Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.<\/p>\n
Sneaker trading has the ability to generate two kinds of emotions. There are those feelings of joy when you come across a sneaker you’ve been searching for, and then there’s that feeling of regret when you let go of a shoe you wish you still had in your possession. Most of us have been on both sides of the spectrum and can vividly recall a sneaker trade that transpired in the recent past or years ago.<\/p>\n
Our sixth installment of Kick Chronicles<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0features multiple members of the Snkrs Day staff detailing their best and worst sneaker trades. Check out some of the unbelievable sneaker trades we’ve made – for better or for worse – and share your own stories of unforgettable sneaker trades below.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n There has never been a shoe that I gave away and regretted doing it. \u00a0I have given away some VERY nice shoes in my life: Yeezys, South Beaches, Miami Nights, KRINKS just to name a few. Yet, the recipient was always someone who appreciated them. \u00a0The best part is that great shoes always find a way of coming back around to me when I least expect them. \u00a0I don’t know if it is paying it forward or sneaker karma, but I subscribe to the idea that the best way to receive is to give.<\/p>\n The best trade I have ever made was with a friend from high school 10 years after the initial proposal. \u00a0I offered any shoe for a pair of Penny IIIs. \u00a0My friend just wasn’t willing to give them up. \u00a0Thanks to Facebook, he tracked me down and said he would take me up on my offer for a pair of brand new AF1 lows. \u00a0Not only was it great to connect with an old friend from my days in Fresno, but it was even better that at last I could scratch the Penny IIIs off the list.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>:\u00a0MattHalfhill<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>:\u00a0nicekicks<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As many kicks as I currently have, I’m not really big on trading sneakers. In fact, I can only recall two instances in which I have. While I can’t say I took a loss on either one, the most memorable to me had to be trading a pair of Nike Air Max Griffey 1s for the “Dunkman” LeBron 7s. Since it was and still is my favorite Dunkman to date, this trade was a no-brainer for me. Plus, I remembered that I actually had two pair of those Griffeys – the second I received as a gift.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @sidashford<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: sidashford<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Summer 2012. LeBron had just won his first ring, and his shoes were hotter than ever in any colorway. Luckily, I found a\u00a0pair of Nike LeBron 9 “Freegums” at a thrift shop for $30. I wore them a couple of\u00a0times but just casually.\u00a0One night, I was browsing the Nike and Jordan keywords on Craigslist and randomly\u00a0came across someone with a barely-used pair of “College Blue” Air Jordan XVIIs. With that being my second favorite Air\u00a0Jordan silhouette\u00a0of all time, I immediately texted him and asked if he’d take anything in trades (I was a broke intern). First thing he said was LeBrons, so we met up the next night at McDonalds and traded straight up. It turns out his friend gave him the XVIIs for some odd reason. Then, he gave up the gem for a pair of LeBrons that he could have went and\u00a0got brand new and on sale\u00a0at the mall. Dumb newbies.<\/p>\n I’m proud to say that\u00a0I’ve never made any truly\u00a0regrettable trades, but my biggest rethink\u00a0was for my\u00a0first college Spring Break. My older brother and some friends wanted to do a road trip to Florida and hop on a 4-night\u00a0cruise. They found a great deal for $350.\u00a0I was had no money at the time, but people would always tell me to let them know if I ever wanted to sell any of my sneakers. Long story short, I cashed out my “Mist Blue” Air Jordan 4, “Varsity Red” Air Jordan 10 and\u00a0WMNS Air Jordan 8 “Aqua” for $500 for the Spring Break cruise. I’m a firm believer in MEMORIES OVER MATERIALS, so I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but today I really wish I still had those three rare pairs. Shout out to my boy Booder in Lansing. You’re welcome bro!<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @JHowieee<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: JHowieee<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’ve never really been into trading sneakers for sneakers, but I do recall a swap that I still don’t classify as a win nor a loss. I’m not into Foams like most people, but I remember loving the Metallic Pewter” Foamposites when we first covered them on Snkrs Day. \u00a0I felt like it was the closest thing I can get to an all-grey Foamposite so I made an effort to snag it. Once I got it, my best friend offered some cash for it, and I politely declined. Then, he dangled a carrot in front of me by offering his yet-to-be-worn “Silver Anniversary” Air Jordan 1 – with the suitcase – that released around the same time the year before. I’d like to say I came out on top because I wear those 1s as much as any other shoe in my collection, but that was a pretty nice pair of Foamposites I let go. Oh well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @geokthree<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: geokthree<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n My worst transaction was trading my “Tour Yellow” Air Jordan 4s. I don’t even remember what shoe I traded it for, but it was clearly for something I don’t even care about anymore. I didn’t really have the money to buy many sneakers, so trading on forums was really one of the best ways for me to get something new. Turns out seven years later, that is still one of my favorite Air Jordan colorways of all time. I hope it’s re-released soon because ‘sneaker regret’ is the worst.