The Complete Guide to Collectible Sneaker Condition

Shoemetrics evaluates every sneaker across four physical components. Each is scored independently, then combined into a single 1–10 overall grade. The system works across all brands - Nike, Jordan, Adidas, New Balance, and beyond.

You also need specific lighting to see many flaws. Under normal room lighting, a shoe can look clean. Under direct, angled light, glue stains and discoloration become obvious. Every Shoemetrics evaluation uses controlled lighting for this reason.

The upper is the largest scoring area - everything above the sole. The most common flaw? Glue stains. 99% of shoes have visible glue staining on the upper, and most people don't notice until you put the shoe under direct light.

The midsole sits between the upper and outsole - on Jordans, this is the visible foam or Air unit. Glue stains between midsole components are just as common as on the upper. Compression, scuffs, and discoloration from aging round out the typical issues.

The interior covers the insole, lining, size tag, and internal heel. Lint accumulation and pilling are the most common flaws here. The interior is the area people forget to check - and the area that's hardest to fake.

The sole (outsole) is the most honest part of the shoe. The factory sheen disappears after a single wear, dirt embeds in the tread pattern, and worn tread doesn't lie.

Every Shoemetrics grade falls on a 1–10 scale with half grades. The overall score is a weighted composite of all four component scores - not a simple average.

The size tag is a sneaker's birth certificate. We'll use Nike as the primary example - it's the most searched and most collected - but these principles apply across brands.

Adidas, New Balance, and other brands use different tag formats - guide coming soon.

Roughly 80% of the tags I evaluate come from China and Vietnam, with slightly more from Vietnam. The shift tells a story about tariffs and how they've reshaped the sneaker supply chain.

2006–2019 (Barcode Era)

Factory Code

Sizes

Production Start Date

Product Code

Style Code

Color Code

Production End Date

Made in Vietnam

UPC Barcode

Field Breakdown

• Factory Code: VT (top right) - identifies the manufacturing facility
• Style Code: 543261 - the shoe model identifier
• Colorway: 040 - the color variant
• Production Dates: 02/07/12 | 05/25/12 - manufacturing and shipping dates
• UPC/Barcode: present in this era, removed in later tags
• Country: MADE IN VIETNAM

Updated font structure with UPC barcode present. Six-digit style codes became universal. Nike added nikebetterworld.com branding to tags during this period. This is the era where Nike's tag system stabilized into a predictable, verifiable format - making authentication through tag comparison significantly more reliable.

2019–Present (QR Code Era)

Factory Code

US Size

Sizes

Product Code

Style Code

Color Code

Production Date

UPC

QR Code

Country

Field Breakdown

• Factory Code: VH (top right) - still in the same position across eras
• Style Code: DJ5019 - model identifier
• Colorway: 004 - color variant
• Production Dates: 02/23/22 | 05/04/22
• QR Code: replaced the barcode starting around 2019
• UPC: still printed as text, but barcode is gone
• Country: now shown in multiple languages

Major structural change: QR code replaced the barcode, country of manufacture now printed in multiple languages, sizing added BR/CN columns. The QR code links to Nike's product database - though counterfeiters have started replicating these as well. The factory code position (top right) hasn't moved, which makes it one of the most reliable reference points across eras.

Nike's style code system follows a consistent format: a base number identifies the silhouette, and a hyphenated suffix identifies the colorway. The suffix is often the fastest way to narrow down which version of a shoe you're looking at.

These are Nike/Jordan conventions. Adidas, New Balance, and other brands use different numbering systems - guide coming soon.

Nike's colorway suffix system is a general guideline - it doesn't work for everything, especially given that some silhouettes have several hundred colorways. But it was an early internal system for categorizing colors and it still holds for the most common codes.

Samples are pre-production pairs made for internal use - sales meetings, wear testing, photo shoots, or player approval. They're among the rarest sneakers in existence and carry distinct markings.

The most valuable samples are unreleased pairs - shoes that never made it to retail. The least valuable are typically 999 samples (production test runs). Everything else depends on the specific shoe, silhouette, and story behind it.

