Thursday Thoughts: Doernbecher Release
Let’s delve into something that is apparent in the sneaker culture today. Every day we get sneaker news about release dates, future releases, samples, sneaker collections, celebs rocking sneakers, etc. Whether we think the news is good or bad is always up for debate. So let’s talk about…
Doernbecher Release
The Doernbecher release was just a few days ago and it has left some people heated. Some would think, for sneakers that are being released for a good cause, how could this upset anyone? It’s rare for a sneaker to be made for a great cause and it’s always nice to see companies contribute to charities like Doernbecher. Still, it leaves fellow sneaker addicts with a bad taste in their mouth with the crashing and more importantly for them, missing the pick up.
What are we referencing here? The amount released.
For those who missed out on the online release, the site went through a variety of problems. For some, the occasional get to your cart but can’t check out moment, which brings out the worst feeling when buying sneakers online. Point is, should Nike release more pairs for their Doernbecher series? Should they be more of a general release so they are more attainable?
First off, it would bring in more profit for the charity which at the end of the day, is the point of the sneakers. Making them more widely available (maybe not general release) would give more people a chance to buy them. Every year the Doernbecher sneakers go through the same routine, people think they’re ugly, they slowly grow on some and then many people want to buy them. This may hurt some people’s feeling who want to have that limited sneaker but hey, there are plenty more limited shoes they can have.
The Doernbecher shoes are more for the charity at hand, one way to think about it, donating money but receiving something for doing so. It would be interesting to see them in many stores so even the average consumer could take a look at them and purchase them. The Doernbecher releases are for a great cause and sneaker addicts look forward to them each year, but ask someone who doesn’t know too much about shoes and they may have no idea what you’re talking about. To see them on the shelves at stores would bring in more publicity for the collection and charity along with drive in more sales and/or give more sneaker addicts who want them a chance.
Secondly, it would help some sneaker addicts out there keep away something most people don’t like, the reseller. It’s truly a shame that some people will buy a sneaker for charity to flip on someone else for profit, but hey, that’s supply and demand for ya. It’s just unfortunate that people who want the sneaker have to give their money to an outside seller instead of towards the charity. Not really too much to go on for this point.
Those are just two points that could definitely be elaborated further on but there is the other side of the argument that must be brought up to counter these two points. Those being:
First, would that ruin the glamour of the sneakers? Yes, the shoes are for the charity and it’s nice to donate but does everyone purchase solely based on the donation alone? No one can really answer that question but it’s safe to assume that some people just want the shoes because they are different. A great part of the collection is the creativity that the kids bring up, something that we will never see on other sneakers no matter how hard someone tries, nothing flashes imagination like the Doernbecher collection.
That’s what makes them special though, they draw attention, display a vivid uniqueness and more importantly, are limited so people won’t see them everyday. Keeping them limited gives them that splendor that other shoes just don’t have.
Second, it’s too hard to blame the resellers when the charity is already receiving the money. Yes, the reseller may be flipping the sneaker for profit but at the end of the day, they paid for it and gave proceeds towards the charity, so is it really wrong to resell them?
Not too much emphasis or too many points brought up for this topic but it’s still pretty straightforward.
Should Nike release more pairs for the Doernbecher collection? Do you feel there are reasons why they should release more or is the Doernbecher collection handled fine as is?
There are points on both sides with two of the more common ones noted above which need to be taken into account. At the end of the day, it really depends on the person but it’s still up for debate.
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Written By Jordan Rainey (Jawrduhn)
Idea By Chevy Boy
See something in the sneaker culture that catches your eye and drives you crazy or impresses you? Send it to Jordan.Rainey [@] theshoegame.com (topic only), and it could be used in a future Thursday Thoughts. Credit will be given if the idea has not already been planned or submitted by someone else. Remember, it can be anything sneaker related. Put “Thursday Thoughts” as the subject of the email.
I didn’t know people wanted the DBs so much. It was soo easy for me to get a pair last year and for me to get the am95′s this year. Ther was really no problem gettn my pair and I live in NY. Don’t knock resellers. Ther not to blame.
In all honesty, it would make more sense if the shoes were widely available for sake of the cause. It was cool to see that Nike made the shoes available in GS sizes this year. Maybe they should make more pairs, but definitely not a GR. Oh yeah, NDC needs to step up their server game. That was not a fun night at all.
I do think they should release more of them…because there are alot of us that don’t live in an area where these will become available at all so our only hope is online (which blows)…maybe not GR available but closer to it than they are now. Imo they should cause..like you said…the charity would gain more money that way…which is the entire point of these shoes.
