Nike Buying Guide
Facts about Nike Shoes.
1. All Nike shoes run exactly 1/2 size smaller than Reebok and Adidas. Not bigger and not smaller. Most Fake Nike's run about 1 to 1.5 sizes smaller than most Nike's.
2 Nike sets a patent and Manufacturing date on all of their shoes. In the tongue or inside of the left or right heel of the NIKE shoe is a manufacturing date, Month, day and year it was made. Nike will guarantee their products for 2 years from that date. For warranty info go to www.niketown.com and select customer service/returns.
3. This tag mentioned above will also have the UPC# and the style & color #. All of there Style#'s are 6 digit numbers and the color #'s follow behind with a space or dash and are 3 digit #'s. For example 310908-001 with the last 3 digits being the color code. THERE IS ALWAYS a succession of 6+3 digits to complete style and color, no more or less.
4. Nike MAKES MOST of there shoes in China or Vietnam. BUT...that's not where they sell them from. All US Customs certified Nike shoes are shipped to retailers from Nike's 2 US warehouse's located in Memphis TN and Wilsonville OR. Some select soccer shoes are made in Italy then shipped here to the US.
5. Nike ships MOST of there items in quality ORANGE boxes. But not all. Most shox have green boxes. Most Skateboarding shoes have Pink with black boxes. Most Jordan boxes are black with a Jordan Face. But Nike likes to keep us all guessing so they change up specialty items with new boxes occasionally, even putting Shox shoes in Orange boxes with Green labels.
6. Nike's box label always has a bar-coded UPC #. US shoes will always have the US size in large bold letters then the UK, EUR & CM sizes in smaller print below the sizes. Next is a new frame with the Style Name, Color description, Where its Manufactured and then the Style and Color # and www.nike.com. Finally a removable tab is located to the far right with the suggested retail price. (sometimes this falls off and is only on newer nike boxes.)
7. Nike has 4 seasons every year. They market NEW products to RETAILERS 3-6 months before the season starts and ship items 1 to 2 weeks before the season or "release date". Some higher end products have special in store release dates. So if you see an item listed at eBay that isn't supposed to be released for another 3 weeks there's a good chance there fakes, since more than likely, nike hasn't begun shipping there items yet. Nike does not discount there products to ANYONE when the item is in its current season. After the season for that item has passed (3-6 months) then if Nike has more product than the retailers ordered they will begin a process called Closeout. Gradually reducing prices on items until all the product is gone. A final stage of there inventory cleanout is called HASH and this usually won't happen until 9-18 months after an items season started. At this point products are bought on a TAKE ALL basis. So most resellers will only have 1 or 2 of a size or a lot of 1 or 2 sizes and nothing else. So what does that tell you? If the item (including color scheme) is brand new in the store your not going to get it for really cheap. IF some one is selling the "NEW" item really, really cheap then it's fake.
What to look for on eBay.
#1. The seller should have the style and color # on there listing. If your desperate for the shoes ask the buyer to verify the style and color #. Additionally, the style color as seen on the box should be listed. (however some sellers state the general color since Nike's colors can sometimes be hard to comprehend).
2. If the seller is from overseas, exercise more caution. While Nike does sell to retailers and wholesalers overseas the cost of Nike's in those markets are generally much higher and not profitable for sellers to sell here in the US. (Conversely, US sellers often make a descent profit selling overseas).
BE VERY VERY CAREFUL WHEN PURCHASING FROM A SELLER SHIPPING FROM CHINA (or recently due to custom laws in Canada, Drop shipping from China to Canada to the US).
#3. Feedback can be MISLEADING!! Do NOT just assume that because they have 98%+ feedback that they are not fakes! Most people do not realize they are buying fakes @ the time of purchase and will give positive feedback before learning the truth. Actually if a seller does not have 99% feedback when they have over 1000's feedbacks left then more than likely they are either 1. selling fakes or 2 have terrible customer service. Either way you don't want to deal with them.
#4. A common tactic of sellers of Fake Nike's is to offer you the ability to "PICK" your size on a single listing. This is also in violation of eBay's rules
#5. Use sites that are official to compare the pictures in the auction to. www.niketown.com , www.Eastbay.com , www.finishline.com , www.footlocker.com are some good ones.
#6. Most legitimate sellers offer multiple payment methods. PayPal and Visa/MasterCard are very helpful if your not satisfied with your purchase or if something goes wrong, you can always salvage at least some of your money. This also means that the sellers financial information is on file somewhere, which usually means that they have nothing to hide, as well as their information is up to date. If the information isn't up to date, then they can't get their MONEY!!! Conversely, If you pay by Money order or Western Union then there's no way for you to salvage the situation if it turns out the seller is not legitimate. Finally, EBay and Paypal both offer dispute programs.
#7. With fraud running rampant on internet business these days most sellers use some sort of verified sellers program to help prove there legitimacy. Some examples are BBB & Square trade Seal. There's a new one that I can't think of the name but many of the top sellers are now using. Most EBay auctions have a "verified by" seal on there auctions. If you click on the link most times it will give you a rating and tell you more about the company.
#8. Take your time and do some research, if a deal seems to good to be true, it more than likely is.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Good luck and happy bidding!
This article was written by SHOEBOXSAVINGS an eBay Power Seller.
www.shoeboxsavings.com and www.ebaystores.com/shoeboxsavings
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