Why do sneakers sell out?

[juaninzze]

I don't know if this has been asked or talked about before but why do sneakers sell out? I'm talking about why only a specific amount of pairs of a new sneaker is put out and sold then its finished.

Why doesn't nike make X,XXX pairs of a shoe then just take custom orders after its been sold -- so that way a sneaker never really sells out -- Imagine all nike sneakers ever made you can order it straight from nike and nike sends your request to the factory and has it made and shipped to you a few weeks later. They do it with NIKEid already -- seems like they would make more money and they would single handily stomp out resellers forever.

Just something i had on my mind and thought id ask.

 

[AEA18]

Nike/JB wants you to keep buying shoes so if you miss out on a particular shoe, you will more than likely buy the next shoe when it comes out and all this limited crap makes shoes more sought after and helps them sell out faster.

Nike/JB doesn't really care about the consumer.

 

[juaninzze]

I understand the concept of supply vs demand i posted about it before. Nike only releasing a few so they have sell out after sell out but it seems like they would make more money by just making more shoes -- Even if they have a shoe that never sells out like if they made the yeezys never sell out they would have made millions of dollars on day 1 and more and more money after that everyone would have a pair. i guess what im trying to say is after a sell out they will never make money off that sneaker ever again unless they retro like they keep doing but in that case why not just keep making them.

 

[PRIME]

Hypebeasts.

 

[go rilla]

Even if they have a shoe that never sells out like if they made the yeezys never sell out they would have made millions of dollars on day 1 and more and more money after that everyone would have a pair.

if they made the yeezys never sell out what would be the reason to continue with the line since you are only able to buy one shoe. your idea of keep making the same shoe so everyone has a pair doesnt make any sense. if nike keeps making the same shoe over and over so they everyone has a pair whats preventing someone from buying the same shoe over and over?

 

[mrbrown]

Cause the company wants that long run money...

The hype adds some mystique to the shoe and instead of turning buyers off it turns them on to buy the shoe even more. Kinda like catching blue balls...eventually youll get that vag but it might cost you re sale price

 

[betweenthebars]

Good luck with that business and/or marketing degree.

 

[thunderchunk69]

SUPREME and Nike know that their consumers are battered women, coming back for more.

 

[panaricanretro]

Think about it, if they don't create a market where you've gotta get it right away or miss out forever, sneakers would never sell at retail. Nobody's gonna want to pay $160-$220 for a shoe that is gonna be made in huge numbers, constantly restocked, and eventually go on sale for $50 cheaper in a month or so. They did that a few years ago, where almost anything that wasn't a Jordan or limited SB just sat on shelves everywhere, and you could pick stuff up for like $39.99 at JJ or Hyperactive (or even cheaper at VIM sometimes.) I remember copping stuff like Barkleys, Lebron II's and III's, AM95's, most AF1's, Uptempos, SC trainers, Flightposite III's, the list goes on, all for mad cheap way after they released. Just now after Olympic VII"s dropped and sold out, there's like 1 size left of those Volt More Uptempos left on nikestore and on Jimmyjazz. It's an almost all black retro+ colorway and it's almost sold out in an hour. You would have NEVER seen that before. They've just figured out how to create a thirst.

 

[jaysneaks]

Because purchases are made.

 

[bearclawd]

There would be no demand if everybody got a pair. You got to have limited supply to create desire and hype. Why would you want something that you know you can have? That's like saying let's just print more money to get rid of our debt. Inflation.

 

[thegoldenchild]

supply and demand

 

[juaninzze]

Good luck with that business and/or marketing degree.

Well seeing as nike's profits were down 12% last year id say i wouldn't need one I'm a computer programmer. Maybe they should hire you so you can bring that number up for them

The goal at the end of the day is to sell sneakers -- The retro 7s just dropped and sold out in 5mins across the board -- What would happen if nike made an extra 5000 pairs and everyone got one and they hit all retail stores and nike had overstock? That would = more $$$ for them. They would be marked lower and sent to the outlets but seeing how nike paid nothing near the sell price to make them they would still be on top selling them at a mark down prices.

Just sayin.

 

[47539]

Because limited availability is what separates Nike from Sketchers.

 

[djeo23]

Hypebeasts.

This. I know some kids these days get together and buy out a whole region and resell online. Got a kid who is interning where I work. Buys up the stock for 3 retail stores and puts them on ebay. He claims he is "ballin" Yet... he's an intern...

 

[47539]

To expand on that point limited availability is also what keeps your parents from wearing Nike. How embarrassing would it be if you and your dad both wore the latest Jordan retros out to dinner? And he'd be like "oh yeah I just got these on the sale rack, I thought they'd be sporty and hip!" Instead only the most dedicated sneaker heads and celebrities get a pair and you associate the shoes with cool people instead of with people who have no style.

 

[Mound Raised]

Because purchases are made.

this &

supply and demand

this

 

[toughmoney]

Limited availability and Profit... you got shady people that are buying stores full size run before release and resellers are rarely taking L's due to consumer thirst.

 

[jordanscrub]

What an unbelievably broad question...

supply&demand

mommys money

RESELLERS

Regular customers/sneakerheads

 

[beerdrum108]

I totally agree with PanaRicanRetro. Companies would never make much money on products that go on sale, which happens to nearly ALL sneakers. That's why Nike is doing these one-and-done runs instead of keeping store shelves stacked.

 

[penalize]

Well seeing as nike's profits were down 12% last year id say i wouldn't need one I'm a computer programmer. Maybe they should hire you so you can bring that number up for them
The goal at the end of the day is to sell sneakers -- The retro 7s just dropped and sold out in 5mins across the board -- What would happen if nike made an extra 5000 pairs and everyone got one and they hit all retail stores and nike had overstock? That would = more $$$ for them. They would be marked lower and sent to the outlets but seeing how nike paid nothing near the sell price to make them they would still be on top selling them at a mark down prices.
Just sayin.

here's where you are wrong....the goal isnt just to sell today sneakers.. the goal is to sell sneakers for an extended period of time. You have to keep some shoes exclusive to build mystique for the next release....ask fila if its smart to to overproduce a product

 

[picasso swerve]

Same for basketball shoes (hyperdunks, kobe, lebron) , they are made on tons more quantity than say Jordan retroes. They however do eventually sell out. I find myself looking for basketball kicks 5-8 months after they first release and not being able to find them anymore. Makes sense for Nike to make more, but like someone else said, they would just sit in shelves and take up stock space.

 

[dakid23]

supply and demand

Thats the answer....

 

[juaninzze]

I get what everyone's saying. Just something i wanted to ask cause it was weird to me but i guess you guys are right the hype sells sneakers and hype = money.
If they sell out every time all they need to do is keep releasing new kicks and have those sell out = release more kicks that always sell out = $$$

They really need to get a handle on the demand though cause i doubt adding a few more thousand pairs would make them sit they would sell out too.

 

[jordan23dotcom]