Trying to Get in The Shoe Game

[chicagoguy5]

Hey guy's, I'm new to the site and this is my first post, but I've been a long time reader. I'm trying to get into the shoe game and I would really appreciate it if you guys would throw some suggestions of what I should look out for and get. I know a lot of you, if not most, will probably call me a hypebeast or whatever term is used but I assure you that is not the case.

I'm a 22 year old handicapped/disabled man from birth, I mean I can walk short distances with crutches but I mainly use a wheelchair when going far distances or standing for more than a few minutes at a time like inside a mall. I finally have a nice amount of money saved up and a steady amount coming in so I can buy the shoes I like on release date.

I'll probably have to be hopeful of buying my shoes online on release dates, due to my physical situation and not driving, but that's alright it could always be worse. I'm just happy to finally doing my own thing and buying things I've always loved, because before my parents wouldn't just buy me a hundred plus dollars pair of shoes, and that's the reason I want to finally start copping some dope sneakers and hopefully one day have a nice collection of my own.

I mainly like Jordan's, and Nike's that look like the Air Force One's and the SB's. I like some shoes from other brands like Reebok and Adidas, but only a select few and not as much as what Nike has to offer. I would really appreciate it if you guys would give me some ideas, I recently bought the Jordan Fire Red 5's black tongue and I'm looking forward to the Oreo's, but other than that I'm blank. Thank you for your time and help.

 

[bigj505]

honestly, just look around the forums and pop in a few threads.

don't stress over limited releases. just get what you can get without going crazy.

remember, these are just shoes and when you miss out, there will be another shoe coming out shortly after.

welcome to the site. glad to see such a positive outlook on your situation. much respect.

 

[dtownjumpman]

Hey guy's, I'm new to the site and this is my first post, but I've been a long time reader. I'm trying to get into the shoe game and I would really appreciate it if you guys would throw some suggestions of what I should look out for and get. I know a lot of you, if not most, will probably call me a hypebeast or whatever term is used but I assure you that is not the case.

I'm a 22 year old handicapped/disabled man from birth, I mean I can walk short distances with crutches but I mainly use a wheelchair when going far distances or standing for more than a few minutes at a time like inside a mall. I finally have a nice amount of money saved up and a steady amount coming in so I can buy the shoes I like on release date.

I'll probably have to be hopeful of buying my shoes online on release dates, due to my physical situation and not driving, but that's alright it could always be worse. I'm just happy to finally doing my own thing and buying things I've always loved, because before my parents wouldn't just buy me a hundred plus dollars pair of shoes, and that's the reason I want to finally start copping some dope sneakers and hopefully one day have a nice collection of my own.

I mainly like Jordan's, and Nike's that look like the Air Force One's and the SB's. I like some shoes from other brands like Reebok and Adidas, but only a select few and not as much as what Nike has to offer. I would really appreciate it if you guys would give me some ideas, I recently bought the Jordan Fire Red 5's black tongue and I'm looking forward to the Oreo's, but other than that I'm blank. Thank you for your time and help.

Buy what you like. Do your research. Have love for the shoes and not the "shoe game". You might find out that it is not for you! Take your time and you can find or get whatever you want. Good luck!

 

[chicagoguy5]

honestly, just look around the forums and pop in a few threads.

don't stress over limited releases. just get what you can get without going crazy.

remember, these are just shoes and when you miss out, there will be another shoe coming out shortly after.

welcome to the site. glad to see such a positive outlook on your situation. much respect.

Thanks man I really appreciate the warm welcome and such a great response. You are definitely right about there being another shoe after missing one, I kind of see it as destiny. Not everyone has money like these ball players and rappers do, so a lot of us will miss put on certain shoes. But, the shoe we miss out on may not be the best shoe for us at that particular moment and the next shoe may be. I don't know if I made much sense or even got my point across, but you really open up my mind as to how I should perceive my shop purchases. Once again, thank you man.

 

[airthompson]

would really appreciate it if you guys would give me some ideas.

