Air Jordan XI Retro - White/Concord/Black - CONFIRMED - Holiday 2011

[eddo1005]

Originally Posted by THEKUNIVA

i know what thread this is and most people are not going to look 100 pages back and read all this stuff. the point is if they sell one super fake then they why wouldn't all their shoes be fakes. You honestly think they will sit there and say "well i'll only sell fake Jordans but not fake Lebrons.But its your money you can fool people until the the release day then you going to be ready to burn them cause I'll call you out.

Email him about a refund.  Its been said, he's accpeting returns for all restocked SJs.  He will even pay for return shipping.  You have nothing to lose.  The restocked SJs issue has been discussed to dead.

Take a deep breathe, and start writing that refuned/return email.
  

 

[thekuniva]

your right

i popped some xanex im good back to the shoes. lets take a poll and and see how many people will be killed on release date ill throw in $10 for the person with the best guess

the shoes look amazing better than most retro's making it worth the $180 pricetag

 

[biglescobar]

SDS site says 1st shipment sold out, accepting preorders for 2nd shipment shipping sept 7-15th.....

 

[eddo1005]

Originally Posted by NoobLee

Well said eddo, you did a very fine job explaining

Too bad these dudes here won't have the patience to read all of it before they start arguing or challenging your posts

To add to that, the culture is indeed very different, from the cost of living to the way the gov. runs over there, the expectations of the consumers are different.
When this early release thing first started, there was just the shoes, that's it, nothing else.
It was because of the Americans that everything else was pretty REQUIRED to be there in order to sell these shoes (read: accessories)

Does that mean all the early releases are fake? Not at all.
They are all legit, besides the superfakes.

So are all of them B-grades? Some of my pairs, in my own collection, has been A+ quality, but that is the risk you get with early releases.
There's always one JB rep staying on the line to make sure the products meet the quality requirement.
The talkof all B-grades getting thrown off the line isn't valid, a lot of the B-grades get cut in half and the 100 pairs before and after get tossed, also.
A seller overseas might get 99 pairs of A-grades and one pair of B-grades, and it's simply the luck of the draw who gets the B-grades.
It's solely up to the seller to tell you about the little glue spot on the shoe, the little nips on the paint, etc.

This whole "scene" in China is huge, there's a lot of people involved in the business, it is very lucrative, after all.
The way they do things over there, you will find controversial, but that's just how they do things over there.
Like I have previously said, 90% of all other shoes that AR and SdS are real, because the same supplier did not want to make high quality replicas of, let's say, Navy/Grey XIVs

Like MarqueeSole said himself earlier, these real Concords cost a lot to get, and to sell at this price, both will be losing money, who's willing to do that?
I mean, even AR and SdS basically said there's something wrong with their products, who's willing to say that?
This thing has been blown out of proportion.
Super fakes exist, and these Concords are the perfect example.

With that being said, you can defend/bash, it's your choice, it's your hard earned money at the end of the day, but some of these theories are just too comical.

I know what you are talking.  There has been talks about a mysterious source soliciting these so called authentic kicks, that at the surface can not be distinguished from the real goods.  And I am sure a few sites have been duped.

I think right now, the only person for sure that sold these concords is AR.  The timeline of his shippment does not work in his favor.

The other sites, not sure as of now.

Those BC III that you made example of, I am pretty sure they were from AR too, werent they?

At least thats what my behind the scene guy's been telling me.
  

 

[ohdannyboy]

Originally Posted by THEKUNIVA

your right

i popped some xanex im good back to the shoes. lets take a poll and and see how many people will be killed on release date ill throw in $10 for the person with the best guess

the shoes look amazing better than most retro's making it worth the $180 pricetag

They should ban ppl that say dumb *$%$ like this.

 

[po2345]

Anyone care to explain what is going on? Are individuals getting defrauded with fake pairs?

Anyways, Here is a picture my friend sent me of his friend's pair from overseas:



Thanks.

PO

 

[hazeee and sn3akers]

Originally Posted by moelest

Originally Posted by Broomall4Life

you guys see this? look good to me....http://www.youtube.com/embed/VwBjMuLPRJk

i agree with the guy..

Kool video they look good probaly better in person! I'm aiming to get  10 pairs mininum on RD So I can have fresh pairs to rock years from from now! I won't be selling any of them!

  

 

[emiaj12]

Originally Posted by rareair45

Originally Posted by eddo1005


Alright, I am gonna catch a lot of fleck for this post, but I still decided to share some info.

