After The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the latest version of LeBron James sneakers would retail for $315, there was a public outcry by media and potential buyers alike.
Now comes word that the LeBron X will retail for “just $270.” Does that $45 difference really make a difference?
Will those critical of the first price remain critical?
This signature shoe for the game’s best player has motion sensors to track various metrics, including how high the player jumps. Seems the shoe-makers have too much time on their hands.
So, did the public disdain influence the price of the shoes? Nike surely will not admit to that. This shoe will be sold in a pack for $270, Nike spokesman Brian Strong confirmed to ESPN.com on Thursday.
Nike had previously said that, at the time of the report, a price had not yet been set.
Sources say the majority of the LeBron X shoes that will hit the market on Sept. 29 will retail for $180 – that’s without the kit. The Nike+ enabled version of the shoe, which allows for technology to be embedded in the mid-sole of the shoe, will be sold with the sensors, the adapter and charger — together called the Sport Kit — for $270.
Should consumers already own the kit, the Nike+ enabled LeBron X also will be sold separately for $200.
The Nike+ version allows the athlete to measure various metrics, including vertical leap, and sync it with the Nike+ basketball app.
Between its Nike, Jordan and Converse Brands, Nike owns roughly 95 percent of the United States’ basketball shoe market.
Whatever happened to the good ole days of Chuck Taylor’s. They were made of canvas. You laced them up and played basketball. They came in two colors: off-white and black. It didn’t matter how high you jumped or any other “metrics.” They cost $11.
Technology is a great thing. But not in all things. Whether $315 or $270 or $200 or $180. . . it’s ridiculous, especially when most of the those who will be wearing them cannot really afford them.
Worse, those who cannot afford them but want them anyway inevitably will shoot those who do to have them. No matter how cool they might look or how much they might do, they are not worth your life.