Buy what you like. Honestly wouldn't suggest Jordan's as a shoe due to the fact the comfort isn't really there in the retros anymore.

Best of luck.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Buy what you like. Do your research. Have love for the shoes and not the "shoe game". You might find out that it is not for you! Take your time and you can find or get whatever you want. Good luck!

Thanks man I really appreciate your input. You're absolutely right, there's a lot of shoe's that the majority of people want and love, but I'm not feeling them. So it'd be stupid on my part to go out of my way to spend money on something that I don't view as the same level as everyone else. For instance, the only Jordan's I really like are the 1's, 3's, 4's, 5's, 6's, 7's, 10's, and 11's. The rest I'm not really feeling. I know the Taxi's are soon coming out and everyone is saying that they're "a must cop" but I'll probably get my Oreo's, maybe the Gamma Blue 11's, and Powdered Blue 3's, and just skip out on the Taxi's. I also don't really like Foamposites of any kind, or Air Max's and so on. In a way, I'll have my collection eventually, but it probably will be an outcast type of collection if anything. I really just need to stick to what I like and build from there. Thank you for making my decisions a whole lot easier

 

[Mr Dink]

Don't do it.

 

[blastercombo]

"Game"? Lol, you've lost already

 

[lamekilla]

Like mentioned above wear what you like. The shoes don't make the man, the man makes the shoes....

Unless you have a pair of space jams

 

[chicagoguy5]

Buy what you like. Honestly wouldn't suggest Jordan's as a shoe due to the fact the comfort isn't really there in the retros anymore.

Best of luck.

Thank you for the feedback and your suggestion, this is going to sound crazy but I've never bought a pair of retro's up until yesterday which were the Fire Red 5's with the black tongue. The most expensive Jordan's I had bought up until yesterday were the Black and University Gold Spi'zikes which I got for $140 on the nike.com website. I'll probably get laughed at for this, but all the Jordan's I would buy were the new Jordan's I guess you can call them? They're typically the Jordan's on sale for about $79.99 to $100 at the shoe stores like Foot Locker, Finish Line, and their websites. I really like those though, so I'll probably continue buying those as well as the Retro's I like and can get my hands on. I also want to start getting colored AF1 and SB's like the kids would wear when I was younger in middle school. What shoes are you into? I know a lot of people are now also buying Lebron's, Kobe's, KD's, which I thought was blasphemy at first but after looking at them with an open mind a lot of them look really dope and not as simple as Jordans can be.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Don't do it.

Don't do what?

 

[norcalhussla]

its an expensive hobby but buy what you like. i think you would really enjoy the black/red AJ1's when they drop. its a timeless sneaker.

 

[chicagoguy5]

"Game"? Lol, you've lost already

I probably have, but oh well, that's the term I like to use. Saying "shoe collection" doesn't sound as nice as "shoe game" in my humble opinion.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Like mentioned above wear what you like. The shoes don't make the man, the man makes the shoes....

Unless you have a pair of space jams

Haha, man those were some shoes I wish I would have been able to afford or get when I was younger. I believe a version of them came out back when I was in high school, and pretty much everyone had them but me. For a while I was confusing the Space Jams with the Bugs Bunny 8's, because the Bugs Bunny and Space Jam reference made so much sense in my head at the time. I forgot to mention I also like the Bugs Bunny Jkrdans, but I use these plastic braces underneath my pants, to help support my legs (they go from my feet up to about almost my knees called AFO'S I believe? ) so if they ever release those 8's again (which they probably will) I don't think I'd be able to wear them cause the 8's go so high up and have that strap *sad face* haha

 

[dtownjumpman]

Don't do what?

Another thing about NT and forums like it....There are lot of cats on here that will help you out. They will answer your questions and do it with the most respect and interest of the poster. Then you got a small group of ******** who post only to be seen. they are either sarcastic or just want some attention. Please ignore these and don't feed into replying to them. They will juice you over your lack of knowledge. They will try to belittle you because they feel like they know more. Nobody knows everything. Just a heads up of the ******* that goes on here at NT.

