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

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IMO the grey market is exactly what the game needs right now to serve as a checks and balance to dudes ripping off the next man for being a couple minutes too late at scoring a pair of kicks they want for retail.

No, because people are being ripped off with grey markets

Websites and people aren't telling you what they are, so they might be paying wholesale or grey market prices, but they're still charging resell.

So how is that what the game needs?

Personally i dont see where people are getting

Ripped off, only one i think feels da brunt is Nike

Themselves... Grey markets aint lacking on anything

Thay da retail pairs possess..
 
tbh i wouldn't by a GM pair for retail if i can get an authorised pair for retail. there's no point in harming nike if the supply from them is sufficient.

if i can't get an authorised pair for retail, then it doesn't hurt nike if i buy a GM pair.

pretty simple
 
A dummy is going to be a dummy no matter what. If you understand the grey market you'll know to go straight to source and not some random website charging the same price as resellers. The purpose of the of the grey market is to not pay the 200% mark-up resellers are charging. If someone fails to understand that concept, they're better off paying the domestic reseller.

What :lol

You still don't get it :lol

Most people aren't as knowledgeable about sneakers. They go to ebay, see someone with a 100% rating who says their kicks are authentic with tons of feedback.

Most people are selling grey markets and saying they're authentics. Nobody on ebay or craigslist is marketing their sneakers as grey market. Even if you go to the sites, the source as you call them, they don't say they're grey markets.
 
What
laugh.gif


You still don't get it
laugh.gif


Most people aren't as knowledgeable about sneakers. They go to ebay, see someone with a 100% rating who says their kicks are authentic with tons of feedback.

Most people are selling grey markets and saying they're authentics. Nobody on ebay or craigslist is marketing their sneakers as grey market. Even if you go to the sites, the source as you call them, they don't say they're grey markets.
if those resellers got 100% feedback selling gm's, who can say they're that different from retail? those buyers are happy after getting sodomized by the reseller.... 
 
What :lol


You still don't get it :lol


Most people aren't as knowledgeable about sneakers. They go to ebay, see someone with a 100% rating who says their kicks are authentic with tons of feedback.


Most people are selling grey markets and saying they're authentics. Nobody on ebay or craigslist is marketing their sneakers as grey market. Even if you go to the sites, the source as you call them, they don't say they're grey markets.
if those resellers got 100% feedback selling gm's, who can say they're that different from retail? those buyers are happy after getting sodomized by the reseller.... 

because really, there are no differences even to knowledgeable collectors. the only way people caught on really was some of the horrible quality people received at times.

but feedback means nothing on ebay, remember years ago when all you had was POWERSELLERS who sold nothing but fake nba, nfl, and mlb jerseys? they had 20k feedback at 99%

it means nothing
 
If a dude on the corner is trying to sell you a DVD or CD, you know it's fake. And you pay according to it being fake, even though it might be the same exact product minus some extras.

Dudes are acting like they're paying $75 for grey markets. Which has been one of my major problems. A lot of these sites might have grey markets mixed in with real product. A lot of these sites are charging normal resell prices without telling you they're grey markets.

Nike tells you when they're trying to sell you a b grade, and you'll get it at a discount. Even if technically there might not be a problem with that specific sneaker, just the batch.

If things are all hunky dory and it's the same product why don't they tell you what you're getting? No, because they want to charge just like Nike, Finishline, Footlocker. You're deceiving the consumer. So how exactly is the consumer winning? Because your paying $250 instead of $300?
 
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you've got to be an idiot for paying reseller prices on ANY shoes, authorised or not.

when retail aint possible, just cop the damn loss. a piece of leather and rubber on your feet are only really worth so much.
 
you've got to be an idiot for paying reseller prices on ANY shoes, authorised or not.

when retail aint possible, just cop the damn loss. a piece of leather and rubber on your feet are only really worth so much.

That's your opinon

People say the same thing about people who buy Benz's or Ferrari's.

Because you wouldn't do it doesn't make them an idiot and it doesn't make you right. They might have the money to do it.

Can we have an intelligent debate like adults about this topic.
 
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That's your opinon

People say the same thing about people who buy Benz's or Ferrari's.

Because you wouldn't do it doesn't make them an idiot and it doesn't make you right. They might have the money to do it.

Can we have an intelligent debate like adults about this topic.
Lol car analogies and intelligence. Right.
 
Lol car analogies and intelligence. Right.


au·thor·ize
[aw-thuh-rahyz] Show IPA
verb (used with object), au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing.
1.
to give authority or official power to; empower: to authorize an employee to sign purchase orders.
2.
to give authority for; formally sanction (an act or proceeding): Congress authorized the new tax on tobacco.
3.
to establish by authority or usage: an arrangement long authorized by etiquette books.
4.
to afford a ground for; warrant; justify
 
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If a dude on the corner is trying to sell you a DVD or CD, you know it's fake. And you pay according to it being fake, even though it might be the same exact product minus some extras.

