A Tale of Integrity

When dealing in the ‘Streetwear’ and ‘Sneaker’ culture, you’ll find lots of people who are only out for themselves. While these individuals are in any field of business, a vast majority of the ‘reseller’ culture falls under this category.

I pride myself on making sure I do not fall into that category. I own a store that prides itself on making sure all items are priced at the market average price. In my mind, the consumer always comes first. I don’t want to feel like I am taking advantage of customers by overpricing items.

A few months ago, I completed a high-dollar sale to a competing resale shop. The deal involved a high volume of shoes with then was paid with five figures of cash. After the deal was completed, I took the cash to the bank to deposit it. The bank counted the cash and it came up $1,000 over what the agreed-upon sale price was. I immediately made the banker return the extra money and then drove back to the resale shop. I pride myself on doing the right thing when it would have been easy to pocket the extra cash. The owners even confirmed they would have never known that I was paid the extra amount.

Just how I do not want to take advantage of our customers, I do not want to do the same to our competition. I pride myself on my integrity and doing the right thing personally and through my businesses. I believe the culture of ‘Streetwear’ and ‘Sneakers’ would vastly improve if everyone followed the Golden Rule: Treat people how you want to be treated.