Tennis replicas, collectors’ last resort in the face of exorbitant prices

With the popularity of sports shoes or sneakers, new veins of legal and illegal businesses have opened.

Most of the brand name shoes are produced in Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan or China. In fact, the latter country accounted for 33% of exports of textiles and footwear worldwide, with revenues of 252 billion dollars, in 2012, as mentioned in the report of the World Trade Organization (WTO, for its acronym in English).

The need for manufacturers to generate extra income “under the water” could be one of the factors that led to the creation of replica tennis, since in the 90’s, the company Nike Inc. was accused of violating the human rights of product manufacturers, as reported by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The same piracy sellers have contacts that supply them with products from China, as mentioned by Luan who has been in business for five years and, despite living in Spain, has exported pairs to Mexico, Argentina, Chile and elsewhere. from Latin America, without any problem.

“The Chinese are a bit smart. What do they do? Let’s see, they work in the same factories, but of course, they sell you products depends on the quality they send you. It may be that you buy high-quality shoes, which come with the same products as the original, but of course, you do not have a quality control or an invoice that guarantees that it is certified by Nike ”, explains Luan, who Surte online under the profile of @ LuanShop27.

“Hype” and price increase

Today a pair of high-end tennis shoes can be priced at hundreds of thousands of pesos on resale. Although there are fans who get to acquire them, some collectors opt for the fake G5 sneakers.

The supplier of sneakers clones León comments that the “hype” or the overvaluation of footwear at ten or 30 times its real price is due to marketing campaigns, the limited number of pairs that sports brands make to increase the desire for piece, the popularity of an artist or famous person to collaborate, as well as any event that occurs and influences the world of sneakers.

“The ones that are in vogue, so to speak, because of the hype they have been given is BAPE, it’s Supreme, it’s Cactus Jack, which is Travis Scott’s brand and Off-White, which is Virgil Abloh’s. Well then, Virgil Abloh passed away, obviously the brand, as it is no longer going to produce Off-White, that sentimental value becomes more expensive ”, highlighted León.

According to data from the American online store The RealReal, sales of Off-White items increased 18 times, after the death of its founder and creative director Virgil Abloh, on November 28, 2021.

Another example of this is the Adidas Forum Easter Egg in collaboration with the reggaeton player Bad Bunny. During the launch date of April 4 and 6, 2021, the tennis shoes were priced at 3,999 pesos, which were sold in a matter of minutes. Currently in Stock X, an online store specialized in exclusive items, the cost of these pairs ranges between 8,500 and 15,200 pesos, depending on the size.

Meanwhile, clone tennis vendor Luan offers replicas of the Forum Easter Eggs for $ 220, including shipping, which is equivalent to 4,400 pesos. Of course, he assures that the details of the sports shoes are so exact that people take their legitimacy for granted, because they are G5, a name that receives the highest quality of manufacture.

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@ cokito.27

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“The lowest is triple A (AAA), the one that follows is one point one (1: 1), then top follows, then top quality follows, then OG follows, then follows G5 or the UA. The G5 or UA is the most identical to an original. Chinese suppliers sell you quality, but if you pay money for those shoes, ”described Luan, a trader at @ LuanShop27.

Both Luan and León say that they have supplied G5 replica tennis shoes to acclaimed collectors in the world of sneakers, as it is increasingly difficult for them to find exclusive pieces of their size at an affordable price.

The other side of piracy

The United States Office of Trade Representation (USTR) published the 2020 list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy that shows the electronic and physical businesses of 17 countries where products that violate the intellectual property of creatives are traded in the neighboring North American country.

Among these nations is Mexico and the places named in the report are Tepito, Mexico City; La Pulga Río, in Monterrey and the Mercado San Juan de Dios, Guadalajara.

However, from the perspective of León, a seller of tennis replicas, by marketing copies of the shoes, they are creating a source of jobs in places that lack job opportunities and economic resources to support their families.

@trapshopmexico

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♬ sonido original – TRAPSHOPMEXICO

“Many say:” you take away the work of the people who are making the original, “but many people who live in a marginalized sector of the population are also given a lot of work,” stressed the Trap Shop Mex salesperson.