If you managed to get your hands on a pair of the sublime re-release of the Adidas Predator Mania Champagne, then you're one of the very few lucky individuals.
We had been waiting for months since images first surfaced to see when they would go on sale knowing full-well that they would be limited edition only, and last week we got very excited to find out the release was imminent, but the numbers that have emerged after the boots sold out suggests the release was far too low to match the demand.
It was to be expected, especially with David Beckham raising awareness of their release, but within minutes of the official launch on Adidas' website and some affiliate online stores there was not a pair to be found. The reason for that, according to FootyHeadlines.com, is that only 2,500 pairs were made for both online and in-store sale.
2,500 pairs of the Adidas Predator Mania were available globally, across physical and online retailers as well as Adidas itself. A good chunk of this stock has ended up on the secondary market, unfortunately.
And they are right about the secondary market, as a quick look on eBay shows that the going rate for the boots, which retailed at a staggering €300, are now selling for almost double their value.
Nobody likes to see that, as it's clear that many of the very limited edition boots were bought purely to be sold on at a huge markup.
Football boot reviewer Bryan Byrne of SoccerCleats101 was seemingly told that the Adidas store for the USA had only 15 pairs for sale, and another customer who claimed to have called ProDirectSoccer, one of the biggest football boot websites in the world, had only 120 pairs.
Incredibly, that same customer was reportedly told that Pro Direct received over 1000 orders in the first 60 seconds of the boot going up for sale.
With so few pairs of the Predator Mania sold, it is a shame to see so many already listed at extortionate prices on eBay. ?
— SC101 (@SoccerCleats101) May 3, 2017
Ya'll know what the negative of today's Predator Mania sale is? adidas now know they can price their boots above $350 and they'l still sell!
— SC101 (@SoccerCleats101) May 3, 2017
If you're absolutely loaded and are determined to own a pair of the Champagne Manias, you can find them very easily on the likes of eBay, but otherwise you will have to settle for the still rather gorgeous Copa 17 in the 'Champagne' colourway, which is available for the much more reasonable price of around €95 from the likes of Pro Direct.
