With celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Brooklyn Beckham, and even Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema promoting Yeezy sneakers, it’s no surprise that they have become one of the most sought-after items in the world, but why are Yeezys so expensive? Read on to find out…
What are Yeezys?
Yeezys are a brand of sneakers that are the result of a collaboration between Kanye West and Adidas.
The first of the Yeezy line was the Adidas Yeezy 750 Boost which was released back in February 2015. The next shoe to hit the shelves was the Adidas Yeezy 350 Boost and the latest model is the Adidas Yeezy 950 Boost. (If you are wondering what the “Boost” refers to, it’s simply the name of the material used by Adidas to make these sneakers).
Yeezys are favored by real “sneaker-heads” due to the exclusivity of these ultra-cool sports shoes. There are four versions on offer today: Yeezy Boost 350, Yeezy Boost 350 v2, Yeezy Boost 750, and Yeezy Boost 950.
If the price of Yeezys wasn’t so darn steep, we’d all be thanking Mr. West for introducing us to a world where running shoes have become the pinnacle of fashion. The Yeezy Boost 350 and the Yeezy Boost 350 v2 models are both fully-fledged running shoes and are also perfect as casual, everyday footwear.
What is the history of Yeezy shoes?
Before collaborating with Adidas, Kanye West worked with Nike to produce the first wave of Yeezy sneakers. He was with Nike for 5 years until just after the release of the “Red Octobers” in 2013, when he left Nike to work with Adidas.
The reason behind the switch was that Nike refused to pay Kanye royalties on the shoes and after reaching out to Adidas, they agreed with his terms in a deal reported to be worth $10 million.
Are Yeezy shoes still popular?
Since its launch in 2015, the Adidas Yeezy Boost sneakers haven’t shown any decrease in demand! If you’ve tried to pick up a pair of these sneakers, you’ll know that these kicks are so popular that new drops usually sell out within minutes!
Maybe Kanye West isn’t satisfied with his music career and harbors dreams of creating the sneakers of the future. He was recently heard referring to himself as “the most influential person in footwear.”
Despite being a total hype train, Yeezys are proving popular in all corners of the globe. There are tons of reports of Yeezy fans staying up all night long in front of their laptop screens and others sleeping in front of sports stores, just to grab a pair.
Why people are going so nuts for Yeezys is not clear, but a tweet from Kim Kardashian certainly didn’t hurt the brand! Whatever the reason, the craze is proving to be contagious.
Why are Yeezys so expensive?
Make no mistake, Yeezy is a very influential sneaker brand. This year, Yeezy was ranked ninth place in a list of the “hottest brands” on the search platform Lyst.
GQ magazine awarded the Boost 350 shoes (first released in 2015), “the most influential sneakers of 2016” and they also suggested that many other sneaker manufacturers have been greatly influenced by them.
Kanye West has proven to be a master of marketing. One of the biggest reasons for the success of his footwear is that he only releases the shoes in limited numbers. This creates a “scarcity syndrome” and the hype just builds until every pair is sold. When the Boost 350 sneakers went on sale at $200, they were sold out (everywhere) within one hour!
Because of Kanye’s savvy business sense, his sneakers have become a commodity. Resale values of certain models & colors have sky-rocketed over the last few years with Kanye now producing some of the most valuable sneakers in the world.
Kanye really understands the power of “celebrity” His wife Kim Kardashian West was a big part of the Yeezy 6 campaign and was captured by the world’s press sporting Kanye’s latest collection.
If that wasn’t enough, Kanye West then recruited a posse of other social media influencers (including Paris Hilton) to wear the same outfit as Kim, in smaller media campaigns. These images were then shared on Paris’s social media accounts to increase Yeezys’ exposure even further.
According to Lyst, the result of this carefully orchestrated marketing campaign caused a 45% spike in search demand for Yeezy compared to the previous week!
How much do Yeezys cost?
Yeezys have a large price range but on average, they cost between $200 and $400. Of course, you can pay thousands of dollars for rarer models. Yeezy shoes prices reflect the demand for these very fashionable shoes.
Yeezy’s marketing strategy has proved highly successful and this could be attributed to the perfect mix of exclusivity, music, celebrities, and Instagram. Other celebrities tapping into this massive demand for celebrity-endorsed gear are Rachel Zoe, Justin Timberlake, and Gwen Stefani.
What are the most expensive Yeezys on Amazon?
At the time of writing, the Yeezy Boost 350 is currently the highest-priced Yeezys available on Amazon. You can see them on this link.
Yeezy’s can go for ridiculous prices. The very rare Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Red October” are actually worth over $10K at the moment, but in the future, they will be worth over $40K.
What is Adidas Boost?
Boost is Adidas’s top running shoe technology, but what many people don’t realize is that it’s not actually made by Adidas. It was invented by the German chemical company BASF and Adidas which has the exclusive rights to use it on their sneakers.
BASF started developing the Boost technology in 2007 and at that time it was very basic. Fast forward to 2018 and Boost is one of the most innovative inventions in sneaker technology today!
The Boost system offers comfort and sponginess (officially called “energy return”) like no other brand on the market today. When wearing Boost sneakers for the first time, most people notice a very similar feel to the material used in memory foam mattresses.
Of all the Adidas Yeezys, we really like the Adidas Men’s Yeezy Boost 700″ Wave Runner which are available on Amazon.
Where are Yeezys manufactured?
Adidas makes Yeezy sneakers in factories in China. Kanye has openly discussed going to China to work on new models. What you might not know is that Adidas has taken severe criticism by the British media for the conditions of its workers.
It was reported that the Yeezy sneakers are produced by factory workers that are forced into working very long hours and receive as little as $183 per month. According to The Mirror, the in-demand shoes are made by workers who work for 10 hours a day, six days a week.
In defense of Adidas, after locating the footwear factory in Guangdong province, The Mirror found that the $183 monthly wage was above the legal minimum wage in that particular region.
Yeezy on Youtube
Yeezy alternatives
Instead of spending all of your hard-earned cash on astronomically priced Yeezys, consider saving yourself a boatload of cash on these Yeezy alternatives.
Although none of these shoes are designed by rappers or music producers, they all have features that are reminiscent of Yeezy sneakers.
Amazon.com 
