No Brainer

Nike Air Generate MSL running shoes

I just bought a pair of shoes from Uniqlo that cost me ¥790. Now that is cheap! I thought they would be a waste of money because they were so cheap. I thought that my feet would hurt shortly after wearing them. Boy was I wrong! They are comfortable!

My Nike running shoes I bought last year are also comfortable. However, I no longer wear them except to run in, and I hate even wearing them to do that because they are so stinking noisy! They make noises every step I take. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak! They sound like the little kids shoes companies make these days that are made to make noises when the little toddlers walk.

The squeaky noise started about a week after buying them. The noise stopped briefly, but then came back and have gotten louder and louder. The squeaky noise was in one shoe at first, but now it comes from both shoes! These shoes were not cheap either. They cost me $65 on sale from $100.

While the shoes I bought at Uniqlo are not for running, I can at least walk in them…more than I can say for the Nikes.

Why can’t Nike make and sell shoes for much cheaper like they used to and guarantee their shoes like they used to?

Now, according to their online policy, shoes have to be returned before 30 days is up.

I have bought Nike shoes for over 30 years since I was a young kid. Once, when I had a problem with a pair of hiking shoes, had had them for almost a year even, I sent Nike my shoes and they got replaced. The sole was separating from the upper.

Uniqlo is not a major shoe company. Their main sales items are clothes. However, they can put out a shoe that they can sell for next to nothing and the shoe is made well and is comfortable. It’s also squeak-free.

For ¥790, I didn’t and don’t expect the Uniqlo shoes to last that long. But they have already surpassed my sale-priced Nike Air Generate MSL running shoes that cost me $65 on sale. I have had them for over a month and no squeak, probably because they are not Uniqlo Air.

Nike charges high prices because of their shoe technology, costs to pay factory workers and athletes they sponsor, overhead and shipping costs and the advertising they do worldwide. Personally, I could do without their ads. Their shoes are so well known now, they don’t need to advertise.

Production labour Materials Rent, equipment Supplier’s operating profit Duties Shipping Cost to Nike	$2.75 $9.00 $3.00 $1.75 $3.00 $0.50	$20.00
Research and development Promotion and advertising Sales, distribution, admin. Nike’s operating profit Cost to retailer	$0.25 $4.00 $5.00 $6.23	$35.50
Retailer’s rent Personnel Other Retailer’s operating profit Cost to consumer	$9.00 $9.50 $7.00 $9.00	$70.00

Taken from 1995 Nike production cost breakdown from an Indonesian plant.

I heard many years ago that a pair of Nike Air Jordan shoes cost between $2.50 to produce. I’m not sure, after reading the 1995 production costs from an Indonesian plant, if the Air Jordans truly cost that little because they are well-built shoes. They are made from high technology materials, last a long time and are made with real leather. However, considering how many shoes a factory worker can put out in a day, how very little money a factory worker makes or made, and the fact that Uniqlo and other shoe companies put out much cheaper shoes and are a whole lot smaller than Nike and probably much less efficient, I find it hard to believe that it costs Nike $20 to produce a pair of shoes in 2010.

I imagine it costs Nike much less these days with all the manmade materials used in the shoes. Their shoes are expensive because they can charge higher prices based on their popularity thanks to the number of professional athletes walking around with free shoes on their feet. Tack on the costs for advertising, and a possibly $20 pair of Nike Air Generates made in Vietnam cost $65 on sale…yet are poor quality.

Nike: Cut out all the advertising and high-priced athlete sponsoring. Make great shoes like you used to. Make them affordable, worth their quality. If Uniqlo, a much smaller company, can make ¥790 shoes, you guys (Nike) can do better. At least you used to be able to do that.

I’m tired of paying extra so athletes who can afford to buy high-priced shoes can wear them for free and I go around town with squeaky Nikes that should get replaced. So for now, I’m wearing my new Uniqlo shoes that have already passed the one-month mark, don’t squeak and feel comfortable enough to wear all day long.

The other day, I was out on my bicycle looking for some Japanese maple trees with red, yellow and orange leaves. I wanted to shoot some close-ups of some leaves with the morning sunlight in the background with brightly lit leaves shot with the flash. But to my surprise, I was unable to shoot anything with the flash.

I was able to shoot pictures with the flash down. But when I pressed the button to use the flash, the flash would pop up, but I was unable to shoot anything. The camera wouldn’t snap off a shot. I put the flash back down, and it worked. But with the flash up, it wouldn’t shoot.

Photograph Scenes And Subjects With Precision!

So I reset the camera to see if something in the camera was awry, but it didn’t make a difference. Luckily, I wasn’t very far from home. It was almost time to head out for church anyway, so I didn’t fool with the camera anymore and just called it a day with the camera.

My camera is now in the shop getting repaired. Hopefully, it won’t cost more than what my insurance covers, up to 12,000 yen since I’ve had the camera for over a year now.

I’ve shot somewhere around 60,000 photos since I’ve owned the camera. That’s one of the reasons I had to buy a new hard drive a few weeks ago! I’ve shot so many photos with the camera, I had run out of space on my computer.

Oh well, I’m glad I had insurance on the camera. I hope the button is the problem and nothing else! Anyone have any other problems with their Pentax *ist cameras?