Discussion-Overdone

With all of the confirmed Retro releases for 2012 that we’ve seen so far, is there such a thing as over doing it?

Back in the early days of Jordan Brand, there was the flagship model dubbed the ‘Air Jordan’ and alongside of the flagship model there were a limited number of Team models available for fans of the brand and basketball players alike. When the Retro made its first re-appearance in 1999, they were a hit and miss at most locations just as they were back in 1994. At that time, consumers wanted the latest model of Air Jordan and not an older model that was usually considered outdated. Then came 2000/ 01 and the Retro XI had been issued… suffice to say, since then, the Retro has overshadowed every single release to date.

Retro Jordan products used to be a treat, coming out just a few times a year. Now the brand(s) seem to rely heavily on its Retro line which sees a release every month, sometimes multiple releases per month. It has gotten to the point to where a Retro is getting the Retro treatment… as if they’ve lost their mojo in the creativity department.

Sure, we still have the flagship model each February during All-Star weekend; however, they aren’t as clamored as they once were. Nowadays the Retro has overtaken the market, completely saturated the market to be exact. I’m not just talking about Jordan Retro’s at this point either… if it had a Swoosh or a Jumpman on it, it’ll be Retro-ed… it is no longer a matter of ‘IF’ but more a matter of ‘WHEN’.

It has gotten to the point to where the new line of sneakers even have rehashed ideas and designs from the past, nothing seems to be sacred or hold any sentimental value anymore. There are some sneakers that we truly appreciate getting Retro-ed, such as the Chicago X… which has never been given the Retro treatment until now, yet, directly after the release of a true classic… we will see a handful of awkward colorways applied to the model.

With that, my question to you is this… can you really have too much of a good thing? Are there too many Retro models releasing and not enough new designs; are you tired of seeing Retro releases at all, or is too much never enough?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

27 Comments

  2. I think retro jordan’s should be released 4 times a year. To many retro sneakers will over saturate the market. Nothing wrong with some retro’s but a least make it special and fun so everyone can partake in the joy of owning a pair of great shoe.
    I want to make this clear I am not knocking Nike or any other sneaker company. I just think retro sneakers should be treated as a special release.

    Reply

  3. they are giving the community wat they they….n what they want are the retros. i could care less about over saturation. i didnt have the chance to buy the sneakers when i was younger and now i can and i look forward to the releases.

    i wish i had the OG pairs but i dont..so i will do with the retros. either way as long as i have the shoes on my feet for a decent price then im good

    Reply

  4. I bought the White/Cements 4s in 1999. man the Line was crazy In Kansas City they sold out INSTANT. but now a days the only retros i get are OG Colorways.

    Reply

  5. Well retros literally keep Jordan brand above water if they release 4 times a year it would be special and I can finally save money lol. But the thing that bothers me is the wild colorways they bring out with the exception of the wolf grey 5 and stealth 14’s . I would be mad if I owned all the o.g jordans cause the more they retro the less the value why pay 400 for an of when you can get them for 160 it may not have same quality but it has the colorway and style they are just being smart about hitting the market hard with retros

    Reply

  6. Well retros literally keep Jordan brand above water if they release 4 times a year it would be special and I can finally save money lol. But the thing that bothers me is the wild colorways they bring out with the exception of the wolf grey 5 and stealth 14’s . I would be mad if I owned all the o.g jordans cause the more they retro the less the value why pay 400 for an of when you can get them for 160 it may not have same quality but it has the colorway and style they are just being smart about hitting the market hard with retros the old saying is if its working don’t change it.

    Reply

  7. for someone who personally only buys retro jordans i do not have a prob with him rereleasing the retros because thats all i buy and as far as the diff colorways. if he didnt do the rare colrways that only a certain num of ppl can get then there would be no reason to collect. a collector does not hate on the rerelease because you have to get the originals because that is what completes the collection. yea he may release a lot of retros but if you dont have to money to get them then to bad.

    Reply

  8. where is oxy or indligo xiv and i am set for 2012..the charcoal is dope as well! cant wait for that!!!

    Reply

  9. Too many re-sellers ruin the game and try to charge ridiculous prices for shoes.Nike is smart and decided to put the shoes out there that people wan’t.**** re-sellers!

    Reply

  10. Yeahhhh retros should be slowed a bit so I can have paper to spend on other shhh plus it does seem like a bombardment or retros I would like to see 4 retros a year but then we run the risk of only seein whack colorways release soooooo I dunno. Just don’t ut too many epic ones to close together
    Holla

    Reply

  11. The flagship models (Jordan)aren’t what they use to be nor are those hybrid sneakers so we can only anticipate the retros dropping that’s the only hope we really have left for a decent Jordan sneaker. Idk about the swoosh though theyre really over doing it they make very great models on the sports and casul market, they should just retro the special signature shoe of that specific athlete in the original color way and occasionally drop another color way later that year not every other 3 days out the month.

