Everyone knows that one of the hottest Air Jordan releases of the year released on 9/1. The Air Jordan Raptor VII’s. While some of you waited in line for your pair, others were buying online and getting them for resellers price. Because of this new release, many people are creating new fakes to sell. There are always those people online that are money hungry and just like to rip people off. The Air Jordan VII is one of the harder pairs to tell the authenticity, but here are a few tips to help you figure out if your Air Jordan VII’s are authentic or fake. Hit the jump to read more….
1. Wrong Colorways
First and foremost, if you see a colorway that you’ve never seen or heard of before.. they’re fake. If you’re not sure, do a little research before purchasing a pair. Check out our Air Jordan 7archive!
2. The Last Three Lace Holes
As you can see in the picture above, of authentic Air Jordan VII’s, the last three lace holes are curved. The second to last lace hole is a little higher than the other two. In a pair of fake Air Jordan VII’s, the last three holes will be lined up.
3. Front Materials
Along with the midsole point, this is another easy way to tell if you Air Jordan VII’s are fake. Where the arrow is pointing, you will see that the front ‘stripe’ of the Air Jordan VII comes before the rounded portion of the outsole. On a pair of fakes, this ‘stripe’ is a lot higher or lower than it should it. It may be on top of the shoe itself or even lower. On authentics, it will meet where the two materials come together
4. Front Materials
Along with the midsole point, this is another easy way to tell if you Air Jordan VII’s are fake. Where the arrow is pointing, you will see that the front ‘stripe’ of the Air Jordan VII comes before the rounded portion of the outsole. On a pair of fakes, this ‘stripe’ is a lot higher or lower than it should it. It may be on top of the shoe itself or even lower. On authentics, it will meet where the two materials come together.
5. The ‘Tips’ of the Midsole
The ‘mountain’ tops of the Air Jordan VII should always be pointed. Many fakes have a rounded edge and not the point. If you see a rounded edge on these tips, they’re most likely fake. So if you’re looking for a pair of authentic Jordan VII’s, always check these tips in the midsole.
6. Number 9 on “Olympics” or “For the Love of the Game”
A lot of people think all Air Jordan VII’s have to have the number 23 on them. But the Air Jordan VII “Olympic” and the Air Jordan VII “For the Love of the Game” have a number 9 because Jordan was number 9 on the Dream Team.
Many of the above tips are focused on just one small thing, this last tip is focused on the whole shoe. As you see in the picture above, the tongue is the highest point and then going towards the insole it decreases in height. This is a good sign the shoe is real. The tongue should be flush with the rest of the shoe.
Going along with the look of the whole shoe is the actual price of the shoe. If you see a pair of 2012 Air Jordan VII “Olympics” for less than retail in a men’s size. Trust me, they’re fake. No one will sell a pair of these for less than retail.
Hope these tips helped so you can find your pair of Air Jordan VII “Raptors” or any other color way! Haven’t gotten your pair of Raptor VII’s yet? Call around to your local stores, still some pairs floating around in select Finish Line and Foot Locker stores!
