Crazed consumers fairly foaming at the mouth over a new release from Nike which was timed to celebrate the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, had to be subdued by cops in riot gear at one Florida mall Thursday night. This isn’t the first time a shoe has stirred up such extreme reactions, of course, and we doubt it will be the last.
The glow-in-the-dark Nike Air Foamposite One Galaxy $220 limited edition shoe was so coveted, hundreds of people packed into a mall parking lot last night in advance of the shoe’s sale at midnight. Deputy sheriffs arrived ready for action as the numbers swelled, says the Orlando Sentinel.
People on the scene told the paper that everyone was told to wait across the street from the mall. A great plan, until one intrepid shoe fanatic broke free of the crowd and raced toward the Foot Locker. Like lemmings off a cliff, hundreds of fellow shoppers followed.
“I saw hundreds of people running toward me. I thought I was going to get trampled,” said one witness.
More cops showed up in riot gear, with some mounted on horses, on motorcycles or in patrol cars, and a helicopter flew over the scene. Deputies then formed a line with shields and pushed back the crowd, threatening to use pepper spray if they had to. Fortunately for those involved, they didn’t have to use it and no one was injured or arrested.
It took a few hours to disperse the crowd, as many shoppers stayed around in the hopes that the shoe sale would still happen. No such luck, folks! A deputy drove around the mall announcing over a loudspeaker that the mall was closed.
“Please leave the premises. This is an unlawful gathering. There is no shoe release tonight.”
Previously: Starting A Mall-Closing Riot Won’t Make Those Cool New Shoes Any Less Sold Out
Police in riot gear break up shoe melee at Florida Mall [Orlando Sentinel]
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And we have a Florida Friday!!!
Bingo!
It’s a bingo!
Watch the video if you want a laugh riot. I’ve never seen so many middle-class white-collar workers go crazy for a pair of shoes.
Good one. I fell for it.
I see what you did there.
I have never understood fighting over footwear. I also would never pay $200 for a pair of shoes. Stupid sheeple!
I would, however, pay that much for a good pair of boots. But then, the more expensive the boots, the less you’ll actually spend over the long run. It’s the Sam Vimes “Boots” Theory of Socio-Economic Injustice.
I agree completely on the boots; I got a pair of Redwing, made in the USA boots for $150 last month; they are so damn nice, easily worth more than 5x as much as the $30 Chinese boots I have been buying.
It certainly saves money in the long run when you can take the shoes in to be re-heeled or re-soled instead of buying a new pair – and Red Wings FTW.
You get +1000 for the Discworld reference. I always think of Vimes’ theory when this subject comes up.
+1001 Just about done with Men at Arms
Exactly this. I will lay out for a good pair of Dr Marten’s, becasue they last between 7 and 10 years of pretty hard wearing.
I cannot even conceive of paying a similar amount for some fashion fad shoes like these.
I actually have a pair of Dc Marts that Ive had for 15 yrs. Paid $120 for them. LOVE them. But still would not pay $200+ for a pair of sneakers just bc they glow in the dark.
Since they sell on Ebay or other places online for over $1000. Why doesnt Foot Locker charge $1200 a pair for them, then there will be a lot less people in line AND they will make a bigger profit since they will still sell. I never understood why businesses dont charge for things what people are willing to pay. If they sold tickets to hot events for 3 times the normal face value they would also get rid of scalpers since people who want to pay $5000 for a superbowl ticket will just get it from the box office.
I spent $270-ish on a pair of Allen Edmonds. Of course, I did it because of the fact that they are a classic pair of dress shoes that I expect to get many years of employment related use out of them with. It was also a chance for me to buy from a mfr that hasn’t moved their workforce out of the country.
It also helped that I had a coupon code for 20% off.
Allen Edmonds are very nice shoes. On Cyber Monday I bought 5 pairs including the Shelton in burgundy, Strawfut in brown and the Links in black. It’s a high upfront cost but taking care of them with shoe trees, polish and them being re-craftable, makes them a great long term investment. It also feels really great when I see people glancing down real quick to take a peek at what i’m wearing.
Looking forward to a discussion full of even-handed, open-minded commentary!
so dumb, so dumb, so dumb
Why was the sale cancelled, I wonder? Because of sheeple behaving badly? Or something else?
Also, I heard that two people were arrested for trespassing later that night, but the FA doesn’t mention anything (says no one was hurt or arrested, but no mention of afterward.) Did my radio newsperson lie to me?
i blame the op…
i make my own shoes at home…
how iz this a consumer issue???
i have too much time on my hands, anyone want to buy some???
Wow. It looks like a bunch of White people in the video. I guess we won’t get any of the awesome minority code words we usually get in these types of articles.
