The Mercer Mystery

Nowadays with outrageous lines, resellers, and poorly operated store fronts, there is a stronger emphasis on morals from the sneakerhead community. Mantras such as “Never tax your friend” “Wear your kicks” and “Don’t be a hypebeast” are some of the few unwritten rules of sneakers. Lately ‘heads have been feeling as if they are being pushed to the side and that their concerns are being ignored. These feelings are justified with contempt towards suggestions of releases online and in-store by Nike and Jordan Brand.

            The question presented today is when does a store cross the line? Is a store required to give customers equal opportunities, or are they allowed to price/sell their product whichever way they please? Why do we become so upset- why do we care?

            21 Mercer, the flagship Nikestore in New York, New York, has been selling product to friends and family for years. Is that okay? The answer is not clear; however, I think anyone will agree that there comes a point where it’s not only hooking up the manager’s buddy, but it becomes blatant disrespect towards the customers that gave them their job in the first place.

            Recently, 21 Mercer received a restock of the infamous Galaxy Foamposites. These shoes are notorious for holding the record for the longest campout in the history of sneakers-one week. These shoes have recently fallen out of the spotlight but Mercer rekindled the fire and the issue of selling product in a fair matter.

            What actually occurred at Mercer is unconfirmed, but it appears that somehow they obtained a restock of around 75 pairs, and then sold them off without an announcement. Most likely due to 21 Mercer logging the restock in the server, Nikestore on Twitter alerted a user that Mercer had them.  Soon the news spread like wildfire, and people flocked to the store. Within an hour around a hundred people were there, and that’s perfectly fine. (Although I still don’t understand how 100 people have nothing important going on in their life, drop what they’re doing at 10 AM and head over, but I digress.)

           

                          

The real issue is that Mercer clearly was more worried with hooking up V.I.P.s than the actual customers. It is reported that certain people were allowed to cut line, and get first dibs. SneakerNews, one of the worst and most corrupt sites on the Internet, claimed that everything was random and the shoes just popped up on the shelf, like the “good ol’ days.” Others agreed that this release was the perfect example of how it should be done. Realistically, it is highly doubtful that this editor managed to show up at the store right at 10 and cop a pair since the line formed rather swiftly. What’s more likely is that he was informed and was able to cop a pair due to his “V.I.P. status.” This is nothing close to the good ol’ days, because back then shoes hardly ever sold out. Galaxy foams would have hit the outlets and be forgotten about for years.

            What 21 Mercer did is wrong. Obviously they have the freedom to distribute their product in whatever way they please, and I don’t live in New York so it doesn’t affect me. But to applaud their actions is simply ignorant and foolish- they weren’t letting anyone purchase them, they were only selling under the table – well, at least until Nikestore let the cat out of the bag and exposed them. Then they were forced to sell to the public. The whole point is that it was a restock they didn’t intend to even announce, a move that is not only shady, but selfish.

            The 21 Mercer debacle presents a larger issue than just the Galaxy Foams alone. Stores have always been hooking people up, but is it becoming so corrupt that even being first in line doesn’t ensure a guaranteed pair? If you can’t campout, cop online, afford rape, or get a hookup, where does it stop? Why is it so hard to get a simple pair of sneakers? What’s the solution?            
Let me know what you think in the comments. Picture via inflexwetrust.com

Hit me up on twitter @Chabes12 if you have any questions/comments/concerns.