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2024 Air Jordan 1 Real vs Fake Guide: How to Tell if Jordans are Real or Fake (Sale+6% Cashback)

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2024 Air Jordan 1 Real vs Fake Guide: How to Tell if Jordans are Real or Fake (Sale+6% Cashback)

Being one of the most celebrated sneakers on the market, the Air Jordan 1 has become a cultural icon in itself. The upright stance and traditional panelling made it the perfect vehicle for Bulls-inspired colour-blocking and visual storytelling. And thanks to the masterfully crafted ‘Banned’ mythology that grows with every reissue and retelling, the AJ 1's outlaw mystique has become deeply ingrained in the sneakerhead psyche. It has released in dozens of colours and countless variations. Air Jordan 1 has undoubtedly been the most hyped and controversial shoe of recent year. With its insane popularity and resale price, replica shoe factories have doubled down their efforts to create the perfect fake. Fakes and knock offs are getting more realistic, easily fooling the average person. In this guide, I will examine just what the differences between a real vs fake Air Jordan 1 really are. The guide will help you legit check any pair of Air Jordan 1 in less than 10 minutes. And at the end of the article, there are a few websites to buy new and second-hand AJ shoes online for the cheapest.

Cover Photo:jordan.com

1、The Box and Style Number of Air Jordan 1

1) Authentic Nike Air Jordans boxes will have the logo on the side and top. Next to the side logo, there will also be a product label that includes info on the style, name, color, size, country of origin and a style number. The recommended retail price should be placed on the right side of the label, while some fakes lack this text.

2)The label sticker should be firmly attached to the box, with no air bubbles underneath. It ought to look complete and easy to read. Fake Jordans will often feature a misshapen or crooked manufacturing sticker. If it is sloppily placed or hard to read, this is a red flag.

3) The text should look uniform and the words will be evenly spaced out and properly spelled.The USA size text is written in bold, whereas on the replica Jordan 1, it is in regular font. As for the size table itself, notice how the fake one has its borders almost as thick as the letters. The real one should have very thin borders, and much thinner letters, too.

The box on fake pairs is usually very low quality. The fake pair is often thinner, the print on the box is often more faint and the tag is usually off.

3)The boxes vary in color and style depending on the year and type of Jordans, so you may want to run a Google image search to see what the current boxes look like. Fake Jordans are often sold in boxes that list details which don't match the shoes themselves. Real boxes will feature correct colorway descriptions and all style numbers should match.

2、The Overall Quality

1) One of the first areas is the stitching. It should be consistent across the entire shoe, with no apparent errors in production.

2) Pay attention to the quality of the material that's used to create the shoe. If the leather feels cheap or rugged, there's a chance you're dealing with a fake.

3) Both shoes should be visually uniform. Nothing should look out of proportion, smudged, blurry, etc.

Source:jordan.com

3、The Smell of New Jordan 1

The smell of the shoe is a great way of determining whether or not you a real or fake sneaker. The fake pair often has a strong glue like odour. Replica Jordan 1 manufacturers will use cheap adhesive to put the shoe together which leaves a strong smell behind. If the shoe smells like chemicals then chances are its fake.

Source:jordan.com

4、The Tongue

The Shape and Padding of Tongue

1) The padding has a big impact on the shape of the tongue. You can see the authentic Jordan 1 has a nice curve at the top of the tongue. This is because there is a good level of padding for comfort and Nike has taken the time to ensure the shape is set properly. However, the fake Air Jordan 1 uses almost no padding, with the material used not being sponge-like at all. It is much firmer when pressed down on and actually takes away from the shape.

2) However, the fake Jordan 1 is miles off. There is no curve at the top and the shape is off. As Dr KLEKT explained in the video, the arc is a key part of the Jordan 1 tongue, something this fake has got badly wrong.

Nike Logo on the Tongue

1) On the tongue of a real Nike Air Jordan, there should be two ™ logos. If they are missing any or only have one trademark logo that indicates a fake. Another thing to zoom in on is the stitching of the Nike air itself.

2) On the real Nike, the 'K' and the 'E' in NIKE are touching the swoosh, but on a fake the letters don't all touch the swoosh, in addition to the letter spacing being too narrow for a real Nike tongue.

3) The trademarked Nike swoosh is immaculately stitched, glued or printed onto most pairs of Nike shoes. Ensure it's not glued, printed or stitched to a poor standard.

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5、Inside Label of Air Jordan 1

1) Jordans have a very specific label under the tongue. Lift up the tongue and check out the underside. The stitching on the tag ought to look uniform and neat.

2) The first immediate difference to notice is the size and dimensions of the tag. They are slightly off, as the original tag seems to be taller.

3) Inside label details vary depending on year and style. Match the style number of the tag to the one listed on the box. Locate the small tag on the inside of the shoe. All of the information listed on the manufacturing sticker should also be on this tag. Check that the tail of the Q in FABRIQUE starts inside the circle.

4) Spelling errors on this interior tag are almost always an indicator of inauthentic Jordans. The 'AIR' text on the unauthentic shoe tag is bolder and larger than on the real one.

