Grey market discussion thread (Let's keep the discussion mature) Rules on pg 1 please read before yo

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csp23 said:
Sorry. The picture that shows both bottoms are off. Not color. The three white circles n the 2 blue heel pieces also.. I am by no means an expert.
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The white circles dont always line up in the right spot with the traction spots on the sole. Ive seen many RD pairs that have that flaw.

If JB/Nike sent materials to the factory for them to produce 2,000 pairs and there was left over product to make an additional 300. Well they arent going to send out 2,300 when JB/Nike only got paid from whoever to receive a total of 2,000 .. so that 300 goes elsewhere which is those GM pairs right?
 
quise2024 said:
The white circles dont always line up in the right spot with the traction spots on the sole. Ive seen many RD pairs that have that flaw.

If JB/Nike sent materials to the factory for them to produce 2,000 pairs and there was left over product to make an additional 300. Well they arent going to send out 2,300 when JB/Nike only got paid from whoever to receive a total of 2,000 .. so that 300 goes elsewhere which is those GM pairs right?
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i suppose that could be the origin of some pairs but from what i heard, there are people such as air randy who have access to all the materials needed to make retail quality shoes.
 
Space jams with blue soles with 2009 production dates are legit now?

The difference isn't yellowing, the 2009 space jam sole was white translucent, anything else and they're fake. point blank period.

And there are noticeable material differences, the patent cut on GM Concords is much higher on the outside than real concords. The pods are off, the box is off, the plastic in the box is dull. They are nothing like the legit pair.

But 2009 space jams with blue soles are legit now

FSRs of DB4s for retail in 2013 are legit now

Facepalm.
 
csp23 said:
I bought the III's before this GM thing started/or well known, almost 10 years ago. I owned the 1st released III's in white n cement, and the 2nd release in white n cement & blk n cement. I wanted the tru blues. One day hopped on the net.. Low and behold, a website popped up with them for $50 bucks or so. Ran down to the K-Mart, did a money wire.. I KNOW I KNOW.. I was like a kid at Christmas though and again you never really heard of fake.. Well two weeks later they arrived.. They looked real but the material was day and nite. My real ones were the thick soft leather and these were thin and not even sure what is was. Looked real but not close.. Only others were fours that I knew we're bogus but temptation to the best of me. Needless to say that site was gone a week and I bought them and the rest is history.. Never did it again. Only by from stores, eBay people I trust and in person...
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You bought fakes, G. Grey markets are identical to real pairs and normally cost retail or more.
 
RokkyX said:
The difference isn't yellowing, the 2009 space jam sole was white translucent, anything else and they're fake. point blank period.
 
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Sounds like you have a lot to learn.

And there are two types of unauthorized DB4s being passed off as "authentic." One has the correct tongue, the other doesn't. That's how you tell the difference.
 
RokkyX said:
Space jams with blue soles with 2009 production dates are legit now?

The difference isn't yellowing, the 2009 space jam sole was white translucent, anything else and they're fake. point blank period.

And there are noticeable material differences, the patent cut on GM Concords is much higher on the outside than real concords. The pods are off, the box is off, the plastic in the box is dull. They are nothing like the legit pair.

But 2009 space jams with blue soles are legit now

FSRs of DB4s for retail in 2013 are legit now

Facepalm.
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Did you just disregard the posts i put WITH pictures? We are speaking on the Actual shoes here. now where have i said Space jams with blue soles are legit? I did say there are pairs WITH clear soles. pictures above for proof. And no they are the same materials. I have held a pair of GM concords in my own hands and the materials and construction are exactly the same. can you pick out which ones are grey market and which ones are retail? ill repost the pictures so you dont ignore them again. The price is not what dictates the whether a shoe is legit or not. its materials, construction, and quality. DB4s have long been proven as fake IN THIS THREAD already because of the major flaws that they have. Once again READ the thread and then comment. Youre sounding like all of the misinformed and ignorant posters from earlier in the thread before jumpmankb gave us the ACTUAL facts.[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]  [/color][color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Quote:[/color]
 
Let me hip ya'll to something real quick that should clarify the issue and prove that there is no difference:




Does Nike run its own factories?

No, Nike does not own any of the factories where its shoes are produced; it contracts the work to various factory owners. Nike say it is in the business of "marketing" shoes, not making them. However, Nike dictates the terms to the contractor: the design, the materials, the price it will pay. While companies like Nike used to try to avoid responsibility for factory conditions by saying they were "just the buyer," the anti-sweatshop movement has made this excuse unacceptable and forced the retailers—who are, after all, the ones who make the greatest profit—take responsibility for the workers who make their products.



http://www.globalexchange.org/sweatfree/nike/faq


There are no official Nike factories. Nike doesn't own any of them. They contract the work out to these factories. So you don't think that there are some shady factory owners who will start the machines back up once they have fulfilled their obligations to Nike? I am sure that they have overstock of materials often.These kicks are identical to official Nike shoes because they are made in the exact same place,in the exact same way, with the exact same materials, by the exact same people. Don't kid yourselves, these kicks are exactly the same.
 
