LeBron James’s debut signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Generation, returns on January 25.
Source: Nike News – Shoe Stream
In 2002 I was in my third year as a young basketball head coach. Like my players I watched the game for entertainment and when the hype behind LeBron James lead to multiple games on television I caught Sportscenter every morning to see what the word was. I remember vividly LeBron’s SVSM Player Exclusives in high school. As a high school coach who had to figure out how to get shoes each year, I was in awe of what this one kid could do for a program. I wasn’t surprised. We had our own superteam forming down the street at a rival high school who hired an AAU coach. In one year that schools frontline went from 6-2 to 6-4, they took my JV coaches and they had a phat Reebok deal which included jerseys, warm ups and kicks. It was crazy. When LeBron was drafted I knew he would be an adidas or Reebok kid. Then Nike dropped the bomb and signed the boy who would be King to a gigantic deal. The Zoom Generation would be the first drop and honestly, it stunk. I remember looking at it vs a Team Jordan and the Bromium for my team. We went the Bromium 2 that year.
That was then and this of course is now. LeBron is now a 3 time champion, and Olympic champion and he won one for the Land. The idea of an old shoe coming back and being labeled a retro while the player is competing is marketing. Will it work? Will the limited SPO with StockX drive interest? Is this shoe, that was originally 130 when it dropped, and is now 175 as a retro be a coveted item for the community? Let’s get to it.
*** I’ve been neglecting to say that I’m writing these for those people who don’t have a hookup or discount. On almost any shoe release if you get a discount you can flip it for a profit.
Since I do 3 checks before my decision I will weight them on a scale of 1-9. The max points on a scale = +3
*** New addition to the rating system: Tier 1: 0-25% = +1 Tier: 26-55% = +2 Tier 3: 56% and up is +3
First check: The Flight Club Check is on deck. The Zoom Generation has never really been a “big” shoe. Well, the Wheat has always garnered a solid ROI, but overall, no one really goes out of their way to locate this shoe. Currently on FC, there hasn’t been a leak of the new shoes so they aren’t available. There is one “1st Game” in stock and it’s listed for 600.00. The FC check doesn’t quite lend itself to a study without some early release versions available. My check here is going to consist of looking at each model available and averaging. The white/black model has one pair at 325, the wheat is at 450. The SVSM is 2500. These are all collectors items. The upcoming release is a GR. The average price of these varied models is 3875/4=968.75. If you factor in that there is only 1 pair then this number is not even close to what you can expect in the resale of the Generation 2017. The FC check is null and void. This drops the overall ranking to +6 instead of +9.
Rating = N/A
Second check: My second check is always on eBay. Nike has done an excellent job of keeping these from getting out into the public early. Will this enhance the interest? Maybe, but let’s look at what we can. There have been older versions of the Zoom Generation sold. None were this Retro colorway in the last 5 sold. Here are the averages:
January 1 – 117.50
November 23 – 190.00
January 17 – 149.99
November 26 – 380.00
When we do the average price 837.49/4 = 209.37 Without the FC info if I look into the price that other older models are selling for, there doesn’t appear to be a “retro” interest happening with the shoe. Sales are spotty and the only listing for the new Retro is a Pre-Order at 400.00 with zero pair sold. At 209.37 Here is the breakdown: Free Shipping = 15.00 + eBay Fees at 13% = 27.22. That’s $42.22 taken from your 209.37 dollars. That’s $167.15. If you’re in Memphis tax is 9.25% so 175 plus tax is $191.19 means that you are -24.03 This shoe doesn’t even get a +1.
Rating = 0
Third check: My third check is now a combination of Twitter hype, launch locators and StockX. StockX doesn’t have the shoe outside of the SPO, which is understandable since the SPO is an agreement with Nike. Footlocker and Footaction don’t even have the shoe listed on their release locater… So the Zoom Generation doesn’t even garner a third check.
Rating = N/A
My final ruling: There isn’t much info to pull from since I can’t look at the first and third check. I have to place this check on a +3 scale and my eBay check which isn’t good at all. That would make this a 0. This rating isn’t quite fair because there really isn’t enough info available, but I don’t think this shoe will be a big seller on the resale market. Some people will pick it up for nostalgia, but don’t expect this shoe to be a big release.
