The obvious shoe to discuss would be the OVO or the Wool, but I did the Wool and the OVO is too obvious. I should do the Nike SB Orange Box, but Dunks are no longer the item of the moment so I don’t think the resale value on that shoe will generate much interest. There is something interesting about the KD 9 however, especially in this Blackout colorway. KD’s transition to the Warriors and the all black colorway are both things that are in demand. Will a GR like the KD9 Blackout generate any interest? Let’s take a look.
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
First check: I hit Flight Club first. Today is 9/29/2016. FC doesn’t have the KD 9 Black Out or Black Space. The KD9 is not a high demand shoe and isn’t even registering on the resale market for FC. The Static is there and currently sits at 200. There aren’t any other models on the resale site so that means that this is a bad release and definitely a shoe that you don’t want to risk your money on to flip right? Nike Basketball is seeing a serious slow down. If I simply base my opinion on FC in regard to the Black Space then I would have to give this shoe a poor rating.
Rating = +1
Second check: My eBay check doesn’t give any further insight into the model. Right now there is only one listing with two watchers at right above retail. What’s worse is eBay has a variety of models at or below retail. The Black Space isn’t looking very good especially since it’s the end of the month and bills are due next week so spending will be affected.
Rating = +1
Third check: I usually check with my local shops, but I know that the KD is limited to Footlocker in the Footlocker family of websites. They will be at House of Hoops and at other chains like Hibbett Sports, but the shoe will not have a big general release and more than likely a lot of smaller chains took a flyer on the KD 9 which means that the shoe won’t be readily available. There isn’t any chatter on Twitter because the focus is on the Wool and OVO 12s so this third check leaves a bit to be desired… but not so fast. Here are my numbers on the KD 9 in various colors this month:
Nike Men’s Zoom KD 9 Black/White Basketball Shoe 9.5 Men US
Nike Men’s Zoom KD 9 Black/White Basketball Shoe 12 Men US
Nike Zoom KD 9 (GS) White/University Red (USA) (5.5 M US Big Kid)
Nike Zoom KD 9 (USA) (10.5)
Nike Mens KD 9 Basketball Shoe
Nike Zoom KD 9 (Birds Of Paradise) Black/Jade Clear-White (13)
6 pair sold in Men’s and GS all above retail. The question is if the shoes sold through my shop at above retail, why? Locally the KD 9 is only releasing at 2 out of 7 Footlocker locations in the city. This is a sign that the shoe won’t be as readily available in all locations throughout the country. While most people wait on a large flip, this shoe will be a small, but solid flip strictly because of it’s blacked out colorway. There will be an initial spike on the Black Space to 219.99 after the first week. It will settle at around 199.99. Does this make it worthwhile?
Rating = +2
Should you buy to flip?
My total on a scale of 9 is a +4. That is a below average resale rating. This is not a shoe that you buy to flip. It will be however, one of the best KD models to drop this year and if I base it on my recent sales the shoe will be worthwhile to those in the market to generate a 5-10% return on their dollar even at the low end of the resale spectrum. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but they can’t all be winners.