    Reply

  13. Over saturation of the JB will end up hurting the sneaker game. Remember in the 90’s what happened w/sportscards. Huge supply equals lessened demand. Some re sellers will be caught off guard and values will plunge.

    Reply

    1. It’s true. If JB keeps this up, The value and rarity of the Jordan sneakers will be diminished. I’m not completely for not retroing the shoes, but when a shoe is retroed too many times it takes down the value of not just the shoe, but the ownership…With giving everyone the chance of owning the same sneaker, it takes away the exclusivity of being a sneakhead/collector…I cant say I got these mikes and you don’t, because most likely you do lol Supply and Demand…I aint mad at JB 4 gettn they money tho..

      Reply

  14. its not overdone, they keep doing retros for the newer generation. you only think its over doing it if your a older sneaker generation that already owns a older pair.

    Reply

  17. I remember when the cement 4’s dropped in ’99 here in NC, they were $100 and they sat on shelves, I bought a pair almost a month after they came out. And now they re-sell for anywhere from $400-500 which is nuts. Hype is what kills them all, if we didnt know about the shoes releasing almost a year in advance (Space Jam’s, Cool Grey’s, Concords and now Columbia’s) then it wouldnt be as crazy. The Concords havent even dropped yet and already everyone is hyping over Columbia’s. Perfect example, just this past weekend I walked into the House of Hoops, the Black/Max Orange Zoom Rookies were supposed to release on black Friday (this coming Friday) but HOH released them this past Friday instead, not too many ppl knew about that and because of that, they had a full size run that lasted just about the whole morning/early afternoon, if ppl knew they were coming out for sure on the 18th there would have been a line at 6AM and the kicks would have been gone in 10 minutes. I think over-saturating the market kills the game. And I do agree wit both above posts, kicks are for wearing, not for looking/putting them up on your mantle. It’s cool if you’re a collector, I am, but I wear everything in my closet. Don’t let the stuff you own, own you!

    Reply

  18. I dont trip about it. People will have them wear them for 6 months mess theirs up and move on to something different. I dont wear certain releases until a year later anyway so Im not tripping about “oversaturation”

    Reply

  19. But people are never satisfied if he toned it back on retros people who scream why no retros.when he give you retros its too many. make your mind up!!!! I can say he has 23 shoes…Retro all 23 stop going back to the 12 and the 13s or the 7s. I was happy to see the 6 get a retro..Retro some 17s switch it up

    Reply

  20. The problem is that in 1999 and even 2000 the retro models were already owned by the sneakerheads of that era, and in 2000 the 11 didnt retro that was the FIRST RELEASE of the spacejams…if you want to say the model itself retroed but that shoe was wanted back when the movie spacejam came out…the reason for so many retros selling out mainly is because the younger generation never had an opportunity at some of these kix, so they flock to the store…older sneakerheads like myself are like “AGAIN”? but i think retroing certain models and keeping them as quick strike releases keeps the culture alive, general release restock rerelease kill it because you dont feel like you have an “exclusive” shoe…just another jordan…

    Nike hit it hard retroing some vintage nike like bo jackson trainers airmax 95s and the foam flightposite craze took off….now they are overdoing it…they rerelease old material make no new groundbreaking nike shoe just keep eating off the old stuff…keeps costs down for them as far as designing new shoes and marketing it pennies since the net is looking for early pics and stuff like that so they have an easy job ..”hey throw some pics out there make it look like a leak and see how crazy they get over it then we’ll decide if we release then later based on the craze”

    now jordan releases pairs 2 years from one another and ppl still go grab them…i will grab certain ones but the rest can walk…black cement 3 and concord 11 are iconic shoes just because they changed the shoe game when they were released…these kids now are just trying to fit in and have no idea why they buy these shoes…just cause they are jordans.,…then you have idiots pricing jordans just cause they are this or that A NAME not because they are brand new in the box…you have ppl selling beat to hell jordan 11s from 96 or 2000 for 200 bux because they are from 96…hold your money im sure jordan will re release them soon…

    Reply

  22. I am glad they are bringing back out some of the old retro’s I have some original pair’s that need to be replaced. I feel that all the original colorways should be released and after that be done with it.

    Reply

  23. and a sneakerhead is someone who has a variety not just str8 jordan in the closet where are the griffeys barkleys bo’s maxes…these kidsw are str8 jordan buyers and think they sneakerheads lol…probably dont know shit bout shoes

    Reply