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this discussion is crazy and will go on forever if we let it but in all honesty you can tell on certain pairs and not on some as well and now the flawed retail pairs bought from legitimate stores will be though of aso fake, even receipts can come with an authentic pair and then the dude selling the shoes can give you the receipt and a GM pair of shoes and nobody would be the wiser. i think what these should be considered as is regular pairs unless they have blatently wrong materials (blue soles on SJs unless they have been dyed in which case you would be able to tell anyways) because if someone wants to dupe you with a GM pair it isnt hard to do especially with the average consumer. im not mad and i wouldnt care honestly if i ended up with a GM pair for retail or a little higher as long as everything looks good and the quality is the same, its not that big of a deal IMO but to each his own (its only shoes for petes sake)
 
JChambers said:
Let me hip ya'll to something real quick that should clarify the issue and prove that there is no difference:




Does Nike run its own factories?

No, Nike does not own any of the factories where its shoes are produced; it contracts the work to various factory owners. Nike say it is in the business of "marketing" shoes, not making them. However, Nike dictates the terms to the contractor: the design, the materials, the price it will pay. While companies like Nike used to try to avoid responsibility for factory conditions by saying they were "just the buyer," the anti-sweatshop movement has made this excuse unacceptable and forced the retailers—who are, after all, the ones who make the greatest profit—take responsibility for the workers who make their products.



http://www.globalexchange.org/sweatfree/nike/faq


There are no official Nike factories. Nike doesn't own any of them. They contract the work out to these factories. So you don't think that there are some shady factory owners who will start the machines back up once they have fulfilled their obligations to Nike? I am sure that they have overstock of materials often.These kicks are identical to official Nike shoes because they are made in the exact same place,in the exact same way, with the exact same materials, by the exact same people. Don't kid yourselves, these kicks are exactly the same.
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I hope RokkyX reads this and every other post in this thread before commenting again
 
JChambers said:
These kicks are identical to official Nike shoes because they are made in the exact same place,in the exact same way, with the exact same materials, by the exact same people. Don't kid yourselves, these kicks are exactly the same.
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Exactly what I was trying to portray in my last post. GM pairs getting produced with all the exact same are just as authentic as a pair you're getting from Finishline or footlocker or NDC. Just because they are not sold from them (retail chains) doesnt make them any less real than the ones you buy from a GM site (assuming same materials etc)
rcjbbp1313 said:
 im not mad and i wouldnt care honestly if i ended up with a GM pair for retail or a little higher as long as everything looks good and the quality is the same, its not that big of a deal IMO but to each his own (its only shoes for petes sake)
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THIS

Same quality, same materials, & spot on to retail release

Like I said before as long as you (the customer) is 100% satisfied with what YOU spent YOUR money on, GM or "retail release" hell even a replica if thats what floats your boat, that's all that matters who's to tell you anything else. People worry too much about what someone else got and what they doing
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I wanna take a crack at this. They all look good IMO

pair 1 = retail (looks like the 23 is a common JB flaw, stitching looks on point and the patent is cut is diff im assuming because the shoe is sitting on uneven ground)

pair 2 = GM (23 looks shiny, no biggie, the stitching looks a lil spread out on the patent)

pair 3 = retail (idk why honestly, could be GM)

pair 4 = GM (idk why honestly, could be retail)

3 & 4 are a toss up .. all 4 look damn good in my eyes though
 
So what your saying it that GM Jordan's use real material? Leather,suede,etc... Same as store bought but purchased outside of a Nike retailer? If this is the case.. Good luck! If I walked into a footlocker and bought 5 pair of 3's, all would be different? If this is true, what would separate the two (retailer vs. other)? Outside of knowing where they were purchased. I would assume the online sellers would be of highest quality or they would no longer be around. If this is the case then this is a helpless battle.. Sorry to say it. If Nike don't care about non-Nike retailers selling there product then there must be more to the story.. Nike is a big company and has a worldwide trademark patent. They could easily slap a cease disist order for copywrite infringement on anyone. Miles ate mostly made in china where the so called GM one are made? Maybe all made at the same factory? Nike could say. We need 2k what Evers left is yours to make some? You don't think ford would let Honda make a mustang and not do anything huh? Just my personal opinion.... Nothing more.
 
quise2024 said:
I wanna take a crack at this. They all look good IMO

pair 1 = retail (looks like the 23 is a common JB flaw, stitching looks on point and the patent is cut is diff im assuming because the shoe is sitting on uneven ground)

pair 2 = GM (23 looks shiny, no biggie, the stitching looks a lil spread out on the patent)

pair 3 = retail (idk why honestly, could be GM)

pair 4 = GM (idk why honestly, could be retail)

3 & 4 are a toss up .. all 4 look damn good in my eyes though
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youre actually the first person to get it right. Although one of my concords from fininishline has similar stitching  to pair 2. But yup 1 and 3 are retail and 2 and 4 are GM. But the point is you cant tell. the whole high patent leather cut arguemnt goes out of the window now. These all have the "low patent leather height" that all "authentic" pairs are supposed to have. bottom line theyre the same.

