DS only wants 200 pound trainers

[Theblackdogagain]

I'm at an impasse with my son. He's 13. I've never been into label's, stupid priced clothes or sports. My son has always cared about what he wore but recently he's in a group of friends that needs Nike trainers. His last pair were fila but now apparently that's not good enough. He's had his hair cut into a trendy cut at his insistence and I'm not against him finding his style but 200 is too much for trainers when his feet are still growing, he'll play football in them and wreck them and it's more than we spend on food in 2 weeks.
I've tried showing him shoes in the sale, looking at other makes and saying he needs to use some of his Christmas money to a maximum of 100 pounds. I'm really unreasonable.
Any ideas? Any websites I can use? I did get a puma tracksuit bottom and a Nike t shirt from costco do at least he has clothes on!
I'm not giving in on over 100 for trainers, the most expensive shows I've ever had were 40 and they were biker boots that still fit me :-)

This lol

Loads of brand new ones with box on Vinted I just checked

Anything from £35-£120

Vinted. You could kit him out completely on there for £200.

I do feel for him a little though as fashion can be very important at that age and he is wearing worn out Fila trainers, if you can afford to buy for him then that’s not really fair (if you can’t though, that’s just the way it is and he will have to deal with it).

When he is 14 and can get a part-time job then the problem will be solved. My DS wears stupidly expensive clothes but he has bought them himself since he was that age. Even he has recently discovered Vinted though and doesn’t buy new anymore - although he still pays a lot lot more than I would.

Surely it's a bad idea to let kids have these expectations as once adult they may well not be in the position to buy such expensive stuff.

Unless he is 'into" trainers you don't need to spend that much. My DD does have trainers this expensive and more but has funded them by buying and reselling trainers- she know the market - it is a whole other world.

Nike.com has some great prices atm - I was looking last night and you can easily get a pair of good trainers for £50-100. If you have a nike outlet near you all the better!

They could end up very expensive. There are lots of trainer related scams on Vinted at the moment.

You have to ask why brand new, desirable trainers are being sold so cheaply.

do check new ones, with the box, very carefully though and see what else the seller is selling and how long they have been on there as well, I’d be wary of the new ones and potential fakes

The official Nike website is the best place to buy from. That or JD Sports. Loads of nice up to date Nike trainers for less than £100. I wouldn't spend £200 that's just too much for trainers that won't fit for long and will go out of fashion

Exactly this.

It's not that you're being arsey about it, it's that you cannot afford it. He is old enough at 13 to appreciate that £200 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a pair of shoes.

If he just wants Nike, there are loads on the Sports Direct website under £50. Would that be a compromise rather than the £200 ones he fancies?

My two went through phases of wanting expensive trainers.
I made it clear that I would buy necessary items, but if they wanted ones over my budget they had to have them for Christmas or Birthday presents, or pay for them.
They both started part time jobs at 14, and once they started to earn the money they were much more sensible about spending it. They did make the odd extravagant purchase, but not nearly so much as they had been telling me they ‘needed’

If you would be buying him new trainers anyway, I would give him a budget of that cost + what you’d usually spend on a birthday gift. Anything beyond that he needs to fund.

£200 is a lot for trainers, but equally I don’t think your preference to wear second hand sketchers is something you’ll get a 13 year old to buy into. Buy a size up and put insoles in if you’re worried about him growing out of them quickly.

I've just bought new trainers, adidas so not shop own brand, they were £27 from sports direct. They had nike air for about £60 which used to be "the" trainer! I'm guessing he's after a limited edition version, crazy price, some people don't even wear them bizarrely they are collectible. My running shoes were £120 from the running shop, properly fitted with a fancy gait analysis and insoles, they are brooks.

We have the same issue, 13yo suddenly brand aware but also growing like a weed. We managed to convince him that skate branded shoes were cooler (and way cheaper) for a but but he's back to wanting expensive ones. He is happy to top up the difference from pocket money though.

Thanks for all the suggestions. He has the jd sports and Nike apps so I guess this is where he's getting his ideas from, taking him to an outlet is a good idea.

Look on Depop. 100% find something there

Just say no. You are the parent.
I went to sports direct yesterday as my 14 yr old needed new school shoes and trainers....£65 for both as I said "no, I'm not spending £80+ on 1 pair of shoes when your feet are still growing and you'll have wrecked them in 6 months".
He either accepted it or would have to continue to wear his current shoes.
I don't understand why teenagers think they can be so demanding and why the parents let them?!

If he’s walking around with falling apart Fila on his feet his mates are probably ribbing him on a daily basis.

What is he after, Jordan’s?

I don’t like the whole “oh I don’t care about clothes/shoes so you shouldn’t either”. People have different priorities.

That being said, if you can’t afford them you can’t afford them.

There is no way I'd spend £200 on shoes for myself never mind my children.

I've always given mine a budget of what I'm willing to spend and they find shoes under that price.

There are plenty of nike shoes much cheaper than that and nike outlets are great for trainers .

Why are all your kids wrecking shoes? They aren’t toddlers anymore

My kids do have expensive trainers - but they also really really look after them. We have a whole box of specialist trainer cleaning stuff, DS stores all his trainers in their shoe box and then re-sells when he’s grown out of them.

If they didn’t look after them they absolutely would not be getting them again, they know that. They know how hard I have to work to pay for the things they want, if they were wrecking anything I’d bought it would be the last time they got anything they’d asked for

OP you’re right for saying no but offering up solutions like you’ll pay a certain amount abs he has to match. I was a 90s teenager and just would never have dared suggest my parents by me the equivalent cost on shoes or any item! It’s funny it seems almost normal to them now - £200! On trainers for a child! I do remember longing for leather riding boots as all the other teens at the stables had them (where I was doing slave labour) but my mum wouldn’t pay for them and I had rubber ones (second hand). Got over it pretty quickly!

Sportshoes.com have some discounted branded shoes. I think you will have to give him a budget and tell him to find some shoes from that, or find a way to earn money.

There are some pretty convincing fakes out there these days...if you are that way inclined. Fooled my 15 year old at least. Although waiting for delivery can be annoying.

My DS wears Nike air max which are about £130 new. He has new ones for school because they have to wear well (paid for by his dad not me!!) but he buys his other trainers on vinted. He recently got a pair for £50 in perfect condition.
There is also this style which is similar to air max and apparently acceptable to teen boys and comes in at £70 new https://www.nike.com/gb/t/court-vision-low-next-nature-shoes-g53MlL