I’ve been purchasing hoop shoes and apparel for basketball or sports in general for many years now. I am a strong believer that the online market will eventually take over physical stores completely and today’s a great time to talk about where to buy basketball shoes online.
I know a lot of you might not always have the ability to drive to a local retailer or you don’t even have one, plus there are nice benefits while buying online too.
I’ll break it down everything you need to know and the hottest, most trusted places to order your performance kicks from.
BUYING SHOES ONLINE. IS THAT SAFE?
Yep. Unless you’re buying a Retro Jordan 1 that’s worth $1500 and you found it for 80 bucks on eBay. Be careful what you wish for, they say. And that’s no exception for ball shoes.
I know a lot of people still have this tendency to be skeptical or afraid of getting their shoes online, as it’s mostly because of two reasons: they insist they MUST try the shoe in person first or they’re afraid they’ll get some 30 dollar rip-off for paying a full retail price.
Yeah, getting your size wrong or buying a fake pair for triple the price does happen online. But that is exactly why I’ve put up this guide – we need to filter out the nonsense so claimed stores and know where to look at.
All the mainstream basketball shoe brands such as Nike, Adidas, Jordan, or Under Armour always have their standardized sizing which basically works similarly for most of their shoes. If you purchase from an authorized retailer or a trusted store in general, you know your size – 95% of the time you’ll get it right.
And hey, there’s always the ability to return it and get your hard-earned hoop funds back.
As for getting a fake pair, that’s really a no-brainer. As long as you’re purchasing from the list I’m about to give you, there is zero chance of receiving something you shouldn’t have received.
Authorized retailers never sell fake stuff, on top of that, you’d see some minor visual differences & a usually lower “killer” price.
Looking for a comprehensive basketball shoe buyer’s guide first? Check mine by clicking RIGHT HERE.
GET YOUR SHOES FROM THESE STORES
Alright, some a lot of seasoned players will likely find these options familiar, but for everyone who’s curious or never really felt like they’re 100% sure they’re getting their pairs from the best options, here they are…
ORIGINAL BRAND STORES
I strongly believe that the number one option you should always look into first is whether the basketball shoe is available on the original manufacturer website.
They always have the very first original set retail price by them (which is, most of the time, the lowest), the shipping and order quality will be top-notch, plus, either free or very low shipping rates for US residents.
The most common brand websites to purchase your shoes will be:
The lesser-known but still highly recommended to visit for your less mainstream shoe brands are:
I’d highly recommend first checking these sources for the original pricing and genuine colorways of the particular shoe, so you can compare it to other retailers and decide if it’s worth it, if the sneaker isn’t available on the brand website.
AMAZON – THE KING OF EVERYTHING
If I don’t find my wanted pair of sneakers on Nikey, Adidas, or on someone else’s brand site, I usually go for Amazon. I would call it an alternative but that would really be not doing Amazon a fair shake, as the selection is unbelievable, and often times they have more colors and editions available on popular models than on original brand stores online.
Yeah, the pricing isn’t going to be as consistent as those aren’t strictly retail but they’re often either very close or even better occasionally.
I probably don’t have to explain that the variety, including basketball shoes, on Amazon is unrivaled and if you’re a US resident, shipping times & cost will be nothing to deal with at all.
THE REMAINING OPTIONS
Lastly, there are still some killer options to cop your kicks from for a competitive retail price and that offers plenty of selection. I’ve also been ordering from all of these throughout the years and was never disappointed:
All of these retailers are authorized, veteran retailers that will never disappoint in terms of pricing, ordering quality and variety for popular releases.
WHAT IF I’M NOT IN THE U.S?
All of the options above are pretty much only for the American audience. Most of the stores either charge extremely high shipping fees due to taxes and overseas regulations or don’t ship overseas at all.
So what to do if you’re looking for a legit, trusted rival to USA’s gigantic market?
Look no further. Let’s have a look at the best international options.
MANUFACTURER’S INTERNATIONAL STORES
What’s excellent about Adidas, Nike, Jordan, and Under Armour is they offer a few international website options as well, such as for the UK. I’d advise you to double-check if they got your locale available. Simply type in, for example, “Adidas United Kingdom” or any other region to check if they got it.
