Fake Friday: Shelfyourshoes
What is real and what is not? With an abundance of sneaker stores available, the ever-growing resale culture and new limited drops happening almost weekly, the reproduction of sneakers is happening more and more, and it’s easy to get lost in the mix of it all. That’s why this month we’re bringing back a Shelflife favourite (or not) - Fake Friday’s!
Without a doubt the store that we get calls, DM’s and queries about the most on a weekly basis is Shelfyourshoes. They seem to rank as one of the “most wanted” sneaker spots and often not for good reason… so let’s get into it.
Aside from the name, perhaps the first standout thing - Shelfyourshoes is using a similar name to Shelflife, in a way that is trying to align with us. Choosing a name for a sneaker store that starts with the same word as ours, increases its searchability and, unfortunately in this instance, tricks the public into aligning its legitimacy. It is interesting however, that when you search Shelfyourshoes (apart from Shelflife coming up) the first page presents a list of various searches- ranging from Tik Tok to scam-detector.com- all looking into to the validity of the store.
Looking at their actual website and socials, with their 18,3K followers on Instagram and clean website, Shelfyourshoes will appeal to many customers seeking a new pair of sneakers. The first thing that raised an eyebrow on the website was that every single sneaker was on sale. This was not limited to popular or last stock shoes, but included items like the Air Force 1 Low "G-Dragon" sneakers which sold out in a matter of hours, were not made available in South Africa (unless through a reseller) and are sold on sites like Farfetch for up to R18 000. Shelfyourshoes however has them for R1200 before sale price and R960 on sale. Although the price on Farfetch is high, it’s an established and trustworthy site that more accurately reflects the sneaker market.
Another thing that caught our attention was that almost every sneaker was available in full size curves. This was interesting for many reasons- firstly, it is nearly impossible to stock that many sizes of a hyped item and not have it ever be unavailable or sold out. Secondly, having sizes ranging from UK3-UK11 is uncommon, and usually GS sizes are priced differently. Lastly, items that can’t even be found on reputable sneaker stores are available in excess on Shelfyourshoes. A good example of all of these factors is seen with the Nike x Off-White Dunk Low “Pine Green” sneakers. These are out of stock on GOAT and other sneaker stores, but are for sale at R2000 on Shelfyourhsoes in sizes UK3-UK10.
The website is also only half-developed which doesn’t align with their professional image. Here, the “About Us” page information is wording from a website template and has nothing to do with the store. The wishlist, social media, and contact buttons all don’t work which should not be the case with an official website. They also utilise “recently bought” phishing pop-ups. Added to this, their Instagram comments are turned off on their latest posts.
The abovementioned are just a few examples of this industry that should raise red flags for anyone. It is hard to tell off their images whether or not these sneakers are legit, but there are ways to know by using legitcheck.app or searching online. What we do know is that Jordan x Dior Air Retro Highs are currently on the market for around R150 000 compared to Shelfyourhshoes R55 999 and that Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Black/Red” which are so difficult to find are fully stocked on Shelfyourshoes in UK4-UK9.
Having said all this, we are aware of the socio-economic climate of our country and often reproduced or “fake” sneakers are more accessible to people. The issue lies in the fact that nowhere on their website or socials does it say that they are selling reproduced sneakers which becomes a problem. Here, customers believe that they are merely getting original shoes for a good price. Not differentiating between originals and replicas, but still charging fairly high prices is also part of our concern as people are not getting their money’s worth. If full disclosure was made available by Shelfyourshoes, customers wouldn’t feel the need to ask us at Shelflife for verification.
As an independent store we understand how it feels to want to grow your business and create a community & name for yourself. As sneaker lovers we appreciate the culture around streetwear and the heritage of the brands which we sell in our industry. Mostly, we feel that whether it be shoes or business, authenticity is important.