(2/2) I leave with 10 pairs that first day and agree to pick up the remaining pairs the next day (I had to lug them roughly 20 blocks in the Manhattan heat and couldn’t imagine doing it twice).
I cram all 10 pairs into my 10 x 16 ft. Manhattan studio in Chelsea and call my girlfriend (now my wife) - ‘hey don’t be alarmed but I bought like 20 pairs of shoes.’ I snapped a pic with my digicam and then went onto @niketalk_com . I told the guys on NT about the incredible luck I had run into and everyone starts flaming me. Calling me a liar. And then I start getting DMs. So I post a pic of the receipt (blocked out the location) and the pic I took. A few guys are super nice so I give them the address of the shop.
The following day I returned to pick up the other 10 pairs and this time @danposite came along with me. He grabbed 4 or 5 pairs for himself for trade bait. I wanted to leave some for the other NTers so I didn’t pick up any more that day but I probably copped 30 pairs from him in total.
I sold almost every single pair (except a couple of personal pairs) for less than retail to NTers, ISSers and eBayers. I think I got an average of $80/pair and it was well worth it. My girl handled all of the transactions online while I went to work and she handled it all like a boss. Every pair - except a couple of pairs for me and my dad - were out of my possession within a week.
Keep in mind, the mentality at the time wasn’t to make as much money as possible. The mentality at the time was to spread the love.
I went back into the shop a hundred times over the years I lived in NY and Gora, the owner, was always very happy to see me. I never saw another pair of dunks in the shop, but purchased several pairs of EU exclusives runners from years past.
I never asked him, but I always assumed the UPS man dropped off a few extra boxes mistakenly and he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with them. I'm glad I was there to distribute them in a diplomatic way. I’ve done a bit of googling and from what I understand his shop is still around and in the same location, but now goes by the name ‘G Plaza Sneakers’. If you’re in the neighborhood you should stop by.