Is Nike relaunching its previous editions of Michael Jordan’s Jordan brand sneakers a way to bring back fans what they love? Well, considering the brand has been re-launching a very limited number of these sneakers, it’s not about meeting the demands of the fans. Then what exactly is the big plan over here, you ask? Well, a post shared by the official X account of KicksFinder has revealed the sports equipment and apparel brand’s secret tactic.
“DISCUSSION: Is Nike artificially bringing back hype and resell… Have Jordan’s been harder to get in 2025?” read the post’s caption. It included two videos breaking down what’s really happening behind the scenes. The first video’s audio laid it out clearly—Nike is playing the long game with the resale market.
“Pairs like these Cool Grey Nines that dropped this morning had only 13,000 pairs, and that made resale skyrocket to almost 300 bucks. Nike’s new CEO knows this, so every single new release under him has had low supply, which makes resale high,” the video explained. Sound familiar? It’s the same reason why Nike’s Dunk sneakers became insanely popular in 2021 and 2022—because they were nearly impossible to get.
The second video featured popular video creator Elliot Page, who broke it down even further. Think about it—when Nike releases only a handful of pairs, resellers instantly jack up the prices. That leaves fans with just two frustrating choices: gamble on securing a pair during the limited release or cough up an outrageous amount to buy them secondhand.
And here’s where it gets even trickier. The hype surrounding these re-releases? That’s all part of Nike’s playbook. The more excitement they generate, the higher the resale prices climb. It’s a cycle that keeps sneakerheads chasing after every drop, but at what cost?
DISCUSSION: Is Nike artifically bringing back hype and resell?
Have Jordan’s been harder to get in 2025?
IG: shoegeekflips; elliotpagesneakers pic.twitter.com/WzHHjEFdxV
— KicksFinder (@KicksFinder) March 16, 2025
With frustration building, could this be why Nike is starting to feel the heat? Last year, the company saw its biggest stock drop in 13 years, plunging 20 percent. That kind of dip doesn’t happen out of nowhere—something clearly isn’t sitting right with consumers.
And fans aren’t staying quiet about it either. The replies under KicksFinder’s post are filled with sneaker lovers calling out Nike’s tactics, questioning whether the brand is prioritizing hype over its loyal customers.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to one question—how long can Nike keep this up before fans decide they’ve had enough?
Fans react to Nike’s tactic of selling limited numbers of re-launched sneakers
“They make all the stuff we want limited. They make way too many pairs of stuff that we don’t want… eed to boost supply where the demand is,” one user vented. And honestly, can you blame them? Take the Air Jordan 1 “Banned” release, for example. Nike dropped just 10,000 pairs, and the frustration was impossible to miss. Some fans had no chance at all. No wonder sneakerheads are fed up. If Nike really wanted to bring back the classics for the fans, why make them so impossible to get?
Yet, despite all the outrage, people still chase these limited re-releases. There’s just something about that exclusivity that keeps sneaker culture alive. But let’s be real—it’s exhausting. Having to fight for a pair of shoes? That’s not exactly the experience fans signed up for. One X user summed it up perfectly: “… They like seeing dudes fight over cool grey 9s n shit! Nike is [trash emoji] for dat.”
And the frustration doesn’t stop there. Some sneakerheads believe Nike isn’t even benefiting from this artificial scarcity—only the resellers are. “Problem is, only resellers win bottom line Nike is a company that sells shoes, they need to sell shoes. This artificial low inventory will not benefit them as a company at all. Pretty stupid if you ask me…,” another user pointed out.
That argument makes sense when you crunch the numbers. Nike priced the AJ1 “Banned” at $250 a pair, meaning they made $2.5 million from the drop. Sounds like a big win, right? But factor in their massive marketing campaign—blocking out Michael Jordan’s sneakers with a black brick outside the United Center, plus an ad reimagining a world where Nike never paid the fine for the AJ1 “Banned” (which, by the way, they never did)—and the costs must have been sky-high. With such a limited stock, was it even worth it?
Meanwhile, some fans think Nike is playing the long game—keeping sneakerheads hooked by making the most desirable pairs ridiculously hard to get. “Pumped out a bunch of colorways nobody really wanted just to limit the ones people want… Wow,” one user pointed out.
But not everyone’s falling for the hype. One X user made it clear they weren’t buying into Nike’s game: “Not really I was at the Nike flagship store and I could’ve got a pair of those nines yesterday and I walked away. They’re ugly.”
So, what’s the endgame here? Nike’s strategy is clearly working—fans keep coming back, no matter how frustrating the process is. But at what point does the frustration outweigh the love for the brand? Well, the fall in the stocks might answer some of that.
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