Source: US Customs and Border Protection / CBP
The sneaker game is on ice these days with scammers and resellers trying to get around it any way they can. A man in Melbourne, Australia found this out the hard way.
According to BBC, in October 2023, a man in The Land Down Under paid $30,000 for seven pairs of sneakers, including four pairs of the extremely rare and expensive Dior x Air Jordan 1s that currently go for $7,000 + depending on size. The problem was that the sneakers turned out to be about as Fugazi as it gets.
Having coughed up $3,800 (£2,040) to $10,000 (£5,370) for each pair of Nike Air Jordan 1 Dior sneakers and $2,690 (£1,445) for three other pairs of Nike Air Jordan 1s, the man was entitled to his of -I won money back, right? Well, not exactly.
BBC References:
After receiving the shoes, the man told Vcat he noticed “flaws” and contacted the seller for a refund – but received no response and went on to contact the teenager's father.
It claims the boy's father accompanied him to local verifiers, who immediately identified the teenager as a “fraudster and scam artist” by name. The teenager and his father disputed that the shoes were “non-authentic” and that the store he used to check the sneakers was authorized to certify them.
The vendor's father also told the court he only got involved in the situation to “protect the safety of his family” after his son was chased from a shopping centre.
Dismissing the claim in December, Vcat member Katherine Metcalf said the father's involvement was not enough to suggest he was liable for repayment and that the agreement was only between the man and the student.
Cold. As. Ice.
Since the seller was only 17 years old at the time of purchase, he was not of age to enter into any binding contract and was therefore not liable for the sale of the counterfeit products.
Another reminder that buying sneakers online from sites or people you don't know is a huge gamble. That being said, if you spend $30,000 on a few pairs of sneakers, you might want to reorganize your priorities in life. I am just saying.'
