Open Letter To LeBron James:

Dear LeBron Raymone James,

My name is LyricistFan, I am an avid sneaker buyer and this letter is posted on my website LyricistFan.com with hopes that maybe you or someone in your camp will eventually read it. Now first I would like to congratulate on all of your accomplishments this season and in the Summer Olympics. However, there is something that is not sitting right with me and most of the sneaker community. Since you and your friends are the owners of the establishment UNKNWN I had to bring this to your attention. Now I am rightfully assuming you have little say in day to day operations but I do hope that you have some influence in your own store. This past weekend, August 11, 2012 your store released the LeBron 9 Championship & MVP pack. I am glad that your store was able to raffle off 12 packs for sale but I am a little confused about the price you charged. The MSRP (manufactured suggested retail price) on the pack is $450, but UNKNWN somehow charged every person that won a pack $600+tax. Now I know stores charge over MSRP all the time, hell the word “suggested” is actually in “MSRP” so I can’t be too mad. It just makes no sense that YOUR store was charging over retail for YOUR signature shoe. I know you took a hit by going to Miami instead of taking a max pay out in another market but an extra $150 for YOUR signature shoe in YOUR store? Does this make sense to you? I have heard owning a store is tough and you always want to maximize your profits but this seems highly immoral that you would charge your customers more than other places just to make a quick buck. 

(Receipt From UNKNWN and Box Label Showing MSRP)

In fact, there’s no way this issue is due to greed. We all know that you don’t need a measly couple hundred dollars over MSRP to pay your overhead, bills, etc. The real problem is the morality of it all. Owning a store and being a superstar in the NBA have similarities. In both aspects you have a fan base, a loyal group of people who support you- whether it’s buying material items or rooting for you at games makes no difference. It’s your duty, your responsibility, to carry out these operations with integrity and fairness. In the NBA, examples of this are being a good team player, humble, professional, and dedicated. With your own flagship store, it should be about running an honest business, and valuing the customer. The least you can do is charge a reasonable price for sneakers-especially your own signature pack celebrating your most prestigious season. I’m sure you had very little say in this manner and probably didn’t even realize the debauchery of the markup. All I ask is for you to pay a little more attention to your store and realize the issue at hand. It’s already hard enough to actually get a CHANCE to buy the shoe, to win and then still have to pay over retail is unjust.

Have a nice day,

LyricistFan

The Internet & Sneakers

The creation of the Internet resulted in a monumental leap for mankind. It allowed information to be spread in a matter of seconds, communication made possible with a click of a button, millions of jobs and activities to be developed, and overall allowed anyone with a computer, laptop, or device to connect to anyone, anywhere.

One of the most profound impacts the Internet had was on the sneaker culture. Before the boom of the Internet in the early 2000s, sneakers were simple. The "good ol' days" entailed heading to your local mall with maybe a few friends and picking up whatever met your eye. If you were short on cash you'd put them on layaway or save up and grab them a few weeks down the road. If you missed out on your size you'd just leave, the idea of reselling didn't even cross one's mind- not because it was looked down upon, but because the market wasn't even there for it.

But that all changed with the Internet. Soon blogs, sneaker sites, and social media overtook the way sneakerheads looked at the hobby.

See, everyone wants to blame a specific entity as the reason for the #shoegamefuckedup mantra that every bitter elitist is spewing. But in all actuality, there isn't one specific source to blame. The combination of several things allowed people to exploit the clear financial gain there is with sneakers. People make livings out of this now, and not just chump change, but six-figure salaries due to it. The Internet made that possible.

The Internet produced Ebay. The Internet produced Sole Collector, Niketalk, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Paypal, Tumblr, Instagram, hell, even Wordpress. Now ask yourself, what do all of those websites have in common? They allow you to sell sneakers on it. You are lying to yourself if you never once needed some quick cash and decided to sell a pair or two or three or four. And over half of you so called "sneakerheads" have probably sold a shoe that has released in the past few months.

Why do we look down upon it? You're asking for a retweet and then 5 minutes later you say "sold," with $200 in your Paypal account. With such a seamless and simple process to make a lot of money, it's impossible to expect someone new to the "game" to see this and not want to try it.

Sneaker battles, forums, discussion threads, vlogs on random sneaker stories, podcasts, even just TALKING about sneakers has RUINED sneakers. What people fail to realize is that nothing is safe on the Internet. When Twitter is buzzing about a new sneaker coming up and people are posting pictures of them camping 17 weeks early, the average joe is going to see that and try to exploit it. And they should, in fact they'd be stupid not to. As @ufc4 said on Twitter a few weeks back "If you live in NY and didn't buy those supreme SBs to flip, then you're an idiot." He's right. He also said "If you respect someone because of what shoes they own, then YOU are the reason the shoe game is fucked up." He's right again.

We glorify rubber leather and plastic that Nike claims is technological magic. We gawk at pictures of "heat," attend sneaker conventions, study release dates and mall layouts. We are nerds for shoes. And it's all because the Internet allows us to do that- without it none of this would exist.

But the Internet isn't completely terrible by any means. The Internet has allowed me to meet a lot of new people, network, buy shoes I couldn't without Ebay or other outlets, sell shoes quickly when I'm so broke that my bank account is crying, and even type up this blog post. Without the Internet I'd probably lose a good chunk of knowledge I have, and I don't mean just sneakers, I'm talking about life. The Internet is a powerful, almost frightening, tool. It has its advantages, and it has its flaws.

So before you cry about "teenagers ruined this," "blogs ruined that," think about how you can't stay away from the Internet for more then a few days. Think about how you peruse Ebay, Solecollector, and other sites when you're bored. Think about how you tweet "who's got stuff for sale?" when you have extra cash. Think about how you miss out on a release and then put money in that person's pocket that you were just complaining about a few days ago. Think about your active role online, your 100,000 tweets, your 750 friends on Facebook, etc. - you are a part of the problem.

But you shouldn't change. There isn't anything wrong with having that many friends or that many tweets. In fact, this isn't a problem. People simply fear change, and what we must realize is that the "good ol' days" are gone and you have to adjust. Adapt and learn to deal with some of the bull that comes along with House of Hoops or resellers and hypebeasts or just quit buying shoes because this constant complaining is getting old. Things will never be the same, and that's just something we have to accept.

Hit me up at @chabes12 on Twitter for any comments, concerns or suggestions.