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @petersim<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: petersim<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As far back as I can recollect, I\u2019ve never traded a pair of shoes with friends. I\u2019ve given a few away, received some great hand-me-downs from my big cousin Ty, but never straight up done a one-for-one. The closest \u201ctrade\u201d and also the best comes from a return I made back when I was in eighth grade. Jason Williams was my guy – still is – and the Foot Locker at my local mall had on display the all-black Nike Shox Stunner that he rocked with the Memphis Grizzlies. I saved up my chore money, picked up a pair and went straight to the gym to hoop in them. After a couple games of 21, it was apparent I had gotten the wrong size and that these wouldn\u2019t be much fun to play in. A few weeks later, one of the bands broke on one of the Shox columns when putting them on. Is that a reason to return? In most cases, no, but weeks before I\u2019d seen someone return a pair of R4s that they mowed the lawn in so I thought it was worth a shot.<\/p>\n To my luck, they took them back and I\u2019m pretty sure they gave me cash. I picked up a pair of Nike Air Elevates in White\/Carolina Blue (a Foot Locker exclusive that was like the Hyperflights\/Zoom Turbines) and a pair of White\/Red Reebok X-Beams. Somehow I still had some extra money, so I hit up Sibley Shoes and copped a pair of Nike Air Pure Assists, which actually looked really good in the “Cool Grey” patent colorway. All three shoes got regular rotation for hoops and casual wear, with no regrets on any. While I\u2019d still take a pair of Stunners over any of those three today, I had a lot of fun rocking the ones I got with the return money. It should also be noted that years later I could never get a job at that Foot Locker, so maybe it was karma for my shady swap.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @ianstonebrook<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: ianstonebrook<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am not much of a sneaker trader (there aren’t a lot individuals who wear a Men’s size 7 and are really into kicks here in Austin), so my only real stories of sneakers won and lost derive from my inability to pass up on a pair of kicks I really want, but aren’t available in my size. When the “Statue of Liberty” SB Dunks dropped, I knew I had to have a pair, since I immediately fell in love with the story, color and paint-peeling aesthetic. However, the smallest size my local SB shop got at the time was an 8.5. I bought them anyway, knowing there was never any real way I could wear them, even with double socks.<\/p>\n Flash forward a year, and I am sitting at my desk chatting with my friend and co-worker Mike P. He tells me he always wanted the “Statue of Liberty” Dunks, but never scored a pair – and he wears an 8.5. I sold him my pair for retail that week, and he now rocks them regularly. While I am still a tiny bit jealous every time I see Mike don one of my most sought-after shoes, I’ve never regretted selling them to someone who can actually wear them.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @shelton_britt<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: shelton_britt<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The only sneaker trade I’ve ever made was back in Fall of ’04 when I was a freshman in high school. That summer before, I had picked up a pair of Black\/Red-White Air Force 1 Mids. Although a simple general released colorway, my friend Ryan coveted this pair of kicks. One day while playing some ball in the gym before class, Ryan made a proposal I could not refuse. He asked to trade his “Olympic” Air Jordan 7s for my Black\/Red-White Forces. I thought he was joking at first until he asked again. I excitedly accepted his offerand have yet to feel any remorse about that decision.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @C_White1911<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: c_white1911<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By far the worst trade I ever made was swapping my White\/Silver LeBron IV for the Air Jordan XX2 Black\/Varsity Red-Metallic Silver because I had no foresight into how great the LeBron sneaker line would become. I was on the freshman basketball team that year and a varsity player approached me about swapping. At the time, I was a Jordan fanatic so I figured I was winning in this situation. Now, I wish I could jump in The Delorean and tell myself, ‘Don\u2019t do it.’<\/p>\n The best trade I ever made was swapping my Black\/Chrome Air Jordan 2 for the White\/Varsity Red Air Jordan 6. The original colorway of the 6 is a classic, so I couldn’t pass up. Plus, I ended up living with the person I traded with, and the 2s somehow made their way back to my closet. It became a win-win.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong>: @_GWatts<\/a>\/Instagram<\/strong>: 1nastynupe<\/a><\/p>\n **Note**<\/strong> Send a\u00a0Kick Chronicle<\/em> of your most best and worst sneaker trades to info@snkrsday.com<\/strong> for a chance to be featured on the site next week. In the subject of the email, type the words “Kick Chronicle” and include your story, your social media info (Twitter\/Instagram), plus a picture of the shoes in the body of the email.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. <\/p>\n Sneaker trading has the ability to generate two kinds of emotions. There are those feelings of joy when you come across a sneaker you’ve been searching for, and then there’s that feeling of regret when you let go of a shoe you wish you still had in your possession. Most of us have been on both sides of the spectrum and can vividly recall a sneaker trade that transpired in recent past or years ago.<\/p>\n Our sixth installment of Kick Chronicles features multiple members of the Snkrs Day staff detailing their best and worst sneaker trades. Check out some of the unbelievable sneaker trades we’ve made – for better or for worse – and share your own stories of unforgettable sneaker trades below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":324432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1225857],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMatt Halfhill<\/h3>\n
Nike Air Force 1 for Nike Air Penny III<\/h2>\n
Sid Ashford<\/h3>\n
Nike Air Griffey Max 1 “Freshwater” for Nike Air Max LeBron VII “Dunkman”<\/h2>\n
Jordan Howenstine<\/h3>\n
Nike LeBron 9 “Freegums” for Air Jordan XVII “College Blue”<\/h2>\n
George Kiel<\/h3>\n
Nike Air Foamposite One “Pewter” for Air Jordan 1 “Silver Anniversary”<\/h2>\n
Peter Sim<\/h3>\n
Air Jordan 4 “Tour Yellow”<\/h2>\n
Ian Stonebrook<\/h3>\n
Nike Shox Stunner for Three Different Shoes<\/h2>\n
Brittany Shelton<\/h3>\n
Nike SB Dunk Hi “Statue of Liberty”<\/h2>\n
Cameron White<\/h3>\n
Nike Air Force 1 Mid Black\/Red-White for Air Jordan 7 “Olympic”<\/h2>\n
Greg Watts<\/h3>\n
Nike Zoom LeBron IV White\/Silver for Air Jordan XX2 Black\/Varsity Red<\/h2>\n