Published: Monday - December 22, 2003
Words by Anne van de Sande
Nowadays more and more new rappers are popping up every day. The reality of today's hip-hop world seems long gone and suddenly everyone has been through the struggle and had a rough youth.
Hip-hop is not just about music, it is a culture. And clothing also belongs to that culture. So not only do we see more and more rappers caring more about record sales than the quality of their music, the whole culture is touched by that idea; it's all about commerce and sales. More and more online hip-hop stores are being established as well. Just like some of these new artists, some of those hip-hop stores sell a lot of bullsh--. Time to reveal the truth about these gold diggers.
Back in the day, people did not like to buy products online. Understandable of course, methods of payments weren't as secure as they are now and people didn't really know how the Internet worked. Now that the Internet has become such an important method of communication, and almost every household owns a computer with Internet, stores knew what they had to do. They made people aware of the advantage that they could order products while sitting in the comfort of their own home. Online hip-hop stores were established and sales have continued to increase. It was just a matter of time before gold diggers started to build new websites and opened lousy stores.
I'm sure you've had the same problem while surfing through websites, banners keep popping up until your whole system blows up. The most ridiculous advertisements and promotion about products you didn't even knew existed. Do all these advertising companies think that we are surfing the Internet to look at naked brainless bimbos with their legs wide open, or that we are suffering for sexual problems that we need all kind of products improve our sex life?
Companies do their best to get the most high developed websites, often to hide their lack of service. You see the most gorgeous banners featuring Jay-Z and Nas wearing Ecko Red and Fubu. So why not take a look at the online hip-hop store? Everything seems ok, you order a product and pay for it, but often the products get delivered too late, the product is out of stock, they completely forgot about your order, and you can't contact the company anywhere. When buying something online, don't fall for nice pictures and catchy slogans.
I don't like online shopping at all. Often products are displayed better than they really are. On a photo you can't judge whether it is a real quality Adidas product or whether it are Adihash' shoes. Also you hear the most weird stories about disappearances of bank accounts, high checks, fees and fraud. I am not ashamed to admit that I have never ever bought a product online. I'll tell you why.
I was asked to design two websites for two different online hip-hop stores, sites who were just established and needed a more developed layout. As a graphic designer, it is always nice to discover different things in programs such as Adobe Photoshop, so I took on the challenges.
Absolutekicks.com and HNKickz.com seemed very trustworthy. They had nice owners who were very into hip-hop as well. They promised to give me some shoes in return. They were very content with the layouts and agreed to send me the shoes. And now, four months later, they keep on telling me my shoes are on their way. Suddenly there was a mistake with HNKickz.com's Paypal account. And now, six months later, I am still waiting for my shoes to arrive. I was very surprised to find out my HNKickz.com layout disappeared and, what was even stranger, the site turned in into a online record store instead of a hip-hop clothing store.
After three months of emailing, Absolutekicks.com gave me a tracking number -- a tracking number of a Chinese delivering company. Tell me, how could a company possibly be run by a moron who considers Holland/Europe the same as China/Asia? How can sites like these possibly satisfy their customers when they aren't even able to pay their own people? It becomes clear that every brainless human being can set up an online company.
Don't get discouraged though, there are a lot of quality sites online. DrJays.com and Hiphopville.com for example -- sites that have really created a positive image and are being known for their quality products. In those cases, it is safe and trustworthy to buy online. Those are sites you can rely on. And yes, in those cases, it is a major advantage to buy AF1's from behind your computer while sitting in your pajamas and listening to Raekwon's latest album.
Like I said, every moron can open an online store. It isn't the same as starting a real life company. Be careful with sites like Absolutekicks.com and HNKickz.com. Get more information about a company before you start spending money. Online nothing is as it seems.
The views expressed inside this editorial aren't necessarily the views of BallerStatus.net or staff.
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