The online trend continues…
After weeks of images and speculation, the Doernbecher Collection released online at NikeStore.com, at least we think they did. The site ended up crashing faster than Kim Kardashian’s marriage.
When the Ray Allen AJXIII’s released on Finish Line, we expected servers to crash yet they didn’t. In this situation, we have come to expect slower than average processing time and instead we had a slew of frustrated consumers unable to process order, add to cart and then the entire site shut down for maintenance…
When the 2011 Doernbecher Collection first surfaced, the blogs ran rampant with negative comments towards the lineup’s designs, most notably the Air Jordan IV. Turns out, when anything marked with a limited availability label is released, the masses come running. The sad part is that most of those who intend to purchase the charity driven release are in it for one reason, to make a profit. Before the collection even hit NikeStore’s site pairs had been listed as available (somehow) and priced near the $500 mark.
At this point in time, we are unaware of anyone who was successful in obtaining a pair via NikeStore.com, our Twitter mentions were flooding with angry (and rightfully so) customers… most of whom had been stationed by their computers for up to four hours before the items were added to the store.
One would assume that with all the revenue made throughout the years & being labeled as the most profitable sportswear company’s in the world, Nike would have made the appropriate accommodations for an increased volume of visitors to the online store specifically for this type of release. Even if you loaded NikeStore.com to purchase the NYC Spiz’ike pack, you were unable to do so due to the increased volume of page loads in such a short amount of time.
On the bright side, if you are located where a Nike Town resides, there is still a chance for you to be able to purchase a pair from the collection in person… for those of us who aren’t will just have to deal with it, or pay more than double the retail price for a pair.
What are your thoughts on the situation; has this happened far too many times in the past, is Nike neglecting their focus on customer service by failing to prepare for such malfunctions, Are there too many people eager to obtain a pair strictly for resell purposes?
Was anyone able to purchase a pair from NikeStore.com?
At the end of the day, the release is geared towards a charitable cause… if every pair sells, the goal has been reached. Lets just hope this doesn’t happen on December 23rd.
