NIKE Kobe VIII PROTRO - 2023

[kilroythedon]

at believing Nike is going to ever mass produce these

No skin off my back, I’m just trying to be positive about the situation… the deal was renewed for a reason but honestly I don’t care I pay resell for em and keep it moving when I miss.. just waiting for these to settle a little bit before pulling the trigger

 

[g-time]

They don’t have to mass produce the shoes in order to increase the numbers though.

 

[kilroythedon]

They don’t have to mass produce the shoes in order to increase the numbers though.

Exactly….

 

[rainking]

this statement in itself is such a load of crap and i actually feel bad for the people that believe it.

what exactly do they need to do to get this line going? let's see...

create moulds?
nope, those are done for the 1,4, 5, 6 and 8 protros and they probably have existing moulds of previous releases unless they melted them down (unlikely).

source materials?
nope, kobe's don't use some special material.

create new machines to manufacture uppers/flyknit or whatever?
nope. those technologies are used across nike's entire product line till this day.

create a marketing team?
nope, the shoes will sell themselves without marketing. but even if they insist, it doesn't cost much to pay someone to tweet a thing or two about the kobe line. it also doesn't cost nike much time/money since kobe is dead, so not like they need to coordinate with him to market a product.

hire designers?
nope. the people want colorways or PE's that are already known. we don't care for something new.. and if nike is adamant on creating special colorways, then they can designate a design team for those special moments which should be rare anyways.


so what is it?

I truly wonder if it isn’t at least in part that Nike thinks Kobe and his shoes really aren’t as popular with as big of an audience as it seems like. It may seem like the shoes are super popular because of how limited they’ve been, but suddenly make 750K+ pairs and you may be surprised at how they actually sell.
I don’t KNOW this, I’m just speculating based on past evidence before he died.

 

[thapointguy]

So they do send you a notification if you don’t win for raffles?

Atmos, Oneness, Stashed, and Sole Classics all sent me Lmails

 

[little mac]

I truly wonder if it isn’t at least in part that Nike thinks Kobe and his shoes really aren’t as popular with as big of an audience as it seems like. It may seem like the shoes are super popular because of how limited they’ve been, but suddenly make 750K+ pairs and you may be surprised at how they actually sell.
I don’t KNOW this, I’m just speculating based on past evidence before he died.

IMO...you are 100% correct. The 81pts, Purple Reign, and AS 1 Protros were stacked on the shelves from floor to ceiling for a whole side of the isle at the factory stores near me. Deep discounted on a holiday weekend that summer (and I think Nike also would email coupons for factory stores) and they were still sitting hard.

IMO...Part of the reason was they were 1s. The Kobe line evolved a lot from the 1s to the 11s. Bricks to low cuts. Some people who got into Kobes a little down the line tended to be 4-11 and not so much 1-3. (7 was a hiccup for some because they felt they were getting 'brick-ish' again).

I think that totally freaked them and it's a big part of this BS now.

 

[rainking]

IMO...you are 100% correct. The 81pts, Purple Reign, and AS 1 Protros were stacked on the shelves from floor to ceiling for a whole side of the isle at the factory stores near me. Deep discounted on a holiday weekend that summer (and I think Nike also would email coupons for factory stores) and they were still sitting hard.

IMO...Part of the reason was they were 1s. The Kobe line evolved a lot from the 1s to the 11s. Bricks to low cuts. Some people who got into Kobes a little down the line tended to be 4-11 and not so much 1-3. (7 was a hiccup for some because they felt they were getting 'brick-ish' again).

I think that totally freaked them and it's a big part of this BS now.

Yeah, and even the IVs didn’t all move especially quickly.

 

[OG1456791017]

Can’t they now see how many pairs were requested from unique IP addresses in each size to gauge demand? And these were a basic almost all white shoes.

 

[dawarrior]

Yet they make 10 billion Giannis shoes nobody wants. Luka shoes, those crappy ole cp3s, pg's, new KDs, and list goes on. Not to mentioned all those air jordan nothings.

Just make what people want to buy. Let me own a kobe, at retail!

 

[jshortt]

Yeah, and even the IVs didn’t all move especially quickly.

Chaos were the only ones that did anything, from what I remember.

 

[Magic33]

I truly wonder if it isn’t at least in part that Nike thinks Kobe and his shoes really aren’t as popular with as big of an audience as it seems like. It may seem like the shoes are super popular because of how limited they’ve been, but suddenly make 750K+ pairs and you may be surprised at how they actually sell.
I don’t KNOW this, I’m just speculating based on past evidence before he died.

You're right. Look at the Kobe 4 protro and how all of those were on sale on all the sites until everyone bought them up.

