Sneakers - August 17, 2019

Air Jordan 1 Retro High Satin Black Toe (W) - By The Numbers

Morgan Baylis

Morgan is a writer and sneaker analyst based in Detroit, MI. He is the Content Coordinator of StockX.

The Air Jordan 1 Retro High Satin Black Toe (W) just dropped today, and it’s already moving in huge volume on our platform, with over 4,000 sales thus far on release day. Even more remarkable is that despite all this volume, it’s still reselling at sky-high premiums on StockX. And it’s not hard to see why. This shoe combines two design elements from Jumpman that have been highly sought after in recent years: a Black Toe colorway and satin upper. Let’s break down why this killer combination could be Jordan Brand’s best women’s release ever.

The original AJ1 Black Toe made its debut in 1985 as one of the first colorways Nike decided to implement in its newest design for Air Jordan himself. The Black Toe has aged like fine wine, positioning itself in the ranks amongst some of the most highly coveted AJ1 colorways ever. Unlike the Bred, Royal, and Chicago 1s, the Black Toe has only retro’ed twice (2013 and 2016). This means supply for the Black Toe is way more limited than a Bred 1 that has been retro’ed six times since its initial release. Both Black Toe 1 retros have boasted average resell prices of $400-$500 over the last year, with premiums over 200%. 

In addition, some of Jumpman’s most popular collaborative designs for the Jordan 1 have included Black Toe features. The Jordan 1 Retro Fragment, which has resold for as high as $2,300, is essentially a Black Toe colorway with royal blue panels in place of where red would usually be. Also, the Jordan 1 Retro High Union Los Angeles Black Toe provides a majority of original design elements from the Black Toe with the added flare of a vintage worn-out white and natural grey ankle surgically attached to the upper.

Compared to all other Jordan 1 colorways, models that feature the black toe design average resale prices that are significantly higher. The average Jordan 1 resells for 1.8x it’s retail price, whereas black toe models (like those mentioned above) resell for anywhere from 3 to 10 times their retail prices.

Satin releases of the Air Jordan 1 have been a hit since the limited release of the Jordan 1 Retro Satin “Banned” in the fall of 2016. Since its debut, this shoe has had an average resale price of $2,000. Yes, you read that correctly. This shoe resells for over 10 times what it originally retailed ($175). The following spring, Jordan Brand followed up with another satin limited release in a Royal colorway. Prices for this release were slightly less stratospheric but still extremely high: they’ve resold for over $1,2500 on average, with price premiums of nearly 700%.

In the spring of 2018, Jumpman brought the Satin 1 to a wider audience with the Jordan 1 Retro High Satin Shattered Backboard (W). This would mark the first satin release primarily in women’s sizing and higher quantities. At first, this shoe performed much lower numbers than previous satin releases, averaging a resell price of $375 and a price premium of 135%. But just when we thought the satin hype was diminishing with wider releases, the unexpected happened. In June of 2019, over a year after the original release, resale prices started to spike, achieving a market high sale of $1,200 and an increased price premium of 650%.

How will prices for the Air Jordan 1 Satin Black Toe respond over the next week, when supply fully hits the market? The Satin Black Toe 1 is expected to keep the hype alive. Prior to its release, this shoe has already been selling on StockX for as high as $1,010 and at premiums over 500%. Between the exclusivity of a new Black Toe retro and the allure of a sleek, satin composition, this AJ 1 has the potential to reach new heights in the resale market. Market lows in price and premiums are likely to occur initially after the official release when quantities increase, but just like the Satin Shattered Backboard 1s and Black Toe designs alike, these shoes will likely appreciate and acquire legendary status over time.