Those of you who have been reading this thread religiously like I have, should remember an exchange between Ming(MSole's owner) and nooblee about nike sending ppl straight to the factories to see what is going on the XI line, and thus effectively making the factory almost non-functioning for a few days, or locked down as those two so eloquently put it.  Welp, turns out this was true.

Most of us should know by now, shoes not yet in production are almost impossible to leak out, but once they hit production, with the quantity being made each day, shoes leak out.  However, these shoes dont leak out to just anyone.  Only those with close ties to the higher-ups, actually get access to these shoes.  Some would like to think just any factory worker can get shoes out, and yea maybe they can, but definitely not in mass quantity.  You have to know someone who is at least a manager to get these concords in large numbers.

Back to my point about the lockdown.  Since production was stopped due to nike investigating possible leak in the early August, shoes were not being leaked out the first week of August.  Now think back for a second.  When did AR claim to have these shoes ready?  You got it, it was the first week of August.  How?  He has his sources, but is that source one of Pou Chen's factory?  Not possible, because of the lock down.  So where did he get his?  Honestly, dont know, not gonna specutulate either.  Its none of my business, to be honet.  However, lets just say, only a few official factories in China get designated to mass produce high end basketball shoes.   Not even gonna go into which factory, as I am sure Nike prolly has eyes on this thread.  However, I will say, not all models(1-2011) are produced in the same factory.  For example, a factory that gets to produce the XIs, might not get to produce the VIs.  Can someone check the recently released 2010 VIs and their SJ or CG?  Check to see if the factory number is the same.....I am not even sure if they are or not, but i am told or lead to believe that they should be different.

If you had enough patience to read through all that, then you can start putting the pieces together.  Why the delay at SDS?  Yea, it was cause of the lock down.  Pre-orders in nature are hard to control, you never know when Nike will decide to make a visit at a factory site.  You can only go by what the ppl in the factory tell you.

Like someone have said already, shoes that leak out, are not retail packaged shoe.  Ppl who get access to these early released shoes, most of the time, have to staff ppl to do their own inspection and retail packaging.........cause nike sure as hell isnt going to do it for them.  Hence the reason why you get these early release shoes, and find the packaging to be less than satifactory.  Shoe laces untied, anyone? 

Like I have mentioned many time, these big factories, most of the time only do the assembly of the parts to create the shoe.  The material, parts, accessories are not produced in the factory that does assembly.  Most of the time, these parts/accessories are produced by related parties, or subsidiaries under the umbrella of Pou Chen or FengTay.   This is precisely the reason why a lot of times these special shoe boxes differ in small details than the boxes you get on RD.  Quality control is non-existence on these boxes, however, the shoes are 100% real.

Now, I am not going to stick my neck out again and say SDS is legit, blah blah blah.  From now on, I will only share info about what I know.  You guys can draw your own conclusion.  I will say this, however, the delay in shippment might be a blessing in disguise.

Oh, and for the person complaing about not being able to get a 11.5.......................well, what can I tell, early releases shoes arent always produced in FSR, especially not half sizes.  They will surface later on, just not right now.

Lastly, I just want to say, a lot of ppl here are from the US, and because of the way we're all brought up, we have come to expect things in retail to be done a certain way or held to a certain standard.  All good points, and I understand that mentality completely, being that I lived in the US a long time too.  However, coming back to Asia, its a learning experience.  Non-existence return policy, crap customer service, business man trying to make a quick buck regardless of means.  Its not all that uncommon at all.  People here dont usually do business honestly all the time, and its not until after the fact, that you find out you have been deceived.  When you buy from early release sites, you have to understand, you are not dealing with owners who are fully acustomed to the American culture, you are not dealing with retail businesses even, you are dealing with people who have connections to early released shoes.  Most of the time, you will never hear a peep from them.  If that is something you cant deal with, 2xx some bucks is too important to your bottomline, then dont buy from early release sites. 

Having said all that, I am actually really surprised that SDS would even have ppl come on here to tell you guys those restocked SJs were questionable. 
I am surprised he would respond to guys on here saying currently his paypal has insufficient fund right now, and wait a few days before the refund.
I am surprised he would tell the guy that he doesnt have a 11.5 right now.

There is a lot of info that quite frankly, if i were running his business, i would never ever tell you guys. 
For the SJ, he wouldve been better off not saying anything, like the other sites, sneakerape, anyone?  Instead, i would just quietly offer refund to all those who requested it.
For insufficient funds, i wouldve just said, Sorry, your refund is being processed, and should be deposited into your account in the next 2-3 days.
For the guy who wants the 11.5, I would have said, We're trying hard to fulfill your order, but due to unforseeable circumstances, there will be delays.  If you cannot wait anymore, I will gladly process your refund, and it should be deposited back to your account within a couple of days.  I will inform you later on, should size 11.5 become available.

