Why is the cost of skate shoes getting more & more expensive?

[Ripped Laces]

Fairly interesting subject and I'm curious to see what everyone has to say on the matter.
#ShamelessSelfPromotion



http://www.rippedlaces.com/2014/03/how-expensive-is-too-expensive-qa-w-shop-owners/

Thanks to Chris Nieratko and Andy from Homebase for talking to us.

[Ripped Laces]

Also, sorry if its in the wrong forum. Feel free to move it into the shoes/gear thread if need be. 

[stevedave]

i dont think skate shoes are really anymore expensive than they used to be.  I remember having my skate shop roughly 10 years ago and I don't feel like shoes are more expensive now.  IN FACT, there's A LOT MORE shoes that are affordable now, than 10 years ago when everything was $79.99 at the cheapest, unless you were buying Vans.  Fuck, I remember putting shoes on sale for $54.99.  Now, you can buy a brand new pair of shoes for $65. 

[Monkey_Mcpott]

Since skating is as popular as ever and the demand is higher for product it only makes sense to make even the simplest shoes sightly more expensive. I will say i missed the days when i would go to downtown LA and get Old Skools or slip ons for 20 bucks and now they are 45 minimum for the classic colors.

[JB]

Despite China easing its stance on child reproduction most people can not afford to have children in China. So there are less and less children available to make the shoes and I imagine the children realize they are in a position of power and are rising up and demanding higher wages, perhaps 25 cents a week, thus driving up shoe production costs which ultimately drive up the the retail pricing. That�s just my guess. I�m not an astrophysicist.

i got a laugh out of that.


is it getting that much higher though? i think there has always been those $90 and up shoes ever since ive been skating (started in 01). DC always had something that was super expensive. my first pair of lakais i bought back in 02 were $90. muska's circa shoes were expensive as hell, same thing when he got on supra. sb dunks have pretty much always been around $85 and up. im sure if i thought about it more i could give more examples, but the only point im making is that there has always been expensive shoes as well as more affordable options. maybe there were less expensive options for a few years when vulc were super cool, but i swear the $90+ skate shoe is not a new thing.

i think now maybe people are buying more expensive shoes because theyre more trendy. everyone is over the vulc craze and they want whatever luneron g6 ultralite polyfoam tech shit is out there because thats whats cool, and thats what performs the best (does it?). people think theyre getting a better product and are willing to pay for it.

[micky682]

I hope skate shops will soon be able to compete with online shops in terms of shoe sales. The prices always seem too high at the shops compared to all the sales online shops have. It seems, at least to me, that less people actually buy shoes from the shop and instead buy them online. I've found myself guilty of trying a shoe out at the shop but ending up buying them online b/c its hard paying $60-$80 for shoes that might not last me the month.

[skate_bored]

good read.

i think the fact that a lot of pros have been spoiled with a large salary is having an effect on these brands and prices as well. just look at dylan, Emerica couldn't get him because he wanted 150k per year. those guys have a stellar team but they can only pay a handful of pros at the prices these guys are asking for. the prices of their shoes have crept up, but at least with them the quality has gone up too.

[SodaJerk]

Look at the size of most shoe brands teams and you can see that some of the increased cost goes into supporting them. 20 years ago very few pros and no ams were being payed well by shoe sponsors.

[zuma]

i don t know what the price was but the first circa muskas were the most expensive shoe to date as far as i can remember

[skate_bored]

i don t know what the price was but the first circa muskas were the most expensive shoe to date as far as i can remember

what about the osiris d3? i actually had all kinds of the awful skate boots and the $90-100 price tag warranted the 6 months i'd get out of them. when my mom would take me to the vans store I'd spend half the price and get half the length of time out of them. back to school and christmas were my only shot at new shoes at 14, so i'd get the Reynolds 1 and be set.

[georgethecat]

I remember being in middle school during the mid-to-late 90s and our local shop selling some DCs for $119. I realize that's one anecdotal instance, but I don't really feel like they're getting increasingly expense (other than inflation). ? If they are, though, it's because we're willing to pay it.

[Toadfish Rebecchi]

Skate shoes are way cheaper than they were 12 years ago.

[Aatila]

Since skating is as popular as ever and the demand is higher for product it only makes sense to make even the simplest shoes sightly more expensive. I will say i missed the days when i would go to downtown LA and get Old Skools or slip ons for 20 bucks and now they are 45 minimum for the classic colors.

i used to go the various vans outlets in la or surrounding areas and get b grade vans old schools for like 15-20 bucks that all my parents would get me and can afford.  For back to school shopping i had a choice of buying some nike basketball shoes (Im a black guy back then wearing vans in the inner city would get you beat up if you were a bitch or clowned this was a shielding technique plus there was some cool shoes at the time) or getting a couple of pairs of chucks (acceptable since its a classic) or vans. I used to get a pair of blue chucks one pair of old skools to skate and a black pair of chucks.  chucks taylors used to be 20 dollars now they're like 40-50 and vans eras are like 55 bucks.  Shoes are definitely getting way more expensive and less durable too.

