LeBron James and Nike raised some eyebrows earlier this
month when it was revealed that the LeBron X will feature a model that could
retail for more than $300.
That price, even if it was exaggerated by at least $10, according to Darren Rovell, struck many people as absurd. Yet as Hall of Fame
center Patrick Ewing notes, none of those people have ever accidentally strolled into the high-end wing of the local megamall.
"There are $500 Louis Vuitton sneakers," Ewing
told ESPN.com. "You can say it's too high or too low, but if people can
afford it, there's a market for it."
Ewing's comments may seem like the naïve take of a
multimillionaire, but his point is valid. As with anything, the price of goods needs to be taken in context. Some people
pay thousands of dollars for wingtips and watches, yet nobody seems to get
outraged. Slap a three-digit price on a pair of basketball sneakers, though,
and suddenly materialism is supposedly going to bring about the downfall of
civilization.
Consider the opposite end of the price argument. While $300
may seem ridiculous for a pair of sneakers, a few critics ridiculed Stephon
Marbury when he attempted to market a pair of $15 basketball sneakers in 2006. The
fair price for any shoe depends on how much we each are willing to pay. To one
person, $75 may be a steal, whereas $50 may be obscenely expensive to
somebody's grandfather.
Ewing is hoping $100 is the right price for his line of
sneakers, which he reportedly is relaunching this week. Ewing's Pony sneakers
were fairly popular in the early 1990s, until it became unacceptable to have
anything other than a Swoosh on your feet. At that time, $100 was still a lot
of money to spend on sneakers — and Louis Vuitton still focused mainly on luggage
and women's handbags.
Have a question for
Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.