These standard customer service responses wouldve worked so much better, but instead he just gave out truthful answer, and ppl are bashing him to no end?  I remember back in my learning days, I was always taught to be honest.  However, after being in the work force for a while, I have realized 100% honesty does not get you far in this world, some of the accusers here are the perfect example why.

Anyway, draw your own conclusion, ppl.  Stop being swayed one way or another so easily.

A lot of good points. But 100% honesty? Please, Jay still to this day says his shoes are authentic which they are clearly NOT.

100% good points Eddo. I coudn't agree more with the "honesty" thing bro. I'm also from Asia-Philippines and same with you back in my learning days, I was always taught to be honest then when I worked in Call centers like US and UK company then I learned those "standard customer service responses" like what you said, I can guarantee those spiel works better than being honest.

I'm reading this thread since SDS/AR pre releases started and we also have resellers here saying they'll get their pairs by end of August, but I want to know where this early release came from before pulling my trigger.

     

 

[cashm0neyand1]

^^
the hardwood floor bring the sneakers out a lot more. Just like the courts!

Anymore pics?

 

[eddo1005]

Originally Posted by PO2345

Anyone care to explain what is going on? Are individuals getting defrauded with fake pairs?

Anyways, Here is a picture my friend sent me of his friend's pair from overseas:



Thanks.

PO

Actually seeing PO post is quite amazing....

But yea, the summarize everything.................

Ppl were debating the authenticity of concord XIs and restocked SJ.

It was almost concluded that these shoes are 100% authentic, but then nooblee came in and said those SJs were not 100% authentic and there are "super fake" concords ie near identical concords with cosmetic blemishes that are hard to tell.  These concords are supposedly fakes, especially the one with translucent sole on the toecap.  Real ones should be opaque toecaps.
Nooblee did make it clear that the superfakes didnt start till recently with the BC III, concords XI, restocked SJ.

The rest is history.  Just pages after pages of debate about early releases and their authenticity in general.

  

 

[kevineg6]

Thanks Eddo, I will wait a few more days for SDS. If jay was gonna go AR route (the easy way), people should have start getting theirs pairs right now. According to your info, its a better sign that he didnt ship yet, he chose the hard way to safe his rep maybe and hopefully.  I guess this is what Noob been trying to tell us from the beginning (TIMING). Who ever ship in this period of time are most likely FAKE. finger crossed!

 

[po2345]

Thanks for summarizing the situation Eddo. That's real unfortunate. Hopefully all NT member are reimbursed!

CashMoney, I only have one more picture:



I'll see if I can obtain more from my friend.

Thanks

PO

 

[jay zoe2]

Originally Posted by PO2345

Thanks for summarizing the situation Eddo. That's real unfortunate. Hopefully all NT member are reimbursed!

CashMoney, I only have one more picture:



I'll see if I can obtain more from my friend.

Thanks

PO

Good looking out.

 

[lugzzy]

^ i see something a bit off with the jumpman on the upper right..

 

[jecca650]

Props to Eddo and lee!! Good stuff! Any of the concords that have been posted look legit to you lee? Or have they all been super fakes?

 

[thenewjs23]

Originally Posted by eddo1005


Alright, I am gonna catch a lot of fleck for this post, but I still decided to share some info.

Those of you who have been reading this thread religiously like I have, should remember an exchange between Ming(MSole's owner) and nooblee about nike sending ppl straight to the factories to see what is going on the XI line, and thus effectively making the factory almost non-functioning for a few days, or locked down as those two so eloquently put it.  Welp, turns out this was true.

Most of us should know by now, shoes not yet in production are almost impossible to leak out, but once they hit production, with the quantity being made each day, shoes leak out.  However, these shoes dont leak out to just anyone.  Only those with close ties to the higher-ups, actually get access to these shoes.  Some would like to think just any factory worker can get shoes out, and yea maybe they can, but definitely not in mass quantity.  You have to know someone who is at least a manager to get these concords in large numbers.









