I have been buying sneakers since the mid 90s and there has always been hype surrounding great colorways and shoes. Even though there was no internet or social media networks to hype up every big release, people still found a way to get there shoes and that was that. There was no hassles or problems. The worst thing you had to worry about back in the day was maybe waiting for a couple of hours or going to a rough neighborhood.
Nowadays being a sneakerhead is popular, it is the thing to do and almost everyone from teenage kids to middle aged adults are lining up for the newest releases from Nike and Jordan Brand. So when huge releases come out EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE is trying to get them and it makes it very difficult for the true sneakerheads to get kicks.
There is no greater example than the 2011 Christmas release of the Jordan 11 concord colorway. This was the first time the shoe had been released in over 10 years and its the most popular edition of the Jordan line. There was mayhem in several malls in America over this release and there were some injuries due to poor organization and lack of proper security. I always say nothing good can come out of a situation where theres 30 pairs of shoes and over a 100 people waiting outside for them.
To make matters worse two months later Nike releases the Galaxy Foamposite in very limited quantities and those actually shut down malls because of the unruly crowds. Ever since those two releases Nike has tried to avoid all kinds of problems in that capacity and that brought on the RSVP system.
The Nike RSVP system has done a lot more harm than good. It requires people to have a Twitter account and damn near camp-out on their devices all day and wait for their local Niketown to tweet the information out. Also there has been so many inconsistencies with the system that people don’t think the process is fair.
People are claiming that Nike employees are picking and choosing who is getting selected for the shoes after all the DM’s are sent. There has been people with picture evidence that they’ve sent their DM first and didnt get the shoe but someone else sent it in later did.
Another huge problem with the RSVP system is that hackers figured out how to crack the code. People are charging $25-$50 to gurantee consumers the chance to buy the shoes. Most people in the shoe game refer to this as the “Sniper Bot” which allows someone to hack the system and get their DM first so they can get their shoes.
Personally I would rather have to speed to the nearest Niketown and RSVP in person than have to deal with this Twitter RSVP. This whole system has ruined the game for all the people who enjoy buying sneakers to wear them not to sell them and make a small profit off of them. Oh and yes I will have a reselling article coming soon too.
The whole new age sneaker game is awful. It should’nt be this difficult to get one pair of shoes every damn release. Also where do all these people come up with the money to buy shoes every damn week? $160-$200+ for every release is pretty damn expensive and the prices are going up.
As a sneakerhead for many years now the luster is almost gone. The hassle of trying to get shoes and the hype around them is an instant turn off for me. Unfortunately things aren’t going to change and they’re going to get worse over time. Nike is telling all the old heads, including myself that either we adapt with the times or we retire from the game.
