Jordans galore!

I was in the city today and came across a very unique store. It's called Freestyle Kickz and basically sells Jordan shoes, Old Skool Nike shoes, Jordan singlets and other basketball related gear. As a b-ball fan and jordan worshipper, to me it was like the ultimate store.

Hoi had mentioned this store to me b4, and it was like an oasis buried in the desert - like Alladin's cave. They had like all the Jordans! I don't know the actual names of all the types, but I recognised most of them - the red/black one that he wore in 98', the white one with the black stripe down the side that he wore in '95 (the year of the comeback). I was like a kid in a candy store! I was like touching all of them, in awe of these jewels.

They were all like collector's items. And the prices reflected this and they were gi-normous (is that a word?). Absurd. Prices in the range of $350-400 were common. Remember these are limited edition shoes, some of them never to be produced again. But the thing is, who's going to pay these amounts for these shoes. Maybe on Ebay, maybe in a basketball mecca like New York, maybe in Hong Kong. But definently not in Chinatown, Sydney. I even heard one of the sales assistants say that one of the Jordans in the window was worth $800. I'm sorry, but no one in their right mind would pay that much unless they were a full-on die hard jordan collector.

I gotta give props to the owner of the store for selling them, cause otherwise I'd never be able to get my grubby hands on them and see them in person. However, I'm almost definently sure that this store will struggle to survive. Firstly, these products are only wanted by die-hard jordan fans. And even a jordan fan like myself (who has several jordan items of clothing) has an upper limit as to how much they will pay for a pair of Jordan shoes. THe max that I would pay is what...... $200??. There's not much of a market for these kinda items.

ALso, the store is in a very isolated area. It is seriously hidden. I only went there because Hoi told me where it was. And the rundown sign facing the street looks really cheap - hardly likely to bring foot traffic in.

Lastly, the sales assistants don't seem like they knew that much about the shoes - I heard that a die-hard basketball fan owns it (he would have to be wouldn't he) but to sell those kinda shoes you need someone that has an intimate knowledge of the shoe to help sell it i.e. the history of the shoe, a sense of who Jordan is, his place in NBA history. Then again, if your a Jordan obsessed, you'll buy the shoes regardless of who's selling them. You'll know everything about the shoe and its market value.

I have a fear for this shop as well. They sell expensive, rare Jordans. They are in an isolated area. They are run by some female sales assistants (well at least when I was there). You can touch and feel and see the prices of the Jordans. There is like no barcode security on the shoes. I think you get where I am heading. All this equals potential target for a robbery. I pray that no one does this as this store truly has a place in the city. Away from the city smog, smell of Burger King and the beggars on the street panhandling is a buried treasure.

There is only one word that can describe this store and Smiegel said in best in Lord of the Rings...................... "Preciousssssssss".