Death of Deadstock

816 days ago - by Ian Stonebrook - 114 comments

Years ago, sneakerheads stored up buried treasure in the form of deadstock (unworn, unboxed) sneakers. Many Jordan collectors and SB enthusiasts alike would put classics on ice in hopes of them accumulating monumental value for resale or the ultimate neck-breaking moment years after their release. Across the world, shoe lovers would spend endless hours searching eBay and forum listings in hopes of finding an unworn pair of their holy grails.

At the height of the deadstock hype, a pair of $100 Air Jordan 3 Retros from 2001 went for as much as $800! Consumption patterns have clearly changed as sought after OG’s are seen going for similar rates to their retro counterparts. In addition, re-sellers are now taking hits by selling them for less than retail. With that said, are the days of deadstock dead? Nice Kicks offers a quick autopsy of what might have killed deadstock.

Blogs- At the turn of the millennium, most closet sneaker heads found fellowship in the form of online sneaker forums. The days of hiding copies of Eastbay and KICKS under ones bed were over with the advent of websites like Nike Talk and ISS. Forums were a great way to discuss kicks with fellow collectors. Conversely, this dialogue created tons of hype and led to a competitive environment for showcasing pick-ups. Sneaker heads would turn to blogs for the most reliable and up-to-date release news. Blogs made it easier to find information by posting news as it released and cutting down on the silly discussion posts that often made it hard to navigate forums. Readers soon became enticed by new releases and quit chasing originals.