[trannies and mannies]

good read.

i think the fact that a lot of pros have been spoiled with a large salary is having an effect on these brands and prices as well. just look at dylan,Emerica couldn't get him because he wanted 150k per year. those guys have a stellar team but they can only pay a handful of pros at the prices these guys are asking for. the prices of their shoes have crept up, but at least with them the quality has gone up too.

wat

[Stoop Kid 2.0]

What is the smaller company Dylan left workshop for?

[Ripped Laces]

What is the smaller company Dylan left workshop for?

Although there's no certifiable confirmation, we can all agree that it's FA. He was seen skating that AVE FA deck recently on some HUF trip.

[tortfeasor]

Boards cost the company about $13 per board and sell it to the shop at $33 and they then sell it to you for $45-55.

[ttching!]

All I know is that these companies are all colluding to keep hidden lace loop technology off our feet solely to pad their bank accounts.

[Salty Lame Ass Poosey]

Cuz these fuckers need to eat in a cafeteria. Ingrates!

[perverted super otaku!]

All I know is that these companies are all colluding to keep hidden lace loop technology off our feet solely to pad their bank accounts.

[vegan*shawn]

I was shocked to see how much shops sell Janoski's for, 80 bucks for basic vulc shoes, and kids buy the fuck out of them.

[Stoop Kid 2.0]

I was shocked to see how much shops sell Janoski's for, 80 bucks for basic vulc shoes, and kids buy the fuck out of them.

The ones with that poor excuse for a rubber toe cap are sold for 90+ at my shop.

[veebs]

bought a pair of old schools from the vans store this week for $54... they were $57 in 1985...
for the last few years theyve been $60+.

[j....soy.....]

The real question is how do people find these shoes for like $40? 

[dillanharp]

When I started in the early 90s, "skate shoes," etnies, airwalk, vans, I remember all being around $60 or under, way under for some vans. When the Koston 2 came out and it was around $100 it was pretty shocking. We have too many pros with too many pro models and too many salaries.  
If you scroll to the end of the mag and look at classified section with the mail order ads, you'd get a pretty good idea of how cheap shit used to be.
http://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/magazine/june-1994/

[Ollie Ringwald]

When I started in the early 90s, "skate shoes," etnies, airwalk, vans, I remember all being around $60 or under, way under for some vans. When the Koston 2 came out and it was around $100 it was pretty shocking. We have too many pros with too many pro models and too many salaries. ? 
If you scroll to the end of the mag and look at classified section with the mail order ads, you'd get a pretty good idea of how cheap shit used to be.
http://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/magazine/june-1994/

Yeah, but before that Airwalk 540s, 720s etc used to cost a lot, I guess the biggest change that would have an impact on cost is the increasing amount of pro's shoe companies need to pay.. And then other marketing activities.

[DGKALIS]

You get what you pay for.

You want cheap shoes..... you'll buy them more often.

You want more expensive shoes... you'll buy less of them over time.

The price of my pro model is cheaper now than it was 10 years ago... the shoe from 10 years ago would last you WAY longer than the current shoe. Of course  you had to break them in... but they held up for a long time.

Shoes these days bust out in a week or two. The companies make less money on the cheap shoes... the shops make less on the cheap shoes... and your feet hurt sooner with cheap shoes. But everyone wants cheap shoes. Makes no sense to me.

[360 frip]

i don t know what the price was but the first circa muskas were the most expensive shoe to date as far as i can remember

Yep, They were about 16000 Yen / $157 at the time. US price was probably a bit less.

There seems to be way more deals on shoes too now.

You get what you pay for.

You want cheap shoes..... you'll buy them more often.

You want more expensive shoes... you'll buy less of them over time.

The price of my pro model is cheaper now than it was 10 years ago... the shoe from 10 years ago would last you WAY longer than the current shoe. Of course  you had to break them in... but they held up for a long time.

Shoes these days bust out in a week or two. The companies make less money on the cheap shoes... the shops make less on the cheap shoes... and your feet hurt sooner with cheap shoes. But everyone wants cheap shoes. Makes no sense to me.

Kalis, your centrics were great. The sole went too quickly, but generally I'd say DC are up there with the best quality. Just ordered some new Lynx in the original grey with the orange. Living the retro dream.

[Young Satchel]

Why is the cost of modern life getting more-and-more expensive?

[Manolo]

Selling a super thin sole, 3 panels of suede and a pair of lace for 60bucks..shoes were cheaper before.