How much would you pay for these Air Jordan's? $100.00? $200.00? Try $230.00. Now how long would you wait in line to have the opportunity to pay your $230.00 for these Air Jordan's? Ten minutes? Three hours? Try a week and a half.
Many would probably say waiting in line for a week and a half to purchase anything is crazy but that is exactly what 23 people did in the days leading up to the "Air Jordan XX3" release date of December 23rd, 2008.
On my way into the office a few weeks back I noticed a line of folding lawn chairs outside of Walter's Clothing store in downtown Atlanta. Intrigued, I stopped and asked one of the people in line what was going on. I was told by "Orlando", from Orlando, Florida, that the 23rd version of the insanely popular Air Jordan basketball shoe was going to be released on December 23rd, 2008.
Walter's Clothing was one of just 23 stores in North America selected by Nike to sell the very limited edition (529 pairs) Air Jordan Titanium XX3's . Why all the 23's you ask? Here's why.
So what does this post have to do with economics? Everything. Scarcity, supply, demand, profit motive, conspicuous consumption, opportunity cost to name just a few things . How many economic decisions did the 23 people in line make before, during, and after their time in line?
Ask your students what the total cost of the Air Jordan's was for the 23 people in line. Was it more than $230.00?
