Even if you’re not into sneakers you might have gotten wind of a certain pair of kicks with limited supply that have broken the internet. Google “Trophy Room Jordan 1 High” to see for yourself.

From pairs seemingly having been “backdoored” to various resellers, to resellers selling them for thousands of dollars, to allegations of fakes being sold to anyone wanting to have clout, to a promo showing what the supposedly legit pairs will look different from the alleged fakes, to a botched raffle, and “real pairs” won from the raffle just confusing everybody (the USD170 boxes supposedly for fakes being the boxes of the real pairs, but then the blue laces are indeed inside the shoes). There is an entire backstory as to why the shoes were made, but what happened with the release goes perfectly with the “Rumor has it…” tagline for these shoes – and if this was intentional then it’s actually brilliant marketing. If it wasn’t intentional, then man this was just weird.

I previously wrote about hype and the hype on these shoes were huge! These shoes are selling at USD 2,800 on StockX for my size US 13. However, for a US size 6.5 (which some Filipinos will be wearing) it’s up to USD 130,974 (though that’s just an ask and it should go lower than that when actual sales are made, or if there are even any available). That’s PHP 6 Million for a pair of shoes that are not really the best you’ll ever see (that’s according to my preference). They’re a reiteration of the Jordan 1 Chicago colorway and limited to 12,000 pairs, so they’re alright. But PHP 134K for a pair of shoes? No.

This is a bad part of the current sneaker culture. It’s gone beyond just trying to get what you like and wearing them, now it’s a business. That’s why it’s so hard to buy hyped shoes, the resellers want to get their hands on them because they know people will be forking over serious cash just to get them. I know, if you’re passionate about your hobby then you should be prepared to spend money on it but we’re talking about recently released shoes here. So, your chances of getting a limited release pair gets lower because resellers (and some with their bots) are hungry to get them to be able to flip at a large amount. It’s different if you buy them and then feel they’re not as good as you thought them to be, so you resell it to someone who does, at a slight markup. We’re talking about sometimes 100% markup (or more)!

Now these prices are only possible because most accept them. Look, for years the main market for these hype resellers are celebrities, athletes, or just really rich people. However, it has also come to a point where people who shouldn’t be spending these amounts on shoes pulling the trigger just for clout. And that’s my point with the whole some coffee gear are overpriced piece was, is that some people somehow fall into this rabbit hole and think they have to impress people with what gear they have. There are also crazy prices of actual coffee and even spending serious coin just for an experience to drink out of a designer cup. Look, if you have to go bankrupt (well, that’s extreme) or shift funds from something just to buy things because you want clout, (I keep saying this) you have to rethink that.

The Trophy Room Jordan 1 release has definitely been weird and a lot of “sneakerheads” have been “crying” about them. Just wear what you want, man. If you can’t get it at retail, maybe it just wasn’t for you. We can’t win every time. If you really want them, and you can afford to, then consider resellers but look for deals that make sense. And of course, if you spend too much on a pair that you don’t want to wear them then maybe you don’t really need it.

So an update from the “Caffeinated Hypebeast” post, I’ve been able to secure a pair of the Jordan 6 Carmine at my size 13 through a raffle and in the process also secured access to another Jordan drop (maybe these crazy Trophy Room Jordan 1s, the Travis Scott x Fragment 1 low, or just the Jordan 1 PSG – still a mystery). I’ve also bought a couple of boosts, with one being a custom to show some school pride.

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