Browse by Country

Full Reference - by Sample Type

Global Geo Pilot (GGP) Samples

Pro Samples & Promo Samples

Special & Rare

Sample code data compiled with thanks to @donniebsoles, who originally published this research on Instagram. Used with permission.

How a sneaker was made - and when - directly affects what condition issues to expect. Materials, adhesives, and construction methods have changed dramatically over four decades.

• 1985–1995

  OG Era

  Most basketball shoes are leather or nubuck with polyurethane soles. Runners use more mesh with EVA and polyurethane. Polyurethane doesn't age well - most shoes from this era, except OG Jordan 1s (which have rubber soles), have fallen apart, are unwearable, or are actively crumbling. Rubber and vulcanized soles are the survivors. Unless it's a rubber-soled shoe, expect structural issues. These are display pieces, not wearable sneakers.

• 1996–2005

  Retro Boom

  Similar sole compounds to the OG era for the most collectible shoes. The most collectible pairs - Jordans, Air Maxes - have likely crumbled or are in pieces due to their sole compositions. Dunks, because of their rubber soles, are still going strong. Shape and sizing is off on aged pairs, glue is likely yellowed or separating. Dunks from this era can still be great. Jordans and Air Maxes are gambles - inspect the soles carefully.

• 2006–2015

  Modern Retro

  More Phylon (compression-molded EVA) which lasts significantly longer than polyurethane. A lot of these shoes are still presentable - probably not the most comfortable for daily wear, but they've largely held up structurally. Expect yellow glue stains and likely some glue separation. Wearable but showing age. Good value for collectors who want shoes they can actually put on.

• 2016–Present

  Current Era

  The invention of performance foams - Boost (Adidas), React (Nike), and others. These yellow but hold up well structurally over time. Most shoes from this era are in solid shape. Foam yellowing is the main cosmetic issue. The safest era to buy pre-owned - materials are more durable and age more gracefully.

The midsole is usually the first component to break down. It comes down to what the midsole is made of. There are 5 major types commonly used in sneakers, each with different characteristics around cushioning, durability, weight, and cost.

Comparison

Even unworn sneakers degrade over time. Understanding aging is essential for grading vintage and deadstock pairs accurately.

Yellowing & Oxidation

Most yellowing happens with shoes that aren't worn. Glues solidify and clear panels - like visible Air units - start to deteriorate. The biggest enemy of sneakers is actually never wearing them. Glue typically turns yellow after several years of sitting. Storage in direct sunlight accelerates yellowing dramatically.

Midsole Crumbling

Jordan 1s are great - rubber soles that last. Jordans 2 through 9 all have crumbling issues due to polyurethane. Almost all vintage Air Maxes have similar problems. Dunks last. When crumbling starts depends entirely on storage environment and whether the shoes were ever worn.

Glue Separation

Anything too dry will cause glue separation over time. The fix is, seriously, wearing them a couple of times a year. Using the shoe gives the glue its tensile strength. Shoes that sit in a box for a decade without being worn will separate.

Material Degradation

Rubber holds up best over decades. Polyurethane is the worst - it literally disintegrates. Leather ages well if stored properly. Mesh and synthetics hold up but can yellow and become brittle.

After evaluating 100,000+ pairs, pattern recognition becomes instinct. But here are the universal red flags that apply regardless of model.

Most Commonly Faked Models

Look at StockX's top 25 sellers on any given day - the top 5 most faked models will be somewhere on that list. Counterfeiters follow the money. Whatever is selling for the highest premium is what's being replicated.

Universal Red Flags

Size tag. 100%. The tag is the first thing I check on every single pair. Typography, kerning, layout, print quality - the tag tells you more than almost any other part of the shoe.

• Tag typography - font weight, character spacing (kerning), print quality
• Stitching inconsistencies - uneven spacing, loose threads, wrong color
• Material feel - wrong weight, texture, or finish compared to authenticated pairs
• Box label mismatches - style code on box doesn't match tag inside shoe
• Glue issues - excessive visible glue, wrong color adhesive

What Photos Can't Tell You

Weight and the feel of the material. You can study stitching and tags all day in photos, but you can't feel the difference between real and fake leather, or notice that a shoe is 20 grams lighter than it should be. That's why in-hand evaluation exists.