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DeEzNuTz23
I agree wit keepin your kicks DS for a lil bit…..but then u break’em out and start breakin necks…that’s how I do it
80′s baby
Ebay, the internet, and over saturation of classic shoes killed the game……….
jibbycanoe
wow, no mention of how the term “deadstock” doesn’t mean the same thing it used to?
J. Christopher
Just wear your kicks. It’s foolish to keep anything DS unless you’ve got a second pair and one that you wear on the regular. Wear ‘em until they fall apart, or before they fall apart; so you don’t get mad by saying that you didn’t get to wear ‘em for so long, blah, blah, blah.
Max Power
I don’t think deadstock is dead as long as there are collectors. Maybe its not as trendy or hypebeasted as it was a couple years back but real collectors never really die.
But for the general consumer, I agree that searching for OGs on ebay and is done. With all these collabs and new releases/re-releases, the regular guy would probably go for the new over the old.
HOWEVER, quickstrike and limited releases will always be in demand at one point in their lifetime maybe early, maybe later. So the practice of reselling them isn’t totally dead.
Retrosaurus Rex82
i still got a few pair DS but that only because kix i love and know will be classics i buy more than one
Retrosaurus Rex82
and dont blame ebay. ebay is a blessing because it aint no house of hoops in NC
(where it should be one; we make the best ballers) and im in the military and be gone alot and that how i get exclusive sh– early and HOH kix. i get raped with prices most of the time but I phux with ebay hard.
stacks
I just gotta say black sole kick are the S@%t, bred shoe in general. got a pair of 2001 retro xi and wore 9-12 times and they still look new. Icy soles are cool but they just dnt last. so maybe they should start adding a hint of color to the rubber gel(icy looking) soles
LiqrSicc
Everybody has their own reason as to why they collect and why they keep their kicks DS. Personally I rock everything I have and it’s not too hard to keep them clean. I’ve only kept a couple of pairs DS and have then since gotten rid of them. To keep DS for collection purposes I can understand. But to me it doesnt make sense for those keeping all their pairs DS for investment purposes. Too small of an investment for a long waiting period for them to even reach chump change of a return. You’re not gonna get rich holding on to a DS pair anytime soon.
jackson jamerson
very profound
C-
Diggin the post. Column like this been long awaiting. I usually dont even blog but had to strike some keys for this. I used to DS but not so much anymore cuz econ is hurtin. DS to bust out when other peeps have F*$$’d theirs up and no one got them anymore. Hate rockin’ shoes that you got on. Other than that I DS for my favs. Rock one now, have a brand new pair in about 4 years or later cuz I keeps em clean. And sometimes I DS on accident, all my real sneakheads know how that happens.
MillerTIme
I decided about a year ago to start wearing EVERY pair of kicks I got.. I had a pair of Nike Air Max Fury Griffeys from 96 that were fresh to death.. and the sole crumbled the 5th time i ever wore em. Natural Causes is what ended me keeping deadstocks
AM95connoisseur
I currently have 2 pair that are DS and to be honest… I forgot about them… It was not a deliberate DS. my NET Yeezys and my CARMINES…. I forget I have those suckers…. I think I will wear them sometime soon….. LOL…. I HAVE WORN EVERYTHING ELSE…. I love rocking fresh new sneakers… TRUTH IS, I DON’T WEAR MY SNEAKERS EVERYDAY… AND BECAUSE I HAVE A HEAVY ROTATION…. THE SHOES STILL LOOK DS AFTER 5-10 WEARS ANYWAY…. BECAUSE THEY ARE WORN SO FAR BETWEEN… TRUE STORY…. I BET THIS IS THE CASE WITH A LOT OF SNEAKER HEADS….
AM95connoisseur
Some great points from everybody though…..
solesaved
You can’t say DS Is dead but because of retro’s the DS won’t fetch as much as they use to. DS back in the day ment that after a while you could rock kicks that very people would have. I think the Biggest problem for very very far back DS COLLECTION is they DETERIORATE even for lite wear i would be very careful. I remember i had a pair of DS Air Trainer III’s aka Bo Jackson Medicine Balls wore them to go shopping and the whole sole came off. I think it’s a waste to hold them for a minute and have em rotten out . It’s the same for the DS reseller the retro’s & Deteriorating will Bring the value down but i can’t see it been dead & gone I always like to wear my kicks anyway but i do put most of them up during winter and rock the boots.
BK-BIG-JAY-718
I bid on a pair of DS retro 1s from 94. The black/red 1′s. I figured I wouldn’t have a shot at winning so I stopped after 200$. After they are sold, I check to see how much they went for. I was shocked to see them being sold for no more than about 345 I think. I sold my DS AF1 Filipinos for more than that on Ebay last year before the economy tanked. I felt really bad for that seller. Only 345 for those? I blame it on people spending less and companies re retro-ing shoes too much. The AJ1s have become a JOKE. Like many others. In the end, they are sacrificing loyal sneaker heads. I too have sneakers saved up from years ago, like the last pair of 5′s to have the Nike logo on em released in 99. I would look at flight club as reference to how much my shoes might be worth. Screw it. The value has dropped because of the economy and JBs inability to keep AJs holy. Holy Grails are a thing of the past
Chad
i still put a pair on ice just to style on these foo’s in the summer
timbo216
DS will always be alive and well….. and personally, the only reason ive got kicks on ICE is because i havnt really had any events or places to go where i want to be THAT gear’d up so im basically holding my kicks and fits for special occasions..and the only other reason is sometimes it takes me a while to put a FIT together so i might have a pair of kicks on ice for 2 or 3 years before i have an outfit that i want to wear with them! YA DIG! THATS WHY I DEADSTOCK! & MY DEADSTOCK COLLECTION SO FAR….
1. Jordan retro V GRAPE’S from 2006
2. Jordan retro XII FLU GAME’S from 2003
3. Jordan retro X OG from 2005
4. Jordan retro XI BRED’S from 2008
5. Nike air max 97 TRUE from 2002
6. Nike OG huarache pack from 2002
7. Nike footscape SUPREME’S from 2009
8. Nike footscape TZ HF ” red ” from 2009
9. Asics x David Z SUPER BLUE’S from 2009
big upps to (the reallest) and (retrosaurous REX) and all the REAL sneakerheads on here that know whats up and know whats REALLY REAL!… and to all you lames that havnt got a clue! and think DS doesnt make any sense… (grimmy911) peep game and get ya sh!t streight cause ima be FITTED next year with the kicks YOU WISH you wouldnt have slept on a couple years back or the ones YOU WISH you wouldnt have worn as much when you first copped…YA DIGG…
