Back in the day - fakes were horrible recreations of famous (and sometimes) non-existent models. They looked ridiculous. The shape, materials, colors, etc. were ALL off. But today - fakes (or UAs) are

Back in the day - fakes were horrible recreations of famous (and sometimes) non-existent models. They looked ridiculous. The shape, materials, colors, etc. were ALL off. But today - fakes (or UAs) are recreated with more care and attention to detail than even the authentic pairs. Some even argue that fakes are created in the same factories, by the same people, with the same materials (and I know everyone has a take on that and honestly - I don’t really care what your take on it is if you can’t actually PROVE it).  
 
Many people pay me to ‘authenticate’ shoes, and I said before that I HATE it. I think it’s dumb and it’s naive and I think it’s almost pointless and I think if you’re spending that much money on a pair of shoes you should really know what it is you’re buying. Don’t put that on someone else.  
 
But I only started to ‘authenticate’ shoes after I started ‘grading’ (the condition) of shoes. IMO they are different things entirely. But when I grade - I find everything. I find every flaw, every inconsistency, every misplaced thread, every speck of dirt...and it’s all disclosed and accounted for in the grade report. That’s more or less of THE POINT of grading.  
 
It’s a helluva thing when you realize that this is real life; as a grader - ‘official, authentic’ shoes actually grade a half-point to a full two points lower than the replica or UA version of that same shoe would. And not only me - as the ONLY person with a grading platform - understands this. Regular people are picking up on it, too.  
 
At what point do you ask yourself - ‘am I being played? What am I paying $1.5k for a pair of pre-scuffed civilists for when I can buy a damn near identical pair in better shape for $100? When are YOU going to demand more? 
 
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