Do not forget to verify the ® trademark sign, as it should be perfectly clear and legible despite its small size. The fake Jordan is missing the registered trademark circle 'R'. Nike likes to have the circle 'R' twice on the woven label. On the backside of the woven logo label, you will see the trademark information in English and French.

6、Air Jordon Wings Logo

1) The Air Jordan logo should be embossed and not flat on the leather. You should be able to feel the logo by running your fingers across it. The real Nike Air Jordan does not have any stitching guides to help the stitchers locate the panels during assembly. The red logo panel of the fake Nike is loaded with these little assembly guides.

2) Look out for the consistency of the font and the glossiness of the 'AIR JORDAN'. The real pair has a more consistent font size and has a cleaner print with a matte finish while the fakes have a glossy finishing. The letters of replica are poorly cut out, the borders look fuzzy and unclear. They also differ in sizes and shapes, especially 'A' s and 'R'. The ™ sign is smaller.

3) Another part to look out is the wings itself, where the real pair is equally distributed and does not combine each other, while on the fakes, some of the wings are attached to each other. The perforations on the flap of the real pair is nicely punctured while the fakes only have perforations that are half done. Pay attention to the dividers between the wing elements of the logo. They are not as clear as in the authentic version, and similar to the lettering, appear to be fuzzy.

7、The Laces

1) One of the simplest things to check out for is the spare laces. The spare lace bag that comes with real Air Jordan 1 should be compact and tie in nicely woven whereras the lace bag on a fake pair usually is kind of sloppily tied and the spare laces are simply round to form a circle. It comes in much thicker and with more of a gap at the top.

2) The spaces between the shoelace tabs should be even. All of the shoelace tabs will be the same size and shape. Make sure they are all attached firmly, with the same amount of tension. Fake Jordans will often have some shoelace tabs that are looser than others.

8、The Toebox

1) The shape of toe box can already be a good indicator. Air Jordan 1 toe boxes should be smooth all the way around and should not come to a peak in the middle of the toe box. You will notice on the fake pair there is a peak right on the toe box. The replica's toe box looks more stretched out vertically, while the real one is a bit more rounded.

2) As for the size and placement of the perforations, they should follow a particular placement pattern. And Jordan 1's have all of their perforations the same size and shape, so if some of the holes do not match the rest, it's a fake.

3) Below the toe box holes should be arched. On the fake shoes you'll often see the holes are not arched and sometimes form a straight line.

9、The Heel of Air Jordan 1

1) The shape of the sock liner is wrong. The real one has a sharp bump in the middle, while the fake Jordan 1's sock liner is smooth. The white upper leather heel tab should be straight in shape, not caving downwards.

2) Another difference is that the white and black parts' lines in the middle of the heel are more caving upwards, while in the illegitimate pair they are more straight.

3) High quality stitching can be hard to replicate. The stitching on the heel of the Nikes is tight, straight, evenly spaced and cleanly finished.

10、The Insole of Air Jordan 1

1) A logo normally features on the insole of Jordan 1's. It is usually the Nike and Swoosh with Air written below. Check the quality on the Nike Air logo on the insole. The fake pair will have a low quality logo will most likely fade after just a few wears. On a real shoes, the logo will still be visible after multiple wears.

2) The insole of an Air Jordan 1 features 'Nike Air' on the inside in a matte finish. On the fake, you can see the glossy finish used on the 'Nike Air' means it is shiny and the 'R' is also cut off slightly and does not appear to have a round shape.

11、The Outsole Logo of Jordan 1

The outsole of Nike Jordans 1's feature a unique pattern and logo. Outsoles on some styles and limited editions will differ from the one shown.

1) The first thing is the circle shape on the upper side of the outsole. It is not a perfect circle on the fake, as it is stretched out vertically. The 'border' around it is not as thick and deep as it's around the authentic.

2) The logo on a real one should be perfectly centered, not too high or low, and it should not be too big either so making sure the size and placement is perfect.The letters look more tightly spaced, almost pressed together on the real shoes.

3) The letters are too narrow indicating a fake. The 'K' of the fake Nike logo is not touching the tail of the Swoosh.

12、The Stitching

When you look at the stitching there should be a clean and consistent gap between each stitch. On the real Air Jordan 1, there is only one complete smooth stitch line. This is down to Nike's far superior quality control and experienced machinists. And there is a double stitching mark towards the lace eyelets. This is a sign that the replicator went over the stitch to get it right.

13、The Price

If a pair of AJ 1 originally retailed for $190 in 2016, it's not unlikely that it'll go for $300+ in 2020 (or more if it's a popular colorway). If you find someone selling a popular pair for around the retail price (or even less), though, this is a major red flag.

Source:jordan.com

Where To Buy Air Jordan 1 The Cheapest?

AJ sneakers are available in Nike boutiques worldwide and online. And you can also get a second-hand and vintage AJ sneakers on some resale websites! Sign up at Extrabux.com, you can get up to 6% cash back on new and second-hand Air Jordan shoes purchase at these sites！

nike US (1-1.5% cashback)

nike UK (3-4% cashback)

Stockx.com

flightclub.com

stadiumgoods.com (4-5% cashback)

goat.com

footlocker.com

farfetch.com (1.5-2% cashback)

ebay.com (4-4.6% cashback)

Vestiairecollective.com (5-6% cashback)

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