Sole without Soul

I doubt anyone reading this has been with the blog from the inception, but my first post was an article I was mentioned in, regarding the release of the Air Jordan XXII. I'll give you a quick recap.

The Jordan release was a limited edition of only 529 pairs. 23 stores were selling 23 pairs each. R Sole a sneaker shop near me was on of them. I rallied some friends down there for the raffle to be able to purchase the shoes the morning of the release. When we showed up they made it known that the shoes were being sole for $500 per pair, more than TWICE as much as the MSRP of $230. Nonetheless, I knew I could turn a profit. 3 of us won the right to purchase the kicks and we sold them on ebay for a profit of about $3000.

Needless to say many people were very upset with the gouging price that R Sole released. And Sporting news wrote an article about it. They asked me to supply my receipt as evidence and I gladly obliged.

That being said, I still liked R Sole. Those were some shady business practices, but I still enjoyed the sneaker displays.

I walked in R Sole today, almost a year later to a chirp of "traitor" from one to the female sale chicks, and when I tried to make small talk with the manager Joe Wilson, his only reply was, "Are you going to put this in your blog?"

What's with the attitude? Did you just discover the internet and see the SN article? Why am I being persecuted? I shelled out $270 above retail for their sneakers, and I've still brought many customers to them. Not to mention the fact that one of my friends that bought a pair of the Jordans STILL doesn't have the serial number tag that was supposed to accompany the sneakers He even after called the store several times, but received no help whatsoever.

I'm not sure I'll be back to R Sole Oh well, it seems they aren't doing that well anyway. Most of the shoes were marked with discount stickers and an entire men's wall is dedicated to Creative Recreation. I won't even mention the hideous denim lining the back wall.

It could have been so much greater, and so much different, but alas R Sole turned into the same mainstream boredom I can see anywhere else. I guess it was only a matter of time.