 

[L7oser]

Welcome to NT,

If I was in the same position as you i'd start off with a lot of research. Study the differences in authentics vs fakes. After that look around ebay and buy/sell sections on legit sites such as this and track down some older gems. I wouldnt even bother with chasing newer releases if they are too hard to obtain. From what i've read you don't do a lot of walking so you have a chance to wear some some older shoes with less risk of them falling apart. Study more on the culture and focus less on the "game" aspect.

 

[chicagoguy5]

its an expensive hobby but buy what you like. i think you would really enjoy the black/red AJ1's when they drop. its a timeless sneaker.

It is a very expensive hobby, but nonethless, I personally believe it's one of the better hobbies to have. Especially when you're at home all day forced to drop out of college because you're always sick, it's just something nice to look forward to in my opinion. Growing up I think seeing everyone have their variety of like-new condition shoes stored in their boxes and seeing so many of them piled up and being able to wear a different pair every day to school had an impact on me. As did MTV Cribs, seeing the shoe closets of all the celebrities amazed me and now I want to be able to have my own little collection of my own haha. Didn't the "Chicago Bulls" or whatever name they had for them come out at the beginning of the year? Those were really nice and I wanted them, but I was broke at the time. I agree though, a lot of the AJ1 shoes are timeless and just look great overall. Especially the black and red or other simple but classy colorways that you can wear with just about any outfit.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Another thing about NT and forums like it....There are lot of cats on here that will help you out. They will answer your questions and do it with the most respect and interest of the poster. Then you got a small group of ******** who post only to be seen. they are either sarcastic or just want some attention. Please ignore these and don't feed into replying to them. They will juice you over your lack of knowledge. They will try to belittle you because they feel like they know more. Nobody knows everything. Just a heads up of the ******* that goes on here at NT.

Thanks for the heads up man, I kind of figured that out (a little late of course). I forgot this was still the internet, even though it's an online shoe community. It's okay though, I'll take your advice and learn from my mistakes, I'll just ignore anyone that isn't looking out for me and trying to at least answer my questions. I had a feeling there was a comment or two I should have just read and kept it moving.

 

[Mr Dink]

Another thing about NT and forums like it....There are lot of cats on here that will help you out. They will answer your questions and do it with the most respect and interest of the poster. Then you got a small group of ******** who post only to be seen. they are either sarcastic or just want some attention. Please ignore these and don't feed into replying to them. They will juice you over your lack of knowledge. They will try to belittle you because they feel like they know more. Nobody knows everything. Just a heads up of the ******* that goes on here at NT.

Don't start getting into the hobby. I'm not being sarcastic or posting for the attention. I'm saying don't start getting into the hobby as genuine advice.
It's a waste of money and time. The shoes are $100 if you're into Air Maxes, then when you wanna get into Retros and high-end basketball shoes, you're paying $150-$300 retail depending on the shoe. Then having to wake up at 4:30 AM (at least it is for me since I'm on the West Coast. If you're in the East Coast, it's not so bad) to get yourself ready to buy the shoes on NDC and sometimes you would have to wait for hours just to be able to check out. Then having to camp out for hours/days, risking your safety to be able to buy the shoes you want. It's his money and time and he can do as he wishes. I'm just saying it's not a very good hobby to start getting into.

EDIT: Forgot to mention resellers who want to charge $500+ for the more limited releases. GR Jordan are not so bad, it's usually $20-50 over retail.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Welcome to NT,

If I was in the same position as you i'd start off with a lot of research. Study the differences in authentics vs fakes. After that look around ebay and buy/sell sections on legit sites such as this and track down some older gems. I wouldnt even bother with chasing newer releases if they are too hard to obtain. From what i've read you don't do a lot of walking so you have a chance to wear some some older shoes with less risk of them falling apart. Study more on the culture and focus less on the "game" aspect.