Doing so will eliminate the shipping and tax issue, and you’ll be rolling with your new pair of kicks straight off the shelf of the manufacturer.
AMAZON’S INTERNATIONAL STORES
Of course, Amazon also offers plenty of international locale websites such as Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, and some others. Check those using the method above and you’ll save yourself a lot of cash.
OTHER SOLID OPTIONS
Here are the three international shoe stores I’ve found to be the best independently:
BONUS TIPS WHEN BUYING ONLINE
Before I leave you to your online sneaker shopping adventures, I’d thought I’d give you some general tips and outlines I’ve noticed from past experience.
Nothing super advanced but something I think everyone can remember and improve their digital shopping experience.
CHECK A SHOE REVIEW FIRST
That’s right – no matter the scenario, I think this isn’t negotiable. You have to check a shoe review from a person who bought the shoes, tried them, played in them, and has something to say about them.
Before you judge it from a three-line Amazon feedback review, you have to get the insights from someone who actually plays in the sneaker and knows a whole lot about them.
On top of that, you’ll never know, as some shoes actually don’t fit true to size for everyone, despite what the label says, so you have to get the facts straight first before adding it to your cart right away.
The guys at WearTesters do some of the best and most practical reviews there can be but you can also check out The Sole Brothers, The Hoops Geek or Schwollo, and of course, me at Shoes For Hire for quality reviews!
SOME COLORS COME IN DIFFERENT MATERIALS
Again, something a proper performance review or general knowledge will come in handy. There are scenarios that are especially common today where a shoe comes out but different color options will come in different materials.
It’s obvious that some of those options won’t be as high quality as the others, so you have to make sure what you’re getting before getting it first.
This is where checking a shoe review, contacting the retailer, following sneaker new blogs, or asking us hoop fans in the comments will help you out a bunch!
THE PRICE HAS TO MAKE SENSE
Let’s say a new signature shoe has come out on Nike.com and it’s freshly priced at $140. Now you’re searching for that special deal somewhere and all of a sudden you stumble on some random shop that claims to have that same pair for $89.
That’s usually not a good sign. Sellers usually get their supply from the original retail pricing themselves so giving it away for almost half the price isn’t a logical business model, so you likely come across a fraud site.
Always make sure the price is close to retail. Otherwise – run away.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR SHOES FROM?
Alright, people, that is it for the guide on getting your sh*t online! I hope you found at least some of the stuff useful and will now pay proper attention to your online purchases.
How do you get your sneaks? Do you prefer to try them on in a store first or you’re more new school and get ’em from Nikey.com?
If you now know where to get your sneaks from, I invite you to get educated on properly choosing a basketball shoe. A comprehensive guide on the subject is right here.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or just want to talk…
Hi, Thank you very much for this. I do have a difficult time buying shoes online, mainly because sizes differ depending on the make, and then like you said we always want to check on the quality in person. Returning it isn’t that easy if it’s being shipped overseas either, as usually happens in my case. Checking the brand’s website for comparison sound like a great idea.
Kuddles for thinking of international customers. Great suggestion. I am bookmarking your site because some of these brands are unknown to me.
Regards,
Candy Benn
Awesome, thanks Candy! Yeah, international sneaker shopping has always been tough for us, though in terms of sizing, I’d suggest checking up each brand’s size table. Adidas, Nike, AJ, and Under Armour all have their dedicated size charts, and the sizes do mostly match universally with all their shoes.
However, there are of course always exceptions, so if you’re having doubts, I’d always check a shoe review first!
Personally, I do not like going inside the shoe store to buy my shoes. I just prefer shopping online. However, if I want that shoe right away for whatever reason then I’ll just take my butt to the store. Normally, I’m not that much in a rush.
As for buying my shoes online, from time to time it gets a little bit difficult. I usually end up returning them because the shoe didn’t fit right. But it’s OK. A lot of my shoe purchases have been thru Amazon and they make it very easy to return your shoes. Then, I’ll just order the next size. The 2nd time around is usually the winner.
Yeah lots of people love to overcomplicate the process of online shopping, especially when it comes to shoes. Amazon makes it ridiculously easy, plus the shipping AND returns are lightning-fast. Make sure to check the brand’s size table if you’re not sure, then check the shoe’s review and you’ll be set!