Image via Complex Original
Sneaker boutiques have seen their rise over the past decade and have become an integral part of sneaker culture. They provide sneakerheads with limited kicks and collaborations that can not be found elsewhere. Without them, we'd all have a scratch that we wouldn't be able to itch.
Sneaker boutiques also piss us off. The employees are rude, they don't have the most simple sneakers that every store should stock, and the shop owners raise the prices to ridiculous heights. There are plenty of quality shops out there, but there are plenty that suck, and here's why. Here are The 10 Most Annoying Things About Sneaker Boutiques.
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Making a T-Shirt for Every Release.
Matching your T-shirt to kicks is not the wave anymore. Sorry to burst your bubble. It was cool back in 2006, but not anymore. But sneaker boutiques feel the need to make a corresponding tee for every release.
We understand, it's a quick for them to make cash and add on a purchase. But if you're offering quality service, it will pay dividends that your shitty T-shirt, designed by your intern, can not provide.
Prices aren't the same wherever you go.
Usually, chain retailers follow the manufacturer-suggest retail price. Boutiques, however, do not. The pricing is how much they feel like selling it for. This wasn't any bigger than when Nike SBs were at their peak. Some shops intentionally raised the price to ridiculous levels just to see if people would pay it, but then drop the price down when known customers walked into the store.
It sucks to get duped, and some people don't know any better when it comes to sneakers. With this said, always do your research before you cop a pair of kicks from a sneaker boutique.
Getting a pair of sneakers shipped from overseas is a hassle.
You finally caved in: You ordered the sneakers from the overseas boutique. Now you have to deal with actually getting the shoes. Customs can suck. They can hold your sneakers and have them take an awful long time to reach your door.
Sure, there are boutiques within the U.S., but they don't get all the same releases as those overseas. If only they could put on the package: "These are just sneakers, can you please let them travel safely to the recipient's door." Until that day comes, we all have to deal with this annoyance.
Elitism.
There's nothing worse than feeling like you're beneath someone, who are they to judge you? But at a lot of sneaker boutiques, there's a prevalent attitude that the customers aren't equal to the employees. The customers treated with dirty stares and may even get hit with questions that are made to expose someone's newness to the sneaker scene.
Maybe the shop employees are cooler than people who come and shop there, but this should never be portrayed to the customers who spend money and keep the store in business.
Exchange rates.
Some of the best sneaker stores are overseas, and this means that the U.S. Dollar isn't worth shit over there. You're going to have to pay more bread just to get the sneakers you want. Having to pay nearly $200 for a pair of kicks that retail for about $120—and not from a re-seller—will leave your broke, quick.
Creating terrible collaborations.
Sneaker boutiques are readily given the once in a lifetime opportunity to design their own color schemes and sell them to the public. This is a chance most people will never receive, and what do they do? They screw it all up.
There are plenty of dope collaborations that come out all the time, but, to be truthful, some just seem slapped together and forced. A collaboration should be special, mean something to both parties, and always be treated as such. Not just a chance to make a couple grand.
Employees on Their Phones.
Every store needs a phone, just in case a customer has a question about a product, but when an employee is chatting up their friends while you're trying to shop, this is a big issue. To be honest, it's pretty fucked up.
If you've ever been in a store where the ambiance is a 17-year-old shopgirl gossiping with her friend about some hypebeast she went on a date with, you can easily be enticed to walk out and not make a purchase.
But it's not just employees talking on the phone, they often seem more excited about the text conversation that they're partaking in than actually making a sale. Which, you know, is their job.
Not having bigger, GR releases.
Sneaker boutiques have all the Tier Zero sneakers that you can't find other places, but it might be tougher to get your size in a pair of LeBrons or Kobes at any of these shops, or even a pair of white on white Air Force 1s.
We can't hate, we do love limited sneakers, but not every amazing release or sneaker you want to purchase is one of 200.
Employees saving sizes for their friends and rigging raffles.
Not every store is going to have your size, but when you go to a sneaker boutique, it always makes you second guess if they're telling you the truth when they say, "Sorry, we don't have a 9.5."
Sneaker boutiques are notorious for holding sizes for their friends. Sure, this happens even at chain stores, but when a sneaker drops, you're the first person in line and you don't get your size, it makes you scratch your head. This also has been speculated to happen during releases where there are supposed to be raffle and ticketing systems.
Not saying "Hi."
If you walk into Foot Locker or Finishline, you can't escape employees who want to talk to you and ask if you need to a size in a sneaker, but at a sneaker boutique, you're lucky if you get acknowledged at all.
Saying, "Hi," to a customer is a friendly way of greeting them and letting them know they're welcomed at your store. Dealing with an employee who can't even put forth the effort to make you feel comfortable in their shop is not only disrespectful, but a quick way to make up someone's mind to shop elsewhere.
