Highly collectible, boasting more collaborations than Dr Dre, the Nike Dunk rightly finds itself in the sneaker Hall of Fame. Boasting an endless list of accolades, and a timeless but versatile design, there is no wonder the whole world has been asking ‘where can I buy Nike Dunks?’ since 1985. Since its release, in August of that year, the Nike Dunk has continually survived the test of time, navigating the best part of four decades, leaving footprints all over the sneaker world. What began as a proof of concept, amalgamating four earlier Nike models; combining elements from the Air Force 1, Nike Terminator, Nike Legend, and the soon to be infamous Air Jordan 1. The Nike Dunk quickly developed into a shoe game staple, just perhaps not in the way anyone would have expected.
See, despite the initially positive reception, the fanfare surrounding the release of the original Nike Dunk was short lived, quickly becoming old news, overshadowed by the unmistakable silhouette of the Jumpmans premier high top. It is a familiar story, particularly in the often fickle world of sneakers, and for the majority of shoes that would have been the end, roll credits. For the Nike Dunk, however, it was merely a fork in the road. As the years that followed, saw the the Dunk redefine itself, and forge a new path, in an entirely different world.
They say, one mans trash is another mans treasure, but in the years that followed the Dunks debut, this adage went largely unnoticed from within the brand. You see, unbeknownst to Nike, who spend the best part of the 1990s trying, but failing to infiltrate skate culture, with mark-missing albeit interestingly named offerings like the Nike Choad, Nike Schimp, and Nike Snack. Conversely the Nike Dunk that found itself out of favour, selling at discount stores was being quietly appropriated by the skate community. The Nike Dunk was cheap, accessible, and for its practical applications; coming pre equipped with the right sort of cushioning, support and traction, originally intended for the court, but coincidently perfect for the board.
It wasn’t until 1998, but eventually, Nike caught up to the underground success of the Dunk, and started to revamp the design specifically for the skaters. It wasn’t really until 2001, when the Nike Dunk traded in its green card and gained citizenship in the skate world for good as part of the Nike SB subdivision that officially launched in 2002. The Dunk was re-engineered to not only suit the board from a technical stand point, but also acknowledged the entirety of its culture through its designs, in the same manner each Air Jordan is a reflection of the court and its history. Its successful, however, wasn’t solely determined by the skating. Nike wanted its shoe to stick around this time, so decided to start a trend that would have the whole world saying “where can I buy Nike Dunks?” for years to come.
Collaboration was the key. A concept in streetwear that is all so common now, but in the early noughties, was underexplored to say the least. Link ups with the likes of Stussy, Supreme, Levi’s, Diamond Supply Co., and Zoo York really set the tone for years to come, and created a new standard. These releases have often be credited with igniting the resale market, and camp-out culture, and are widely responsible for immortalising the Nike Dunk SB in streetwear culture. To such an extent that the limited release strategy for the Dunk caused it to spend most of the 2010s behind glass, or covered in bubble wrap, held by owners more concerned with their value than what they look like on foot.
This all changed, when the brand decided enough was enough, and new, more accessible forms of the shoe once again began to saturate the market in the mid to late 2010s and from their the cycle began again. Eventually culminating in the return of the Dunk collaboration, which has birthed some of the most anticipated releases in the brand history. The Travis Scott x Nike Dunk SB Low Cactus Jack that hit the market in February 2020 for example, has gone down as an all time shoe, and the late Virgil Ablohs reimagining of the silhouette under the Off-White moniker changed the game forever. Today, grabbing a pair of Nike Dunks for retail on release day takes some doing, but it can be done, and even if you have to pay a little more, the reward on your investment is very much worth the cost.
Where can I buy Nike Dunks?
Nike Dunks really run the gamut in terms of both their availability and demand, which ultimately has an impact on price. The Dunk catalogue, like the majority of shoes in todays world, have two markets – retail, and resale. Every shoe at one point or another becomes available for purchase at retailers, whether that be in brick-and-mortar stores, or online. The retail price on release depends on the shoe, but in the case of the Nike Dunk it ranges from £70-£120 depending on the design itself. However, getting your hands on a pair at this price in a lot of cases is the tricky bit. This is because in most cases, particularly when we are talking about the more sought after models, the demand for these drops often outweighs the supply. So the opportunities are somewhat limited on release day, and you have to act fast, with a lot of sneakerheads turning to other means to snag a pair. One of the options involves raffles and prize draws, by entering these types of events, you can gain the chance to buy a pair on release for retail price without having to worry about the competition. These are effective if you are lucky, but naturally have a low hit rate, but are certainly worth a try as otherwise you have to be either front of the queue or very fortunate.
This is where the resale market comes in. Most drops leave a lot of people empty handed, with many sneakerheads more than willing to pay over the odds to land the shoe they desired. A huge faction within streetwear is the resellers, people who are lucky enough to obtain shoes at resale price, but then treat them as appreciating assets to be sold on for profit. The price these shoes can reach really does depend on the shoe itself; how long it has been off the shelves, how rare the drop was, its size, as well as the condition of the shoe itself. Reselling can for some people be a full time occupation, but sometimes be just as a result of circumstance, where they are either gifted shoes or have bought shoes that are either the wrong size, or they have change their minds about.
Either way, the secondary market has grown since the early noughties to be a massive industry, and its been largely successful thanks to the emergence of a number of online platforms like Laced, that are responsible for mediating these types of transactions between resellers, and buyers of these shoes no longer available at retail. If you want to know where can I buy Nike Dunks? Well these online platforms in todays scene are the safest places to obtain sneakers including Dunks once they sell out at retailers, and are the most common place you will find in demand pairs new and old, for the best available price, even if you do end up paying above the original retail!