There's no precedent for this.

All of these "big fans" who complain about not having Kobe's? So you didn't get any Kobe's in 20 years prior to 2020? That's who you expect Nike to market too? The same people who make a black and white dunk the hottest sneaker, but then complain when Nike continues to release them so everyone can get a pair? That's who Nike is supposed to cater too?

 

[iceburg333]

Took an L on all four pairs today. Wife put in so did a few friends/family and not a single hit. Sh*t is so wack.

 

[g-time]

What a waste of time

 

[T_p_Hill]

Can’t they now see how many pairs were requested from unique IP addresses in each size to gauge demand? And these were a basic almost all white shoes.

To quote a snkrs representative...
"snkrs can't be botted"
stockx/ebay:
JUST DROPPED!!

 

[T_p_Hill]

Took an L on all four pairs today. Wife put in so did a few friends/family and not a single hit. Sh*t is so wack.

Yeah just got the emails as well.
Nothing unexpected,
ebay/stockx has our back.
We can pay for ****bois next bmw.

 

[cachooka man]

Took 6 Ls today

 

[rainking]

Yet they make 10 billion Giannis shoes nobody wants. Luka shoes, those crappy ole cp3s, pg's, new KDs, and list goes on. Not to mentioned all those air jordan nothings.

Just make what people want to buy. Let me own a kobe, at retail!

Right but I think Nike doesn't want to see Kobes rotting on shelves from a brand-perception standpoint. It seems to want to make his line more special than things like the Giannis and Luka etc. lines. Look, it's all marketing BS at the end of the day, just like 100 percent of every other coveted brand. Whether it's handbags, watches, sneakers, jeans, whatever--none of this stuff truly has anywhere near as much value as what people are willing to pay for it, and "why" they are willing to pay high prices for it is the key. Nike and other brands are a master of this. A Rolex Daytona is incredibly difficult to get, and it's priced north of $10K. People pay thousands more than MSRP to get one NOW. How much does it cost Rolex to make one? Nowhere NEAR that. Rolex makes quality watches to be sure, but what it really is is a brilliant marketing company, just like Nike. It's arguably even better at it than Nike is.

Chaos were the only ones that did anything, from what I remember.

Yep, and even those weren't priced outrageously high on the aftermarket until Kobe died. And in truth, at least when I look at recent SX transactions for that shoe, it doesn't look like they are trading very often at the $600-ish price point sellers are asking. There actually aren't that many sales shown for the past many months. This indicates to me that the Kobe market is actually relatively small. I really believe that if Nike made Kobes in the quantities NT wish it did, we'd soon be seeing them back in outlets. That would be great for all of us, but I'm pretty sure Nike wouldn't think it was great for it or for the Kobe brand.

 

[Kobekobe]

Right but I think Nike doesn't want to see Kobes rotting on shelves from a brand-perception standpoint. I

as it's been stated many times.. you eliminate this with NBY/NikeID

 

[Magic33]

as it's been stated many times.. you eliminate this with NBY/NikeID

Did you try getting any of the previous NBY Kobe's 8-10?

 

[Kobekobe]

Did you try getting any of the previous NBY Kobe's 8-10?

I have ids dating back to the Kobe 5’s but they’re unplayable. I mainly bought ids back in the day and never cares for GR’s with the exception of a few

 

[Magic33]

I have ids dating back to the Kobe 5’s but they’re unplayable. I mainly bought ids back in the day and never cares for GR’s with the exception of a few

ID's weren't that easy to make for the 8 thru 10.

So I'm not sure what you mean by just put it on NBY, because they're going to have to limit it somehow because they have to hire contractors and materials beforehand.

 

[Kobekobe]

ID's weren't that easy to make for the 8 thru 10.

So I'm not sure what you mean by just put it on NBY, because they're going to have to limit it somehow because they have to hire contractors and materials beforehand.

What do you mean weren’t easy to make? They were widely available without any hassle. I have multiple.

nothing you mentioned suggests why Nike can’t offer it anymore.

 

[Patchenhz]

 

[g-time]

wish I was aable to get those 8s

 

[wtapswtaps]

I was lucky enough to finally hit on something so "hyped" (didn't win anything big for 2 years). Definitely going to wear them to play indoor bball.

As cool as these are, I have to say the QC is pretty bad on this one. Some brown staining around the mid-sole (perhaps from the glue) and one of the react insoles is very sticky. When i put my shoes on, it's hard to slip my feet in without it pulling on my socks and bunching it up because the insole is so sticky. not sure what the solution is. maybe i have to keep wearing them to build up the dust?