Dudes are acting like they're paying $75 for grey markets. Which has been one of my major problems. A lot of these sites might have grey markets mixed in with real product. A lot of these sites are charging normal resell prices without telling you they're grey markets.

Nike tells you when they're trying to sell you a b grade, and you'll get it at a discount. Even if technically there might not be a problem with that specific sneaker, just the batch.

If things are all hunky dory and it's the same product why don't they tell you what you're getting? No, because they want to charge just like Nike, Finishline, Footlocker. You're deceiving the consumer. So how exactly is the consumer winning? Because your paying $250 instead of $300?

But we're not talking about getting a cd or DVD in a plastic sleeve that he pull out of a book bag. We're talking about the same DVD with the same case and the same papers and pamphlets that you would get at bestbuy. I think the reason you can't see eye to eye with a lot of these peoole is that you put these on the same level as replicas. As in you believe buying a GM shoe is buying an inferior product. Others believe you're getting the same product as what you're getting in stores.
 
But we're not talking about getting a cd or DVD in a plastic sleeve that he pull out of a book bag. We're talking about the same DVD with the same case and the same papers and pamphlets that you would get at bestbuy. I think the reason you can't see eye to eye with a lot of these peoole is that you put these on the same level as replicas. As in you believe buying a GM shoe is buying an inferior product. Others believe you're getting the same product as what you're getting in stores.

When people are going in the legit check section and saying GM or real, there is a difference.
 
When people are going in the legit check section and saying GM or real, there is a difference.

Because of the nature of the LC thread 99% of the shoes that end up on there are flawed to begin with and rightly so. Why would someone who has shoes that give them no reason to question authenticity, especially if everything checks out when it comes to quality, have to post their shoes on the LC thread? Same goes for YouTube videos. People make YouTube videos for 2 reasons. For reviews and to complain. Most normal people buy a shoe and put it right into the box if they look good and you never hear another word about it. Essentially the question is this, if we're looking to see if these stand up to the A grade quality Jordans why would you base all of your judgements and opinions off of a forum that draws in b-dgrade, used, fake, and shoes that have issues that cause you to question authenticity to begin with? Whether GM or not. If there are differences the LC thread isn't the place to establish them.
 
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Honestly the only thing that's going to give us any real insite is the people the buy a GM shoe, have them in hand, compare to retail, and tell us what they see. A lot of people in these forums don't even have experience or exposure with the jordan 11 (just an example because its considered the most sought after) outside of the pictures they see online and the BRED 11 that was made available in mass quantities even when not considering GM pairs. I've had one pair of GM concords in hand before and compared them to the multiple pairs of 11s that I actually own released over the past 13 or so years, and besides the difference in size (I'm an 11-11.5 and the GM pair was a 9.5) and the fresh sole, proportionately they were the same as my concords space jams and cool Greys from the most recent retros. When compared to the 2000 space Jams and cool Greys and even the 2006 DMP there were some differences. Mainly stiffness of the leather and the older shoes had higher PL cuts for the most part. But that was just based on the one pair of GM concords I had In hand. I would be stupid base all GM shoes on the one pair I had in hand, but it seems like a lot of people do base all their opinions on the flawed shoes that come up on the LC thread.
 
The only reason this argument is still going on is because people come to this forum (NT as a whole) for definitive answers to their questions, and to be quite frank, you're not going to get the "ultimate" answer, if that's what you're looking for.

People have posted numerous thorough, in depth, detailed explanations of how this works, and most people are either too lazy to read through the 78 pages of info (that's not a lot of reading if you REALLY wanted to know about something) or they can't accept the reality that their precious deity, NIKE, is just a business and not a non-profit, we are the world Godsend.

At the end of the day, you get what you get when it comes to "grey market". There's no quality control guarantee, outside of whether or not the seller wants to keep repeat business, and that is pretty much the difference between what your buy from CopKickz, any of those other bigcartel stores, etc, and Footlocker/Champs/FNL/Nike.com.

I saw yesterday that a few different sneaker "authorities" are trying to "expose" all these sites "selling fakes" as they put it. Not surprising, because guess what... OF COURSE CONSIGNMENT/RESELLERS want you to believe these shoes are all fake. Of course there are still fakes out there. That won't ever stop. The BLACK MARKET has been around for decades. However, we aren't talking about fakes. We're talking about the EXACT SAME SHOE YOU BUY FROM "AUTHORIZED" RETAILERS.

THE GREY MARKET COULD EFFECTIVELY LOWER THE PRICES OF RESALE SNEAKERS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. That's what people are REALLY afraid of. Don't believe all this "sneakerhead" BS. Cats are EATING off of sneakers right now, the Chinese have figured out a way to eat off of it on the side, others have also figured out this hustle, and the RESALE/CONSIGNMENT market is upset because it's EATING OFF THEIR PLATE.

