People have lined up as early as five days in advance to wait for Nike’s (NKE) limited-edition Air Jordans to go on sale.
The sneakers, Air Jordan 2 Retro “Just Don,” are being sold at the Jordan Brand store in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune reports that they cost $650 and come with a red leather cap donning the Air Jordan Wings logo. They’re also sold in children’s sizes for $350, but without the hat.
Enrique Zamora, a fan of the brand, began waiting in line on Monday morning to ensure he’d be the first to purchase them. “I stay true to Michael Jordan,” he told the Tribune. “It’s good for sports and for fashion, and you get to rep a guy that did some amazing stuff.”
Others are entrepreneurs making an investment. Since each customer is only entitled to buy one pair, Vaughn Simmons, a Chicago native, enlisted family members to wait in line for him to later sell them online. Simmons’ uncle, who’s being compensated $100 for each day he waits in line, told the Tribune the sneakers can easily resell for $2,000 or more. That would give Simmons a profit of about $1,450 a pair—enough for him to buy his own, pay his uncle, and still come out with a solid margin.
Nike could not immediately be reached for comment.