I agree with John B, as a European sneakerhead, these are only available for me through resellers at prices i pass for. If they made it a QS then there would be more then enough for everyone at decent prices, i would prefer to support the cause though if only it wasn’t USA restricted
I really can’t say that I have a problem with the release. I didnt get a chance to get the 1′s, ,or 2′s, and didn’t get upset because to me the thrill of the hunt is just as full filling as the purchase. Let’s face it, if everyone else could rock the same joints they that everyone rocked, would any one of us really stay in the game? Even with a hot general release. If they made an endless supply, most of us would stop wearing sneakers. Ijs
Yeah a quickstrike release would be perfect, i think it would drastically drop resale prices while still retaining that limited status that some ppl are so fond of
And of course be more easily attainable for ppl who really want them
to be real…the DB releases can be compared old school sneaker hunting walking into a shop you never been into seeing a shoe you have been looking for and bam you got it…but instead its online where limited quantities are available its released to the public and those who are lucky get whatever pair they want out of the pack. the same excitement is there. most of the ppl who want a shoe from the db pack will shoot for the jordan no matter if its ugly, ok etc a custom jordan that is limited will sell no matter what lol thats just how the game goes. as far as how they release them there is no problem with that yeah the server crashed thats something that can be fixed, quantities could be increased but they feeling of having knowing you got a pair kicks that are limited come on we all love that feeling in this game! all nike has to do is fix a couple of glitches and they will be fine
I do feel like there should be more pairs avaliable. But it shouldnt be a GR release. It takes away from the exclusiveness of the sneaker and thus less people would want them. But more pairs should be made for sure.
What would really make alot of money for the charity is if EACH child got to design a different numbered jordan. That would make alot of money and more people would go out to get the sneaker. Cause the doernbecher jordan that is released each year is always the main attraction. You can probably go dow to niketown nyc and there will still be pairs of the other sneaker models released.
Sorry I don’t know this already, but what’s the difference between a quick strike and a limited release? Are the doernbechers a limited release?
I think the limited # creates extra buzz for Nike and the hospital. If there wasn’t a server issue it would have been better and ok since I missed out. My fault though for refreshing for 3 hours for kicks.
I think I lost a LOT of sleep that night just so my kid could see a Superman logo on a pair of my kicks! Yes yes yes… I had them in the cart ALL the while and even when the server came back up… only to lose out!
The AM95′s look 1000x better on foot from pics I’ve seen!
Yes, a QS in-store and on-line would be a better release! Do NOT release multiple exclusives on the same night Nike (Knicks SPIZZY’s) = dumb dumb dumb and probably caused your IT guys some serious over time!
Wasn’t the Yeezy 1 for charity? I realize that Nike probably loses some $$$ and a greater supply would mean even greater loss so it does make sense that they (Nike) would also be donating to the DB foundation simply by making the shoes no matter how limited!
More pairs please, but not to the point it’s GR. It would make sense that it would be better for the cause.
I tried Nike.com for the DB 4, but like G-Roc said Nike needs to step up their server game. I went through the checkout for over 2 hours and when it finally went through, it said “Your size is out of stock, there might be a restock in a couple of days”??? FAIL!
I did not purchase the last release. I love the 2′s they dropped a few yrs ago. Those were fire. The 1′s…dope..But these 3′s no. That’s just my opinion tho. I support the cause tho and I think more pairs sold would only benefit the kids. Just don’t flood the market!!
The whole essay I wrote a minute ago didn’t go thru. So I’ll just say I’ve been highly pissed since Saturday. More to come later.
^Ouch!
It’s funny how a lot of people say they wished more pairs came out but not to the point of a GR. But how many pairs define a GR? Cause a lot of people say AJ 11′s are GRs simply because of the quantities it comes out in. Funniest thing… Most people had a lot of hate on the shoe but the second the shoe came out and they saw how much hype was building they just jumped on the wagon…. So lets stop saying the comments about more pairs cause if there were more pairs; half of us wouldn’t even be interested in this shoe. EVEN if it still had the superman logo
I agree on some points but for those of us without a Nike Town in our City or State makes coping these that much harder. Cleveland, Ohio has no Nike Town or House of Hoops. While places like New York, Chicago have many. There is an unfair advantage for some States. We love SNEAKERS in Ohio too Nike!!!!! We want limited sneakers so with that said I’m on board with a general release. Bring some of these store’s to the Buckeye State.
Even though I was lucky enough to snag a pair, I also agree that Nike needs to step their server game up. I went through pure hell trying to get through check out. The one thing that really got to me this year the most though was the in-store availability. I dont know how critical this may sound to a lot of you as readers but ATLANTA (One of the biggest shoe cities in the nation) failed to recieve one pair of Doernbecher’s this year *Correct me if im wrong*….and no thats not normal. From my understanding, GA wasnt the only state that missed out this year. I know times are hard,they have to cut down the number of stores and BLAH BLAH BLAH but dang! Dont get me wrong it never was easy obtaining any of the past Doernbecher’s but with a couple of hours in front of Niketown and a little patience(sc), it wasnt impossible. Nike failed to think about all the consumers who depended on actual stores to get their kicks which was a big let down. Even a few “Mom and Pop” spots would have been cool if you ask me.