I really need to study the culture, I'm sorry for using "game" in no way, shape, or form was I trying to belittle the culture. I'm just so used to hearing "shoe game" left and right that I didn't even think twice about using it in my title. I take the love for these shoes seriously, seeing what's coming out and the anticipation followed by being able to rock new dope shoes creates an amazing feeling inside of me. But there's a lot of fakes going around, I'm well aware of that. What I wasn't aware of was that there's actually older shoes still around. What sucks is the inflation on these shoes, if you don't get them on release day places like Flight Club or most resellers will try and make a pretty penny off of people into the shoes. When I was younger and had some birthday and Christmas money saved up to finally buy a nice pair of my own I I would see the shoes I was looking forward to in the several hundreds which just kept me stuck buying the all white or all black AF1's or like I said in another reply the new Jordan's that don't have a well known name, you know the ones that are on sale between $80 and $100 at places like Foot Locker and Finish Line? Nowadays that I no longer go to school and I'm home all day except for when I go out to my doctors appointments, I walk even less now, so if the older models are at a great price I would be really interested in purchasing them because I no longer wear out shoes, which is crazy because I'd wear them out so quick in middle school when I walked more. I remember the bottom of my shoes or the soles around the toe area would rip apart within months as if I had had them for years or something.

 

[chicagoguy5]

Don't start getting into the hobby. I'm not being sarcastic or posting for the attention. I'm saying don't start getting into the hobby as genuine advice.
It's a waste of money and time. The shoes are $100 if you're into Air Maxes, then when you wanna get into Retros and high-end basketball shoes, you're paying $150-$300 retail depending on the shoe. Then having to wake up at 4:30 AM (at least it is for me since I'm on the West Coast. If you're in the East Coast, it's not so bad) to get yourself ready to buy the shoes on NDC and sometimes you would have to wait for hours just to be able to check out. Then having to camp out for hours/days, risking your safety to be able to buy the shoes you want. It's his money and time and he can do as he wishes. I'm just saying it's not a very good hobby to start getting into.

EDIT: Forgot to mention resellers who want to charge $500+ for the more limited releases. GR Jordan are not so bad, it's usually $20-50 over retail.

Well I have never and I would never camp out for a shoe, I think I mentioned in my original post that the reason I'm so late to this hobby is because I don't drive, I can't stand for a long time, and I don't really walk far distances (during the mall I'm in a rented wheelchair) So I never was able to get to the stores on release dates which I see as a blessing due to all the craziness I hear. I live in Chicago, so I would depend on the Internet on release dates and waking up at 7 to go on a website wouldn't be so bad, unless the shoes were in-store only. The resellers price do suck, especially when retail price isn't so cheap that's why I just barely bought my first retro's yesterday. I'm assuming they were general releases cause I paid $205 for the fire red fives black tongue. But I would never pay more than probably $250 for any shoe, thats why I'm staying away from Flight Club and my choices are limited at RifLA. I just love shoes and looking forward to having my own little collection, it's kind of my only thing to look forward to at the moment (due to my ongoing bad health), other than life of course. I want to be wise when it comes to the culture and my approach to it though. I would hate to get hurt or robbed over shoes at the end of the day.

 

[green rhino123]

hypebeast

 

[dtownjumpman]

hypebeast

Example #2

 

[magic61182]

Welcome, just buy what u like, and what u can afford.. Don't worry about getting every release or every "hot" shoe..cause chances are u probably won't get it..

 

[bigmike24000]

Some words of wisdom... there is literally a release every week now.  You can spend a couple thousand a month easy.  In between new releases and trying to cop old releases you can look back over a year and realize you have spent over 5 figures on just tennis shoes.  Like every other hobby those with the most money and best connects will always have the best collections... just like life....never get caught up in the Jone's syndrome.  Buy what you love, buy what you remember you couldn't get as a child, buy the colors you love, don't buy because of the hype.  Also being a reseller is only profitable if you have solid connections and you are actually running a business.  Too many people think flipping shoes is easy money... it's not..... there is a right way and wrong way...don't be fooled.