The video in the linked article is not the riot video – it’s the video from the next morning where the crowds are under control and standing in line.
This is the riot video from the night before:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105895/Crowd-rush-220-Nike-All-Star-Foamposite-One-shoes-broken-100-riot-police.html
What’s an awesome minority code word? Just so I know for future reference.
They. are. shoes. And ugly glow-in-the-dark at that.(what is this, the 90s?)
Why can humans be so ridiculous sometimes?
Athletic shoe designs are some horrible parody of early-90′s neon design. I want new tennies, but I can’t stand what’s on the shelves.
Oh, this is so going on ‘What The Fuck Is Wrong With You?’
Sounds like another case of SWS (Shopping While Stupid).
This is why I stay away from stores on Black Friday.
Now, now, no need to bring race into retail hysteria.
Race? It’s not a race, it’s a stampede!
Hmm, new acronym: SOS (Stampede of Stupid).
I saw this on the news this morning and my first thought was that nobody in that line looked like they could really afford $200 tennies. Then they said they’re going for $2500 on ebay. So maybe I’m the idiot for staying home.
Yeah, I just looked on Ebay, and damn. Makes me want to try my hand at shoe-reselling.
These shoes will sell for $1200?
I’m there!
what happened to the good old days when you shot a guy AFTER he bought his sneakers, not shot him because you wanted to be the one to buy them?
Chasing the cool: Extreme Edition.
Sits back with popcorn and purple drink to enjoy the comments……
When riot police have to be brought in just so people can go shopping without getting killed is a sign there’s something seriously wrong with our shallow, hyper-consuming culture.
Don’t look at me.
As a well educated middle-class white-collar worker, I’ve never rioted or gone crazy for a piece of footwear. However, there are social-economic factors that need to be taken into consideration.
A certain faction of people that follow a certain culture seem to find this type of behavior acceptable. Whether it be upbringing or something else, I don’t know. I’d hate to label a certain group of people as thugs but criminal reports and %s seem to show a greater number of a certain type of individual rioting and causing these types of crimes
On the bright side, if criminals buy these shoes, and wear them at night and commit a crime, it might be easier to see them running away in the dark
We go further and further down the rabbit hole. There is no coming back. No hope, no future. Just consume, trudge through life doing what the sellers tell you, and hope you don’t starve (to cheering masses).
Since they sell on Ebay or other places online for over $1000. Why doesnt Foot Locker charge $1200 a pair for them, then there will be a lot less people in line AND they will make a bigger profit since they will still sell. I never understood why businesses dont charge for things what people are willing to pay. If they sold tickets to hot events for 3 times the normal face value they would also get rid of scalpers since people who want to pay $5000 for a superbowl ticket will just get it from the box office.
Well, you already know the answer to that. There would be people screaming bloody murder about profiteering, calls for a Congressional investigation, etc. Kind of like what happened after gas prices shot up after Katrina, when so many coastal refineries shut down.
But the difference is that gas is basically a necessary staple with no alternatives to most people. $1200 sneakers are NOT an essential commodity. People can still buy the $25 Walmart sneakers
>> $1200 sneakers are NOT an essential commodity.
You know that, I know that, and everyone here knows that… but does the stampeding mob of crazy know that?
Simply because they behave as if $1200 sneakers are an essential commodity, that’s why I think the same crazy people would scream for a Congressional investigation, etc. Doesn’t mean Congress would respond… unless they saw some votes in it.
Why doesnt Foot Locker charge $1200 a pair for them
Most likely because of contractual agreements with Nike.
If Footlocker is selling 20000 of them nationally at $200 they will make 4M (raw numbers here). If they upped the price to $1000 they would need to be able to sell 4000 at that price to match it. Just because they are on EBay for that price it is unlikely that more than a handful of buyers are willing to make the purchase at that price point.
Same goes for event tickets. They might have been able to sell 1000 tickets to the superbowl at the top scalper price, and then either slashed prices to get the place filled (pissing off the big spenders) or wound up not selling all the tickets.
You’re fighting each other over slave made trinkets that cost more than two or three week’s worth of meals. You should be disgusted. How about you riot over outsourcing, or other things you SHOULD be angry about?
People really need to get a life.
How else do you think these weirdos are going to make there welfare checks strech to cover the rent PLUS the crack!!!
Ugliest fucking shoe I have ever seen. I hate my state …..
How come we never see riots like this over work boots?
+1
We could start a new trend….
Attack and beat senseless someone in the mall, so you can spend $150 on a pair of plastic and rubber shoes, just to get 35 or 40 days of use before they fall apart? Why not…
First world problems.
We westerners don’t call them Floridiots for nothing..