The Factory Flaw That Increased Value by over 100,000%

Factory flaws are a common blight on sneakers and often lead to heartbreak and disappointment when unboxing a freshly delivered pair.  Loose threads, excess glue leakage and even asymmetry in what is supposed to be a perfect pair are unfortunately an inevitable part of manufacturing. This typically will reduce the value of the pair, forever marking them as undesirable and always to be rejected in favour of another pair, but what about an upside down swoosh on a pair of Air Jordan 1s?

Image Via @Freaky_Blink for Dropout Milano

Believe it or not, this pair of ‘Reverse Shattered Backboard’ Air Jordan 1s are a 100% legitimate pair straight from Nike. The 1 of 1 pair belongs to Andrea Canziani, founder and co-owner of Dropout Milano, a store in Milan specializing in limited sneakers and streetwear. Immediately recognising the bizarre flaw to be a blessing in disguise, he kept the pair in deadstock condition, and marked up the price to somewhere in the region of £130,000, roughly 100,000% above retail price. This particular colourway was already fairly limited and fetches between £400-£600 on StockX, but this not so subtle defect has propelled this particular pair into the stratosphere. The pair currently resides in Dropout Milano, waiting to be purchased, no doubt as a collector’s item to be displayed in a glass cabinet for the rest of its days.

As is the case with anything however, value is only determined by what someone is willing to pay. Does the fact that no one has snapped them up yet indicate that they have gone the same way as every other factory flawed pair and are considered worthless and destined for an eternity of gathering dust, or is there a buyer out there who would happily part with their money for this undoubtedly unique shoe?