$250 sneakers are much more trouble that they are worth
As I wait in line for the Nike Air Foamposite One, a shoe made famous by former National Basketball Association all star Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, I hear a remark yelled at a security guard. Nobody wants to own up to the comment. The security guard points out a customer and tells him he needs to leave.
After being taken outside he tries to fight his way back into the mall. He rushes for the door. Four security guards quickly take him down.
At that moment I think two things: The first is that a new place opened up in line, and the second is why are these shoes so important? Why would you risk injury for them?
That’s not the worst thing people are willing to do for the shoes. Some people are willing to kill for a pair of sneakers. Like in the case of 19-year-old David Lee Robinson of Washington, D.C. who was killed over his $200 pair of Nike Air Zoom Rookies.
Killing someone over sneakers is senseless, and companies that make and sell them should have ways to prevent it from happening.
So in honor of the Air Jordan IV White/Cement that was released on Feb. 18, I have come up with four ways to prevent violence over shoes.
1. Do not make the shoes so exclusive. If the shoes weren’t so hard to get then people wouldn’t have to resort to violence to get their hands on a pair.
2. Do not allow people to line up outside of the stores before they open. This is where a large part of violence occurs; outside, waiting in line, getting antsy and impatient while you watch others purchasing the shoes.
3. Make it easier to buy the shoes online. It’s very difficult to get the shoes online and making it easier to purchase them online would help reduce the violence that occurs in the lines outside of shoe stores.
4. Make the shoes more affordable. I know it doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars to make a pair of Nikes, so why price them at $180 when the direct labor cost is only $3.50?
After five hours of waiting, I purchased a pair of $240 shoes that I have only since worn three times and will probably wear less often than my other sneakers, due to possibility of them being stolen or even worse, my death. I don’t want the way I die to be for an overpriced pair of sneakers.