Im after actually knowing which is retail and which is GM people are going to try and pic apart all of the subtle differences in the shoes 
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 and disregard the varying quality between all shoes of the same model
 
csp23 said:
So what your saying it that GM Jordan's use real material? Leather,suede,etc... Same as store bought but purchased outside of a Nike retailer? If this is the case.. Good luck! If I walked into a footlocker and bought 5 pair of 3's, all would be different? If this is true, what would separate the two (retailer vs. other)? Outside of knowing where they were purchased. I would assume the online sellers would be of highest quality or they would no longer be around. If this is the case then this is a helpless battle.. Sorry to say it. If Nike don't care about non-Nike retailers selling there product then there must be more to the story.. Nike is a big company and has a worldwide trademark patent. They could easily slap a cease disist order for copywrite infringement on anyone. Miles ate mostly made in china where the so called GM one are made? Maybe all made at the same factory? Nike could say. We need 2k what Evers left is yours to make some? You don't think ford would let Honda make a mustang and not do anything huh? Just my personal opinion.... Nothing more.
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jdfrenchbread23 said:
For the sake of keeping things brief and understandable lets put it this way. Yes, it is illegal, But nike makes so much money that these grey market pairs arent really doing anything to their profitability as a company. It would take more time money, and resources to just to take down the grey market industry then to just let them go under the radar.
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I don't know how I can be more clear than I was in my last post. These grey markets are the same shoes you are getting from Finishline and Eastbay. There are websites right now that sell fake United States driver's licenses from China and the federal government can't shut them all down. What makes you all think that Nike can stop these grey market shoe producers?
 
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JChambers said:
I don't know how I can be more clear than I was in my last post. These grey markets are the same shoes you are getting from Finishline and Eastbay. There are websites right now that sell fake United States driver's licenses from China and the federal government can't shut them all down. What makes you all think that Nike can stop these grey market shoe producers?
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I wish people would just read the thread. So many of the comments and questions have been addressed and beaten to death.
 
jdfrenchbread23 said:
youre actually the first person to get it right. Although one of my concords from fininishline has similar stitching  to pair 2. But yup 1 and 3 are retail and 2 and 4 are GM. But the point is you cant tell. the whole high patent leather cut arguemnt goes out of the window now. These all have the "low patent leather height" that all "authentic" pairs are supposed to have. bottom line theyre the same.

Im after actually knowing which is retail and which is GM people are going to try and pic apart all of the subtle differences in the shoes 
eyes.gif
 and disregard the varying quality between all shoes of the same model
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Yeah people will def try to pick apart the differences but the fact of the matter is the only way you can do that is if you have pictures like we do on here and can take the time to inspect. if I saw you out wearing those there's no way to tell becuase im not walking up to you getting on the ground to look at your feet. the most i would even do was glance and go about my business. so if they gm or retail doesnt even really matter.

and I agree the shoes are identitcal.

I remember the old legit checks you could do on XIs. Carbon fiber, 23, 3rd spacing, ball lining up in the 23, sole, patent cut, jumpman jordan. youd be able to spot a fake within 5 seconds of looking at a shoe ... yeah all thats gone out the window now lol
on another note, replicas are still poorly made so they are pretty easy to spot. especially people that have cways that never released or those hybrid 360 sole ones 
 
csp23 said:
Sorry to say it. If Nike don't care about non-Nike retailers selling there product then there must be more to the story.. Nike is a big company and has a worldwide trademark patent. They could easily slap a cease disist order for copywrite infringement on anyone.
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That would require extra time money and effort .. when nike is making (for example to just throw random numbers) 1 billion a year in sales, marketing, etc ... and the lost 75k a year to the grey market industry. The time money and effort spent to hire attorneys investigators tech people etc would cost them 200K+ a year

would you rather lose 50k or 275k every year?
 
Agreed. Not to mention Nike would be trying to close down the factories that make there shoes.. Never bite the hand that feeds you.. I must say, I have learned a lot from this topic. I do have a few question. Where are the so called GM sellers? eBay,websites,etc? The best site or person? I am going to buy a pair of some I already have. See for my self.
 
csp23 said:
Agreed. Not to mention Nike would be trying to close down the factories that make there shoes.. Never bite the hand that feeds you.. I must say, I have learned a lot from this topic. I do have a few question. Where are the so called GM sellers? eBay,websites,etc? The best site or person? I am going to buy a pair of some I already have. See for my self.
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Can't answer that here. Do some research, youll find it.
 
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