Back to my point about the lockdown.  Since production was stopped due to nike investigating possible leak in the early August, shoes were not being leaked out the first week of August.  Now think back for a second.  When did AR claim to have these shoes ready?  You got it, it was the first week of August.  How?  He has his sources, but is that source one of Pou Chen's factory?  Not possible, because of the lock down.  So where did he get his?  Honestly, dont know, not gonna specutulate either.  Its none of my business, to be honet.  However, lets just say, only a few official factories in China get designated to mass produce high end basketball shoes.   Not even gonna go into which factory, as I am sure Nike prolly has eyes on this thread.  However, I will say, not all models(1-2011) are produced in the same factory.  For example, a factory that gets to produce the XIs, might not get to produce the VIs.  Can someone check the recently released 2010 VIs and their SJ or CG?  Check to see if the factory number is the same.....I am not even sure if they are or not, but i am told or lead to believe that they should be different.

If you had enough patience to read through all that, then you can start putting the pieces together.  Why the delay at SDS?  Yea, it was cause of the lock down.  Pre-orders in nature are hard to control, you never know when Nike will decide to make a visit at a factory site.  You can only go by what the ppl in the factory tell you.

Like someone have said already, shoes that leak out, are not retail packaged shoe.  Ppl who get access to these early released shoes, most of the time, have to staff ppl to do their own inspection and retail packaging.........cause nike sure as hell isnt going to do it for them.  Hence the reason why you get these early release shoes, and find the packaging to be less than satifactory.  Shoe laces untied, anyone? 

Like I have mentioned many time, these big factories, most of the time only do the assembly of the parts to create the shoe.  The material, parts, accessories are not produced in the factory that does assembly.  Most of the time, these parts/accessories are produced by related parties, or subsidiaries under the umbrella of Pou Chen or FengTay.   This is precisely the reason why a lot of times these special shoe boxes differ in small details than the boxes you get on RD.  Quality control is non-existence on these boxes, however, the shoes are 100% real.

Now, I am not going to stick my neck out again and say SDS is legit, blah blah blah.  From now on, I will only share info about what I know.  You guys can draw your own conclusion.  I will say this, however, the delay in shippment might be a blessing in disguise.

Oh, and for the person complaing about not being able to get a 11.5.......................well, what can I tell, early releases shoes arent always produced in FSR, especially not half sizes.  They will surface later on, just not right now.

Lastly, I just want to say, a lot of ppl here are from the US, and because of the way we're all brought up, we have come to expect things in retail to be done a certain way or held to a certain standard.  All good points, and I understand that mentality completely, being that I lived in the US a long time too.  However, coming back to Asia, its a learning experience.  Non-existence return policy, crap customer service, business man trying to make a quick buck regardless of means.  Its not all that uncommon at all.  People here dont usually do business honestly all the time, and its not until after the fact, that you find out you have been deceived.  When you buy from early release sites, you have to understand, you are not dealing with owners who are fully acustomed to the American culture, you are not dealing with retail businesses even, you are dealing with people who have connections to early released shoes.  Most of the time, you will never hear a peep from them.  If that is something you cant deal with, 2xx some bucks is too important to your bottomline, then dont buy from early release sites. 

Having said all that, I am actually really surprised that SDS would even have ppl come on here to tell you guys those restocked SJs were questionable. 
I am surprised he would respond to guys on here saying currently his paypal has insufficient fund right now, and wait a few days before the refund.
I am surprised he would tell the guy that he doesnt have a 11.5 right now.

There is a lot of info that quite frankly, if i were running his business, i would never ever tell you guys. 
For the SJ, he wouldve been better off not saying anything, like the other sites, sneakerape, anyone?  Instead, i would just quietly offer refund to all those who requested it.
For insufficient funds, i wouldve just said, Sorry, your refund is being processed, and should be deposited into your account in the next 2-3 days.
For the guy who wants the 11.5, I would have said, We're trying hard to fulfill your order, but due to unforseeable circumstances, there will be delays.  If you cannot wait anymore, I will gladly process your refund, and it should be deposited back to your account within a couple of days.  I will inform you later on, should size 11.5 become available.

These standard customer service responses wouldve worked so much better, but instead he just gave out truthful answer, and ppl are bashing him to no end?  I remember back in my learning days, I was always taught to be honest.  However, after being in the work force for a while, I have realized 100% honesty does not get you far in this world, some of the accusers here are the perfect example why.

Anyway, draw your own conclusion, ppl.  Stop being swayed one way or another so easily.

Hey good stuff. My only complaint is that I don't know if you are excusing their lack of customer service because that's the way its done in China. I am an US consumer in the US. I don't care how business is done in China. I expect a certain level of customer service. Once you cross that big pond and begin to service the Americans. You should be prepared to provide them with the level of service that is demanded. They told the truth because they had our money and not provided what was promised. If they provided the promised items they could could be as vague astheypleases.

