staff Writer

Who knew a shoe, sneaker or boot could take on a life?

Many people across the world are flocking to buying the latest sneakers that come out, and collecting them. The price range is upwards of $200.

Yes, $200. Each.

Paying such steep prices for sneakers has been done in the past but on a vastly lower scale than now. Nowadays it is common for people to have many pairs of sneakers, in various colors and styles. And that can add up to some hefty spending.

At AIC, buying habits vary on sneakers.

Sophomore Chrystal Holland said she refuses to pay top dollar for her sneakers.

“They’re sneakers,” she said. “I’m not going to waste money on expensive shoes.”

Holland plays on the AIC Women’s Basketball team.

Another student, freshman Christopher Johnson, said he pays top dollar for the right kind of sneakers.

“The most I would pay for sneakers is $200 and they have to be Jordan’s 4, 6 or 12s,” said Johnson.

Freshman Communications major Aaron Yates admits he’s paid top dollar for his shoes.

“The most I’ve paid for sneakers is $280 and that was on the Jordan Taxi’s,” Yates said.

“I most likely wouldn’t pay much more than that for sneakers but I have waited in line for the store to open so I could purchase a pair of sneakers,” he said.

Sneaker shoppers all around the world will wait in a line for several hours just to potentially get the sneaker they came for if it hasn’t already sold out. Online sneaker shopping is even harder to get them than waiting for them in line outside the store.

The demand for new sneaker such as KD’s, Kobe’s Lebrons and Jordans has reach new highs.

These sneakers are all basketball shoes but they are all extremely popular to the public. Even

non-basketball players and non-basketball fans are addicted to these sneakers when they release.

Every year over 1,000 have been injured or even killed just because of Jordans releasing and the violence that comes with waiting on the line for them.

The security is limited and sometimes the lines for stores such as Footlocker and Footaction start at 10 p.m.  the night before the latest shoe shipment arrives.

Sneakers such as the

Red October Yeezus, which are Kanye West shoes, are very limited with just 300 pairs

in the United States.

How much do they cost? Retail, it’s $1,000, but many people pay far more from underground dealers.

The manufacturing of the shoes in this way makes the shoes that much more dangerous to get. The high top 11 Concord Jordans were a big seller last year around Christmas time. Some five people died on their release date and other buyers were robbed of their newly purchased goods.

In 2011, Jordan threatened to stop manufacturing these sneakers if they were just going to be such a risk to the public.

Jordans usually cost about $170 retail price. KD’s cost anything from $115-$130.

If you don’t pay retail price, there are a lot of people who just buy the sneakers to sell for

more than they paid for if they don’t like the shoe.

 

 

 

Sneaker