Casual and sporty. Handcrafted with the same meticulous attention to detail as our shoes, the Graham Trainers are the most casual and sporty trainers in our collection. Constructed with water-repellent suede, full-grain leather and recycled PET canvas…
Source: Graham Trainers
I last wrote about Beckett Simonon last year. I hadn’t revisited the brand until I saw an ad on social media for several of their newer designs. The ad reminded me of why I hate when brands utilize social, but I understand why brands utilize social. The internet is a crowded place. Familiarity is the gateway to success for most brands. When consumers aren’t certain of authenticity and when they have concerns about shipping and customer service, those consumers default to the biggest brands. A smaller brand like Beckett understands the necessary evil of paying for ads on social. They understand that there will be offensive and unnecessary comments made, and they will have to police the ad and update it while possibly not getting the CTR needed to acquire new fans of their brand.
With the abundance of new sneaker brands popping up, I’ve made an adjustment to how I choose posts on brands. Beckett Simonon fits a major requirement. I’ve discussed my support of COMUNITYmade. The small “Made in Downtown Los Angeles” brand is by default one of the most sustainable brands in the industry. They utilize the same business strategy as Beckett, “We don’t make it until you order”. This business model creates a wait, but I’ve learned that to reason with the time it takes for production and the elevated pricing of the footwear. In resale when a customer buys a shoe from eBay, StockX or the numerous sites out there vying for dollars, the steps are as follow:
- Make the purchase.
- Site sends notification to the seller. Seller has 2-3 days to pack and ship the order.
- Seller drops off at UPS. Time in transit is 2-4 days.
- Company has to authenticate the shoe which adds an additional day before the shoe is shipped again to the customer.
- Transit 2-4 days.
A customer ordering a pair of shoes via resale on a shoe already in production takes a week to two weeks to get their shoes. You can order the Graham Trainer, a water repellant, handmade sneaker and it will take 2-3 weeks, but you’ll have a product that is built to last vs being built for the moment. It’s a concept that I like and support and maybe you’ll like it as well. I’m working on getting my first pair soon. You know why? With Beckett Simonon I’ll never have to worry about the kicks selling out and hitting resale for absurd prices.