 

[optimusp517]

So entire batch from AR is fake or are there a mix of both authentic and some fakes in his entire order?

 

[sixfoot nathan]

anyone own the white/black xi lows ?
i assume they have the same outsole, wondering how they hold up so far (yellowing,etc.) after outdoor wear
if anyone has a pair worn a few times please show pics, thanks

 

[vuey]

^ just the right amount of blue tint on the soles imo on the above pics !

 

[eddo1005]

Originally Posted by thenewjs23

Originally Posted by eddo1005


Alright, I am gonna catch a lot of fleck for this post, but I still decided to share some info.

Those of you who have been reading this thread religiously like I have, should remember an exchange between Ming(MSole's owner) and nooblee about nike sending ppl straight to the factories to see what is going on the XI line, and thus effectively making the factory almost non-functioning for a few days, or locked down as those two so eloquently put it.  Welp, turns out this was true.

Most of us should know by now, shoes not yet in production are almost impossible to leak out, but once they hit production, with the quantity being made each day, shoes leak out.  However, these shoes dont leak out to just anyone.  Only those with close ties to the higher-ups, actually get access to these shoes.  Some would like to think just any factory worker can get shoes out, and yea maybe they can, but definitely not in mass quantity.  You have to know someone who is at least a manager to get these concords in large numbers.









Back to my point about the lockdown.  Since production was stopped due to nike investigating possible leak in the early August, shoes were not being leaked out the first week of August.  Now think back for a second.  When did AR claim to have these shoes ready?  You got it, it was the first week of August.  How?  He has his sources, but is that source one of Pou Chen's factory?  Not possible, because of the lock down.  So where did he get his?  Honestly, dont know, not gonna specutulate either.  Its none of my business, to be honet.  However, lets just say, only a few official factories in China get designated to mass produce high end basketball shoes.   Not even gonna go into which factory, as I am sure Nike prolly has eyes on this thread.  However, I will say, not all models(1-2011) are produced in the same factory.  For example, a factory that gets to produce the XIs, might not get to produce the VIs.  Can someone check the recently released 2010 VIs and their SJ or CG?  Check to see if the factory number is the same.....I am not even sure if they are or not, but i am told or lead to believe that they should be different.

If you had enough patience to read through all that, then you can start putting the pieces together.  Why the delay at SDS?  Yea, it was cause of the lock down.  Pre-orders in nature are hard to control, you never know when Nike will decide to make a visit at a factory site.  You can only go by what the ppl in the factory tell you.

Like someone have said already, shoes that leak out, are not retail packaged shoe.  Ppl who get access to these early released shoes, most of the time, have to staff ppl to do their own inspection and retail packaging.........cause nike sure as hell isnt going to do it for them.  Hence the reason why you get these early release shoes, and find the packaging to be less than satifactory.  Shoe laces untied, anyone? 

Like I have mentioned many time, these big factories, most of the time only do the assembly of the parts to create the shoe.  The material, parts, accessories are not produced in the factory that does assembly.  Most of the time, these parts/accessories are produced by related parties, or subsidiaries under the umbrella of Pou Chen or FengTay.   This is precisely the reason why a lot of times these special shoe boxes differ in small details than the boxes you get on RD.  Quality control is non-existence on these boxes, however, the shoes are 100% real.

Now, I am not going to stick my neck out again and say SDS is legit, blah blah blah.  From now on, I will only share info about what I know.  You guys can draw your own conclusion.  I will say this, however, the delay in shippment might be a blessing in disguise.

Oh, and for the person complaing about not being able to get a 11.5.......................well, what can I tell, early releases shoes arent always produced in FSR, especially not half sizes.  They will surface later on, just not right now.

Lastly, I just want to say, a lot of ppl here are from the US, and because of the way we're all brought up, we have come to expect things in retail to be done a certain way or held to a certain standard.  All good points, and I understand that mentality completely, being that I lived in the US a long time too.  However, coming back to Asia, its a learning experience.  Non-existence return policy, crap customer service, business man trying to make a quick buck regardless of means.  Its not all that uncommon at all.  People here dont usually do business honestly all the time, and its not until after the fact, that you find out you have been deceived.  When you buy from early release sites, you have to understand, you are not dealing with owners who are fully acustomed to the American culture, you are not dealing with retail businesses even, you are dealing with people who have connections to early released shoes.  Most of the time, you will never hear a peep from them.  If that is something you cant deal with, 2xx some bucks is too important to your bottomline, then dont buy from early release sites. 