Let's be honest. Any of you guys been in Flight Club lately? Who's to say the guy in there knows more about sneakers than you/me? You think they have some magic scanner gun, some machine that tells them whether shoes or real or fake? I can GUARANTEE Flight Club has been got on GM/early release shoes before. Maybe not actually prior to release, but there's ZERO PERCENT CHANCE that they've never sold a pair of shoes that at one point, came from the "grey market".

I've seen grey market Toro 4's and black Grape 5's in person, as well as their FNL/FTL counterparts.

They are 100% identical. Weight, materials, box, everything. It's the same shoe. I've seen bigger glaring differences in pairs of shoes purchased from the SAME STORE at the SAME MOMENT, than I saw in the 4 shoes I just mentioned above (GM Toro, FTL Toro, GM BG, FTL Black Grape)... and the two GM shoes came from two different sources.

No one from Nike is coming in here to "put this all to an end". If you're using the grey market, you're gonna continue at your own risk. If you aren't, then don't.

But it doesn't pay to keep going back and forth. You guys aren't stupid.
 
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The only reason this argument is still going on is because people come to this forum (NT as a whole) for definitive answers to their questions, and to be quite frank, you're not going to get the "ultimate" answer, if that's what you're looking for.

People have posted numerous thorough, in depth, detailed explanations of how this works, and most people are either too lazy to read through the 78 pages of info (that's not a lot of reading if you REALLY wanted to know about something) or they can't accept the reality that their precious deity, NIKE, is just a business and not a non-profit, we are the world Godsend.

At the end of the day, you get what you get when it comes to "grey market". There's no quality control guarantee, outside of whether or not the seller wants to keep repeat business, and that is pretty much the difference between what your buy from CopKickz, any of those other bigcartel stores, etc, and Footlocker/Champs/FNL/Nike.com.

I saw yesterday that a few different sneaker "authorities" are trying to "expose" all these sites "selling fakes" as they put it. Not surprising, because guess what... OF COURSE CONSIGNMENT/RESELLERS want you to believe these shoes are all fake. Of course there are still fakes out there. That won't ever stop. The BLACK MARKET has been around for decades. However, we aren't talking about fakes. We're talking about the EXACT SAME SHOE YOU BUY FROM "AUTHORIZED" RETAILERS.

THE GREY MARKET COULD EFFECTIVELY LOWER THE PRICES OF RESALE SNEAKERS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. That's what people are REALLY afraid of. Don't believe all this "sneakerhead" BS. Cats are EATING off of sneakers right now, the Chinese have figured out a way to eat off of it on the side, others have also figured out this hustle, and the RESALE/CONSIGNMENT market is upset because it's EATING OFF THEIR PLATE.

Let's be honest. Any of you guys been in Flight Club lately? Who's to say the guy in there knows more about sneakers than you/me? You think they have some magic scanner gun, some machine that tells them whether shoes or real or fake? I can GUARANTEE Flight Club has been got on GM/early release shoes before. Maybe not actually prior to release, but there's ZERO PERCENT CHANCE that they've never sold a pair of shoes that at one point, came from the "grey market".

I've seen grey market Toro 4's and black Grape 5's in person, as well as their FNL/FTL counterparts.

They are 100% identical. Weight, materials, box, everything. It's the same shoe. I've seen bigger glaring differences in pairs of shoes purchased from the SAME STORE at the SAME MOMENT, than I saw in the 4 shoes I just mentioned above (GM Toro, FTL Toro, GM BG, FTL Black Grape)... and the two GM shoes came from two different sources.

No one from Nike is coming in here to "put this all to an end". If you're using the grey market, you're gonna continue at your own risk. If you aren't, then don't.

But it doesn't pay to keep going back and forth. You guys aren't stupid.

[insert clapping emoji here]

Even Nike can't dispute authenticity if we go by the dictionary's definition of authentic

Authentic: undisputed origin, genuine; made or done in the traditional or original way.

Authenticity to speaks to the actual product itself. They have the same orgin, made in the same place, by the same people, with the same molds/tech packs, and most importantly the same materials. Same undisputed orgin. Authorization has no bearing on the physical tangible shoe or how its made. once the shoe is green lit by nikes quality control, it doesnt magically transform into an "authentic shoe". Illegal, unauthorized, illegitimate; yes. "High quality fake" or "non authentic" by definition, no.
 
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That's your opinon

People say the same thing about people who buy Benz's or Ferrari's.

Because you wouldn't do it doesn't make them an idiot and it doesn't make you right. They might have the money to do it.

Can we have an intelligent debate like adults about this topic.

Finally. People are so quick to tear down anything that is intelligent and counters what they think.
 
Has anyone taken a pair of gm to flight club or any cosign store and got the go ahead there real? I wanna do it and not tell them where I got it from and see what happens. Because I have a Nike rep that can get me alot of old shoes that have dropped and there ds and prolly grey market but there not cheap still expensive.
 
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