I’ve calmed down a little, so this is a little watered down. This whole release was supposed to be about the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and contributing to the foundation. Who cares if Nike doesn’t make money on this release? It’s not about Nike. Period. If the whole purpose was to raise money for the hospital & its foundation, why the hell would you make the shoes so limited? Wouldn’t you wanna raise as much money as possible? That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never heard of having a limit to how much money can be contributed to a cause. I mean, yeah, I understand that donations could be made everyday. I get it. But as a true sneakerhead, I would have enjoyed the fulfillment of buying sneakers for a good cause. Now, I have to give 2X my money to some greedy ass person who doesn’t give a f*** about the kids, the foundation, or the sneakers. That’s just feeding into the hype. But I actually liked the designs of the shoes. I’m still giving a donation. It all goes back to the fact that all of the kicks, not just the Jordans, were so limited. The GS addition was a good look, but why were the adult sizes cut back so much? That’s where the majority of the sales come from. I’m not saying that they should’ve been GR, but the availability should have been a lot better than this. Basically, if you didn’t live near a NikeTown, NikeStore, or HOH that actually was getting a shipment, the only (slim) chance you had of getting these was the internet. And we all knew what was gonna happen with the Nike website. It always happens with any big release. That’s just a case of sorry-ass servers. This was just a very shitty release Nike. DO BETTER!!!
the collection should still be a limited release but just not exclusive to nike.com and niketown online shopping is like everyone going to the same store your online but in a line of thousands ..spreading them out will let people shop on different sites not just nike.com the servers should hold up then …exclusiveness is the reason im in this game lets be honest………
The Jordans and AM95 sold out everywhere however the rest of the collection can still be found online and at some niketowns. The P Rod was the limited shoe out of the collection for men and is still setting in stores like many of the Dorenbechers that came before it that wasnt a Jordan. If you really cared about the cause you(SNEAKERHEADS) would be supporting all the styles. Nike is not to blame… because they must of sold over 1000 pairs of Jordans at my local store but the Free’s, Dunks and P Rod are still in stores. smh ya really dont care about the cause. Ya just a bunch of fxcking hypebeast. So the site crashed spend that $65 on the P Rods if you really care about the cause. Then pick up a GS model for your kids, nephews ect… HERBS!!!!
You’re missing one important item. Does Nike want to dedicate even more resources, time, manufacturing costs, logistical costs, etc than they already do for this amazing annual charitable effort? At the end of the day they run a highly demanding global business. Maybe we should be thankful they do this at all instead of wanting more.
I’m just glad I got my pair g….phew.
APPARENTLY ^lmfao doesn’t get it…support the cause by giving donations. At the same time, buy what you like. That’s a part of being a sneakerhead: buying what YOU like.
i got two pairs of this release and could have probably got 2 pairs of every other release had i tried on those ones. i went to niketown portland, waited in line for like 12 hours. server crashes, what can you do? people that want the shoes THAT bad go out and wait in line for them. the current system is fine, anything more would take away from the shoe
NIKE do another release of the Air Jordan DB 4′s! Make more and launch them before Christmas. Make those who put up with all the nonsense and come out empty handed happy for once. Then the charity hospital benefits even more. It’s a win win for everyone. Even if you only gave a portion of the money from another release to the hospital. Come On Nike have a heart.
canderson said it best…basically, GET DAT A$$ UP & GO GET YOUR KICKS.
You know when it’s about to HYPEBEAST O’ PLENTY. So, the competition for pickups has gotten that much more fierce. The only your reasons are alot PURER. You actually want to WEAR the shoe, not CAPITALIZE off the shoe.
So, again, get that butt up or make arrangements to have somebody hold down that line spot for you and get what YOU want.
The release was a joke. How is it that hundreds of pairs are available through resellers at $400 up PRE RELEASE but on release day i wasted my whole night online on vain while NDC shitty servers crashed and end up empty handed???? There are sellers on eBay right now with pictures of recepts from niketown that show 4 pairs purchased on one slip!!!!How is that fair? Nike should have enough of EVERY release for people to buy them on release night for retail cost….after all…every time a pair sells on ebay for 3x the price, nike is losing money. I am disgusted. Nike needs to get it together. There will always be resellers but at least make it fair.
…And for those talking about going out to buy them…maybe you have 2 days to sit outside a store, but adults with jobs dont. My time is way valuable than that. I lose more money taking the time off work than if I bought them on eBay. The point is, nike created this mess
They should release them throughout the year the reason the site crashed because you had the db4s, dbam95 and both spizikes dropping the same night. It was just too much.
@ant I agree with you 100% we have JOBS to go to and we cannot afford to sit outside for such and such hours and days for a pair of shoes that cost $175 and probably cost less than 1/3 of that to make. For many of us we didn’t have the luxury of going outside to sit and wait because our state was not receiving any shipments. So you’re saying that I should drive 12+ hours to go outside and wait 12 more to drive 12 hours back? I said drive because a plane ticket round trip would be more than the cost of the shoes! Point blank Nike needs to update their server and I also feel it would be nice if they did eBay auctions of signed pairs of the shoes to generate more money for the shoes like they did with mags.
NikeTown New York has restocked the Jordan DB 4 & Air max 95 a few times since the release. Just this past Monday they released a few pairs.