Having said all that, I am actually really surprised that SDS would even have ppl come on here to tell you guys those restocked SJs were questionable. 
I am surprised he would respond to guys on here saying currently his paypal has insufficient fund right now, and wait a few days before the refund.
I am surprised he would tell the guy that he doesnt have a 11.5 right now.

There is a lot of info that quite frankly, if i were running his business, i would never ever tell you guys. 
For the SJ, he wouldve been better off not saying anything, like the other sites, sneakerape, anyone?  Instead, i would just quietly offer refund to all those who requested it.
For insufficient funds, i wouldve just said, Sorry, your refund is being processed, and should be deposited into your account in the next 2-3 days.
For the guy who wants the 11.5, I would have said, We're trying hard to fulfill your order, but due to unforseeable circumstances, there will be delays.  If you cannot wait anymore, I will gladly process your refund, and it should be deposited back to your account within a couple of days.  I will inform you later on, should size 11.5 become available.

These standard customer service responses wouldve worked so much better, but instead he just gave out truthful answer, and ppl are bashing him to no end?  I remember back in my learning days, I was always taught to be honest.  However, after being in the work force for a while, I have realized 100% honesty does not get you far in this world, some of the accusers here are the perfect example why.

Anyway, draw your own conclusion, ppl.  Stop being swayed one way or another so easily.

Hey good stuff. My complaint is that I don't know if you are excusing their lack of customer service because that's the way its done in China. I am an US consumer in the US. I don't care how business is done in China. I expect a certain level of customer service. Once you cross that big pond and begin to service the Americans. You should be prepared to provide them with the level of service that is demanded. They told the truth because they had our money and not provided what was promised. If they provided the promised items they could could be as vague astheypleases.

I am not excusing them in any way, however, I am saying this is all too common in Asia.  I believe a lot of these sellers want to be as responsive as everyone wants.  But think about this for a second.  You are buying from a relatively small seller compared to FTL or FNL.  This small seller prolly keeps a relatively small staff.  They received a few hundred orders, and have to fullfill them. 

My question to you is, would you rather have them spend more time on inspecting the shoes they ship out, or more time on customer service?  To me, the American side within me will say, both are equally important.  But the other side of me, sometimes you just cant have it all when you are buying from these early sellers.  Thats why I always try to stay patient despite the lack of communcation, because I would rather have my shoes to 100% good then having a guy respond to my emails all day.

Its not acceptable by US standards, but if the shoes come 100% legit, i can look past these things.  I dont even mind the shoe laces being untied, as long as the shoes are what they ought to be.......100%.

You get my point?

And if slow communcation is a make/break deal for you, then these early sites are not for you.

 

[sneak king]

Ahhhhhh! I can breathe a little more. NoobLee...You had a hell of a method of telling us("Timing is everything") what Eddo so blatantly put out there tonight...Still, I appreciate you both but you still made this more difficult Noob! Just sayin! And the funny thing is, this is what I had been telling my boy since all this started, just off of pure speculation! I'm no expert, but I guess I've seen enough expose pieces on how things work in China, business wise. Anyway, this is the type of info I was looking for to make me hang in there a little longer. Hell, I'm not even at my 30 day mark for a PayPal dispute. Might as well ride the wave a bit longer!

 

[solesearch22]

Originally Posted by optimusp517

So entire batch from AR is fake or are there a mix of both authentic and some fakes in his entire order?

Supposedly mixed real and fake...offering full refund if you think fake...guess we will see soon

 

[coldcity]

i see mods deleting post's & shrinking this thread

erase all the bs keep the gold

 

[sneak king]

Originally Posted by thenewjs23

Originally Posted by eddo1005


Alright, I am gonna catch a lot of fleck for this post, but I still decided to share some info.

Those of you who have been reading this thread religiously like I have, should remember an exchange between Ming(MSole's owner) and nooblee about nike sending ppl straight to the factories to see what is going on the XI line, and thus effectively making the factory almost non-functioning for a few days, or locked down as those two so eloquently put it.  Welp, turns out this was true.

Most of us should know by now, shoes not yet in production are almost impossible to leak out, but once they hit production, with the quantity being made each day, shoes leak out.  However, these shoes dont leak out to just anyone.  Only those with close ties to the higher-ups, actually get access to these shoes.  Some would like to think just any factory worker can get shoes out, and yea maybe they can, but definitely not in mass quantity.  You have to know someone who is at least a manager to get these concords in large numbers.

