This is a question I started to ask myself after Nike x Virgil Abloh’s “The Ten” Collection dropped. If you were like me (and the multitude of other sneakerheads worldwide) wasting your life away on Nike SNKRS for even the slightest chance to cop, more than likely you encountered an error on the app, or you were kicked off the queue because they ran out of your size.
But the thing is, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Remember the Bape NMDs that released a year ago? or Any of the Pharrell NMDs that have dropped in this span of 2 years? Don’t forget the KAWS IVs, or any shoe with a Supreme collab. Every really hot drop, there’s no chance that anyone without the windfall to buy them at resell is getting this shoe. Yet, mere minutes after you got on the L train, you see some Off-White wearing hypebeast flexing on Instagram with the kicks. Or even worse, they’re on Instagram with the joints before the drop. So when I see this, as salty as I may be or otherwise, I can’t help but think how people are copping these shoes when seemingly nobody is getting a pair.
In this sneaker economy today, brands and retailers go to great lengths to stop Bots and overbuying, so as to make it fair for everyone as possible. But even then, there are still cracks in the system. Somehow, a very selective few are always on point when it comes to the cop, while a very random few of the majority can come up. And by no means am I saying that there is something in place that favors the ultra hypebeasts above others. And no, I’m not throwing out the fact that people cop for resell right after, which is also very likely. But when you and your friends, and their friends missed the drop, you still have to think about who’s getting the release, and how they’re getting it.
It ain’t no fun if the homies can’t have none. Drops are more exclusive and elusive than ever. And it’s only going to get worse, from the likes of things. I guess the only thing we can do is get in where we fit in.
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