Shoe Game

Although it looks like I won't be able to do my documentary on this subject because another group is already doing it, I wanted to at least write a blog post about this interesting subject.

The Shoe Game is the business of buying, selling, and trading shoes. It's somewhat like a black market, except there isn't really much illegality associated with it, the shoes are just treated as such. People buy these shoes, mostly varying types of Nike Jordans, for 500 hundred dollars or more, compared to the limited release retail price of around 200 dollars.

In many malls and schools (including Blair) you can see these shoe deals happening all the time. One guy hands another a seemingly new shoe box, and the other hands over either a giant wad of cash or another box of shoes. Apart from the "resellers", people only involved to profit off desperate shoe-gamers, the goal of the trade is to be able to wear the "freshest" and "rarest" pair that everyone else wants but can't find.

While this business can actually be good practice for business in the real world and some people can even make substantial income from it, there are inherent dangers in such high value merchandise. This video shows a store being broken into by a stampeding crowd in order to get these shoes first.



In addition to the dangers of these actual shoe releases, there are dangers in the deals themselves, where a buyer may mug a seller or the other way around. I spoke to one student at Blair who was held at knifepoint for his Nike Foamposites.

Pink Nike Foamposites

Overall, the shoe game can be an educational and profitable business, but there are risks involved and any shoe gamer should be aware of them and take necessary precautions.