Lastly, I just want to say, a lot of ppl here are from the US, and because of the way we're all brought up, we have come to expect things in retail to be done a certain way or held to a certain standard.  All good points, and I understand that mentality completely, being that I lived in the US a long time too.  However, coming back to Asia, its a learning experience.  Non-existence return policy, crap customer service, business man trying to make a quick buck regardless of means.  Its not all that uncommon at all.  People here dont usually do business honestly all the time, and its not until after the fact, that you find out you have been deceived.  When you buy from early release sites, you have to understand, you are not dealing with owners who are fully acustomed to the American culture, you are not dealing with retail businesses even, you are dealing with people who have connections to early released shoes.  Most of the time, you will never hear a peep from them.  If that is something you cant deal with, 2xx some bucks is too important to your bottomline, then dont buy from early release sites. 

Anyway, draw your own conclusion, ppl.  Stop being swayed one way or another so easily.

Hey good stuff. My only complaint is that I don't know if you are excusing their lack of customer service because that's the way its done in China. I am an US consumer in the US. I don't care how business is done in China. I expect a certain level of customer service. Once you cross that big pond and begin to service the Americans. You should be prepared to provide them with the level of service that is demanded. They told the truth because they had our money and not provided what was promised. If they provided the promised items they could could be as vague astheypleases.

Dude...That is so "American" of you. I'm an American too but I'm not NEARLY that Brash. If you have a problem with dealing with a certain level of service, then kindly make your about face and leave. I mean "Once you cross that big pond and begin to service the Americans".....REALLY?!?!?! I mean, I don't know you but I will say that your viewpoint is very much "American 'Supremest'"...I'd be a little embarrassed. Entitlement, FTL.

 

[thenewjs23]

Originally Posted by eddo1005

Originally Posted by thenewjs23

Originally Posted by eddo1005


Alright, I am gonna catch a lot of fleck for this post, but I still decided to share some info.

Those of you who have been reading this thread religiously like I have, should remember an exchange between Ming(MSole's owner) and nooblee about nike sending ppl straight to the factories to see what is going on the XI line, and thus effectively making the factory almost non-functioning for a few days, or locked down as those two so eloquently put it.  Welp, turns out this was true.

Most of us should know by now, shoes not yet in production are almost impossible to leak out, but once they hit production, with the quantity being made each day, shoes leak out.  However, these shoes dont leak out to just anyone.  Only those with close ties to the higher-ups, actually get access to these shoes.  Some would like to think just any factory worker can get shoes out, and yea maybe they can, but definitely not in mass quantity.  You have to know someone who is at least a manager to get these concords in large numbers.









Back to my point about the lockdown.  Since production was stopped due to nike investigating possible leak in the early August, shoes were not being leaked out the first week of August.  Now think back for a second.  When did AR claim to have these shoes ready?  You got it, it was the first week of August.  How?  He has his sources, but is that source one of Pou Chen's factory?  Not possible, because of the lock down.  So where did he get his?  Honestly, dont know, not gonna specutulate either.  Its none of my business, to be honet.  However, lets just say, only a few official factories in China get designated to mass produce high end basketball shoes.   Not even gonna go into which factory, as I am sure Nike prolly has eyes on this thread.  However, I will say, not all models(1-2011) are produced in the same factory.  For example, a factory that gets to produce the XIs, might not get to produce the VIs.  Can someone check the recently released 2010 VIs and their SJ or CG?  Check to see if the factory number is the same.....I am not even sure if they are or not, but i am told or lead to believe that they should be different.

If you had enough patience to read through all that, then you can start putting the pieces together.  Why the delay at SDS?  Yea, it was cause of the lock down.  Pre-orders in nature are hard to control, you never know when Nike will decide to make a visit at a factory site.  You can only go by what the ppl in the factory tell you.

Like someone have said already, shoes that leak out, are not retail packaged shoe.  Ppl who get access to these early released shoes, most of the time, have to staff ppl to do their own inspection and retail packaging.........cause nike sure as hell isnt going to do it for them.  Hence the reason why you get these early release shoes, and find the packaging to be less than satifactory.  Shoe laces untied, anyone? 

Like I have mentioned many time, these big factories, most of the time only do the assembly of the parts to create the shoe.  The material, parts, accessories are not produced in the factory that does assembly.  Most of the time, these parts/accessories are produced by related parties, or subsidiaries under the umbrella of Pou Chen or FengTay.   This is precisely the reason why a lot of times these special shoe boxes differ in small details than the boxes you get on RD.  Quality control is non-existence on these boxes, however, the shoes are 100% real.