other than that.. um…go CAVS
Dan
DS Originals (Not retros) will always command more value to those that matter.
(after we get out of some rough times, obviously)
seriously though, any economist or marketing major could tell you the same, etc…
Ron Jeremy
GOT 200 PAIRS OF CROCS ALL DEADSTOCK BABY!! LMFAO
Leonwood
40+ pairs bought from last year! foams, penny, jordans, pippen, barkley…
ovni
i wear all my kicks, maybe 1 or 2 pair on ice until summer, but i respect the DS game. at least that way, if you got the cash, with a little luck you can eventually buy that ‘holy grail’ pair of shoes you always wanted.
moreno172
i never got to into the whole ds thing cuz growing collecting kicks did not come with technical name,it was more like who got them a month or two b4 they came out.
im like 100 pair of kicks deep and i were 90% of all of them but i have like 15 pairs that came out not to long ago like all 3 yeezy’s for ex. i feel like if i can break necks
right now with them i can dicapitete heads in a year or two from now and not just that but even if i dont were them my kids or nephew can kill them.
by the way and this is for everyone wether u can afford sneakers or not, alot of my dead stock kicks have been bought at a ross or marshals
i will have a video on you tube show casing all the sneakers i’v bought there, if u r a true sneakerhead it will shock u and heres a heads up i didnt pay more
$40 for non of them.so stay tune
AL
i wear every pair, ill buy another if necessary, i take care of mine, even the ones i have worn, i’ve still sold for retail
Max
About 100 pairs in, and about 20 of them are DS. A couple don’t fit me anymore, and only one pair I’ll wait for a REALLY special ocassion to un-DS. The rest, I’m just waiting for a nice ocassion (gatherings, parties, what have you…) and they’ll get worn.
In other words, I wear all my $#!t!
the real
deadstock is dead! You have to realize the sneaker game has been infiltrated by posers #1. #2 the people who continue the legacy of the game are the younger generation. Most who were not born when the OG’s came out. So no matter what they wont mean as much to them. Like majority of these people in this thread probably have only seen jordan play a few games on ESPN classics…
sneaker game isnt what it use to be (sigh)….
SATCHMO
Ian, yet another excellent post. Keep bringing the quality coming.
D
DS dosent mean anything. WEAR them. I wear all my sneakers. My first pair of jordans were the 1987 OG BRED 3′s in the second grade. Ive worn them all from late 80s OG’s to the retros. But the OG’s and sneakers in general do mean more to the older collectors because they remember buying the OGs at places like JCPenny, Sears and Footlocker when you could actually walk in and buy a pair without camping out for them. I wear them all. Why pay $300 for sneakers to let them sit in a box and crack. Got my spacejams 2 months ago wore them the day i got them. Not the same but it reminds me when i had the 11′s in highschool. Its more about memories and watchin jordan play in the same kicks you were wearing…..
secret
LAST!!!!
Blackout313
Deadstock has always been dead in my book. I’ve been in the game since 96 and Ive always worn all my kicks. I might wait till better weather but I eventually wear them all. This deadstock crap is for the birds. We all know alot of people will break there space jams out. That’s cool. But why keep them ds if you live in good weather? If I didn’t have a foot and a half of snow around me I’d be rocking mine right now. I feel the main reason why people keep there’s s sneakers DS is because they worry about selling it later. F**k that. No reselling this way. I live by a strict code, cop to rock. F dead stock!
Dallas Penn aka Internets
Deadstock typically refers to joints that are TOTALLY unworn (untried on as well natch) and complete with the original box andf packing (not required, but if you want to keeps it official tissue…)
I DS kicks and I wear them too. If I like a particular colorway I might copp several pairs and roll them joints out all nice and crispy in another year or so.
Deadstocking one’s collection isn’t dead but if any collector thinks they will catch a windfall for their obsession I would tell them to check themselves before they wreck themselves.
If you ever collected comicbooks you would understand why some collectors value their deadstock pairs. I had several copies of Hulk #181. One was in absolute mint and I never removed it from the mylar bag (with acid free backing board natch). I had a copy that was strictly for reading and handling. I fux with my kicks in a similar vein.
gotta have em
For the people that keep there J’s on ice and wont wear them till years later….you guys need to know that there just gonna release THEM again….so rock em while you got em!!!!! you owe it to your feet to keep em fresh!!!!!! especially when your in ur prime man!!!! you cant really rock em when your 40 YA KNOW?
Corey
I’ve got a bunch of dead stock, with no intention on selling.
I do it so I can one day wear them and no one will have them.
Kind of reminds me of I-Robot… hahahha.
Supreme_Kickz
@gotta have em
I’m still gonna rock my ish when I’m in my senior years. Thats how much sole love I got. But fo real wear you shoes but you can still keep some on deck for a decade.
BlackTop
Original translation of word DEADSTOCK means they are not in production any more……….
These days meaning of that word has wider range……..
I have few of holy grails deadstock from 1992-3,I wear them BUT with so much care that sometimes I am sick from that,but that is price to pay……..
As for bying shoes and sell them later which all collestors do sooner or later is ok to earn extra money more then you paid for it.But I dont see point of debating that cause that is normal thing in every hoby,comics,stamps,coins…….But to buy them and not to sell or wear is stupid,or pointless cause u dont gain anything.
henry
SBs will never and should never be retroed. J's are dead cause they arent the same. People are complaining "oh there is an ugly jumpman on the back of 3s" Yeah thats right, NIKE AIR is better, they way it should be. RETROS KILLED THE SNEAKER GAME. If you couldnt get em back then, well pay the price and you'll get them. Without retros, Nike would be struggling because they cant come up with any kicks that we actually like. They are depending on retros for their survival. How many of you guys actually wear your j's or sbs to play basketball or to skate? that was the original intention of NIKE. I am fine with having kicks on ICE cause when you do wear them people are like when did those come out? i am like 2004, they go wow.