Some Kanye West fans may be feeling scammed as their wait to receive Yeezy Pods seems never-ending. The rapper debuted the sock-like shoe in December, calling his latest fashion innovation the “foldable future of footwear.” At the time he announced the product, it was priced at $200.
It marked his first offering from Yeezy since parting ways with Adidas in October 2022, following his inflammatory remarks about going “death con 3 on Jewish people” and a string of other anti-Semitic remarks that cost him business deals and further tarnished his reputation in the fashion and entertainment industries. West later slammed the company for selling their Adilette 22, calling it a “fake Yeezy.”
However, two months after piquing fans’ interest in the Pods, he folded by slashing the price to $20 amid backlash about overpricing a luxury sock. Individuals who purchased the shoes at their original retail price were promised refunds. That same month, he invested a reported $7 million to secure an advertisement slot during the Super Bowl.
“We spent all the money on the commercial spot. We actually didn’t spend any money on the actual commercial. But the idea is I want you to go to Yeezy.com…and Imma write it at the bottom of the screen. And I got some shoes and mmmmm, that’s it,” said West, who recorded the promotion on a cellphone while riding in a car.
This video has lived in my head rent free all week, Kanye spent $7m on a Super Bowl ad space, made this video for $0 & then generated $19m in sales from it.
— Rebekka (@rebekkarnold) February 15, 2024
“I got some shoes aaaannndd that’s it” 😂 pic.twitter.com/onKCE2Uo7G
Those who followed his call-to-action helped the company pull in 294,357 orders — a purported combined total of orders from the Pods, a T-shirt that was available, and “Vultures” merchandise — to the tune of $19.3 million in profit, according to the “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” artist’s since-deleted Instagram post.
Now, a discourse online about the footwear has fans asking, “Where are my Pods?” Several people who placed orders in February claim West’s team has been slow to fulfill the orders and offered little to no updates on shipping dates.
If you see me wearing Yeezy Pods with my Kurta on Eid mind your own business. Thanks. pic.twitter.com/sp4nl9GoA1
— ❤️= ⚽ | ٣١٣ (@mrgreatwunnn) April 10, 2024
“I just filed a complaint at my bank, attached some proof and got my money back in less then a week,” wrote one person on Reddit who canceled their order after the two-month wait. Another person claiming their order was confirmed on Feb. 13 wrote, “How long does it take to ship some socks w/rubber on them..TF??” Others claim that after inquiring about mail dates the they were told “they’ll ship out first week of February.”
A screenshot, shared the week of April 11, of an alleged customer service member regarding orders states, “Pods have arrived! We are expecting to receive all Pod shipments within the next 4 – 6 weeks and have begun shipping out all Pod orders daily from the order in which they are received.”
Got scammed on over half my Yeezy Pods order. 2/5. Customer service says they have thousands of emails in backlog. Guess I should be thankful I got them at all? pic.twitter.com/LPd2d5qDk9
— Tanner (@TannerSneaks) April 11, 2024
But not all hope is lost for those who intend to get their hands on the Yeezy Pods. Some people have actually received them. “Got scammed on over half my Yeezy Pods order. 2/5. Customer service says they have thousands of emails in backlog. Guess I should be thankful I got them at all?” tweeted an individual who posted an e-mail from a Yeezy team member explaining their process while advising customers not to send multiple messages.
Distribution of the product is reportedly coming from China.