Now, I am not going to stick my neck out again and say SDS is legit, blah blah blah.  From now on, I will only share info about what I know.  You guys can draw your own conclusion.  I will say this, however, the delay in shippment might be a blessing in disguise.

Oh, and for the person complaing about not being able to get a 11.5.......................well, what can I tell, early releases shoes arent always produced in FSR, especially not half sizes.  They will surface later on, just not right now.

Lastly, I just want to say, a lot of ppl here are from the US, and because of the way we're all brought up, we have come to expect things in retail to be done a certain way or held to a certain standard.  All good points, and I understand that mentality completely, being that I lived in the US a long time too.  However, coming back to Asia, its a learning experience.  Non-existence return policy, crap customer service, business man trying to make a quick buck regardless of means.  Its not all that uncommon at all.  People here dont usually do business honestly all the time, and its not until after the fact, that you find out you have been deceived.  When you buy from early release sites, you have to understand, you are not dealing with owners who are fully acustomed to the American culture, you are not dealing with retail businesses even, you are dealing with people who have connections to early released shoes.  Most of the time, you will never hear a peep from them.  If that is something you cant deal with, 2xx some bucks is too important to your bottomline, then dont buy from early release sites. 

Having said all that, I am actually really surprised that SDS would even have ppl come on here to tell you guys those restocked SJs were questionable. 
I am surprised he would respond to guys on here saying currently his paypal has insufficient fund right now, and wait a few days before the refund.
I am surprised he would tell the guy that he doesnt have a 11.5 right now.

There is a lot of info that quite frankly, if i were running his business, i would never ever tell you guys. 
For the SJ, he wouldve been better off not saying anything, like the other sites, sneakerape, anyone?  Instead, i would just quietly offer refund to all those who requested it.
For insufficient funds, i wouldve just said, Sorry, your refund is being processed, and should be deposited into your account in the next 2-3 days.
For the guy who wants the 11.5, I would have said, We're trying hard to fulfill your order, but due to unforseeable circumstances, there will be delays.  If you cannot wait anymore, I will gladly process your refund, and it should be deposited back to your account within a couple of days.  I will inform you later on, should size 11.5 become available.

These standard customer service responses wouldve worked so much better, but instead he just gave out truthful answer, and ppl are bashing him to no end?  I remember back in my learning days, I was always taught to be honest.  However, after being in the work force for a while, I have realized 100% honesty does not get you far in this world, some of the accusers here are the perfect example why.

Anyway, draw your own conclusion, ppl.  Stop being swayed one way or another so easily.

Hey good stuff. My complaint is that I don't know if you are excusing their lack of customer service because that's the way its done in China. I am an US consumer in the US. I don't care how business is done in China. I expect a certain level of customer service. Once you cross that big pond and begin to service the Americans. You should be prepared to provide them with the level of service that is demanded. They told the truth because they had our money and not provided what was promised. If they provided the promised items they could could be as vague astheypleases.

I am not excusing them in any way, however, I am saying this is all too common in Asia.  I believe a lot of these sellers want to be as responsive as everyone wants.  But think about this for a second.  You are buying from a relatively small seller compared to FTL or FNL.  This small seller prolly keeps a relatively small staff.  They received a few hundred orders, and have to fullfill them. 

My question to you is, would you rather have them spend more time on inspecting the shoes they ship out, or more time on customer service?  To me, the American side within me will say, both are equally important.  But the other side of me, sometimes you just cant have it all when you are buying from these early sellers.  Thats why I always try to stay patient despite the lack of communcation, because I would rather have my shoes to 100% good then having a guy respond to my emails all day.

Its not acceptable by US standards, but if the shoes come 100% legit, i can look past these things.  I dont even mind the shoe laces being untied, as long as the shoes are what they ought to be.......100%.

You get my point?

And if slow communcation is a make/break deal for you, then these early sites are not for you.

I would rather SDS stick to their word. I bought from SDS becase sds.com stated the kicks would ship between the 8th and 15th. Inspections, delays and what ever that needed to be done should have been done to satisfy what was stated on sds.com. Any deviations from the initial plan needs to be communicated to the customer. Its not the money I am worried about. Its the, "oh" they are "early sellers" or "thats the way it done in china" that supposedly excuses them to act the way they are.

The whole they are small operation is not an excuse awell. Dont sell what you cant handle and you wont have these problems. Selling 500 pairs and only got the manpower to handle 10.

If SDS came out and said "We are selling Concords and you will get them when you get them". I would have passed. Nope he laid out when he would deliver and thats why I copped.

I now understand that they are not companies of their word and wont be patronizing them any longer.