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Back to the Future limited edition sneakers auctioned for charity

Rob Beschizza at 7:40 am Fri, Sep 9, 2011

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The Nike Mag, based on the sneakers seen in the popular motion picture Back to the Future II, is finally in existence.

The NIKE MAG is no longer the “greatest shoe never made.” The mythical shoe that originally captured the imagination of audiences in Back to the Future II is being released – and they’re here to help create a future without Parkinson’s disease.

1,500 pairs are under auction at eBay to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Bids are already hitting five-figure sums.

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  • Lobster

    I’m pretty sure I saw a 7-year-old wearing a pair of these the other day.

  • http://twitter.com/cicadamania Cicada Mania

    LEDs! I assume Daft Punk will be bidding on these.

  • Felton / Moderator

    Powered by tiny Mr. Fusion reactors.

  • Broan

    Great scott!

  • hypnosifl

    sadly, though, no power laces!

  • maxkind

    You’ll note that these particular models do not auto-lace. The batteries and whatnot are just for the LEDs.

  • Toby

    The thing that frustrates me about charity auctions is that it only collects money from the winners — if someone was willing to pay $5k for these shoes, but is outbid at the last minute by $1, the charity just lost that first person’s donation.

    • hypnosifl

      The thing that frustrates me about charity auctions is that it only collects money from the winners — if someone was willing to pay $5k for these shoes, but is outbid at the last minute by $1, the charity just lost that first person’s donation.

      I suppose if everyone was completely honest about how much they were willing to pay, it would be better to give every bidder a pair of shoes, but realistically if people knew they would get the shoes even if their bid wasn’t high, people would bid much lower and the auction wouldn’t make as much money for the charity.

    • mccrum

      So, you’re suggesting that the charity auction would basically charge the first guy five grand and give him nothing while charging the second one $5001 and giving him an item?

      We have those, they’re called raffles.  Auctions are won by the highest bidder, the second highest isn’t charged anything because they didn’t win.

      • Jeremy Hill

        I don’t think he’s saying that they should run it that way, I think he’s just saying that’s the problem with auctions.  I’ve always felt raffles are a much better option.  

        I have absolutely no chance to win these shoes, as I don’t have the funds to apply.  But if it was a raffle, I could buy 50 $1 tickets and the guy who can afford $6000 can afford 6000.  He’s got much betters odds of winning than I do, but I at least have a chance, so I’m still putting my money in.

    • Ramone

      I’m sure if someone who wants to donate five figures or more to the Fox Foundation will figure out a way to make it happen without purchasing the shoes. 

      • Jeremy Hill

        That’s assuming they still want to donate if they have no chance of getting the shoes.

  • Spriggan_Prime

    I bet they’ll do a second running. If not for furthering the charity but for direct retail later. Even if it takes them to 2015 we’ll see these again.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yiSdjwi_bg&feature=player_embedded#!

  • Kibbee

    Yeah, hard to imagine they only set the movie in 2015.  We don’t have any of that stuff yet. Except the Pepsi ads plastered everywhere. They really should have waited until they got the autolacing to work.  And then sell a mass market shoe without the autolacing for the general public.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=551343828 Scott Frazer

    Q: WERE THE 2011 NIKE MAG SHOES USED IN THE FILM BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II?
    The 2011 NIKE MAG shoes are movie prop replicas inspired by the Nike shoes appearing in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II. The 2011 NIKE MAG shoes are not designed or intended for normal wear and use as footwear.

    So, don’t go wearing these outside.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Oliver-Schmieding/100000452523362 Oliver Schmieding

    first things first: wipe slaver away, but after that, no more time to waste,
    ebay it is, i’m SO going to buy these shoes even if i’m going to shell out the yearly food budget 
    of a typical midwestern…hold on a sec. this can’t be true….

    limited edition, eh?? going for >5K, even for >30K on ebay, eh??!!eleven!!
    that’s a VERY nice carrot you’re dangling in my face there, nike…
    you managed to piss me off so thoroughly that i’m on my way to the next foot locker
    to re-enact the george bush popularity tour shoe-thrower experience with  some of my kid’s 
    nikes and one of their staff – afterwards, i’m going to buy one pair each of new adidas running and  
    soccer and basketball shoes for both of my kids, and i swear i never ever will buy ANYTHING from your §$%§$% limited edition clown company again. 
    if you want to generate some $$$ for charity, say so, i’ll write a cheque. (better yet – give yourself, and give generously, what with your indian-children-sweatshop-misery generated revenue….)
    but if you want to seriously antagonize your fans, well….your marketing guys just made a very good job of that.

    wish i could swear as well as native speaker, but as it stands i would lack the words to really convey the true depth of my diappointment, nike. retarded f******.

    • http://darkmobius.com Andrew Molloy

      Don’t worry about not being a native speaker, you’ve managed to convey your lack of reasoned argument and immaturity rather well.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Oliver-Schmieding/100000452523362 Oliver Schmieding

        thanks…somehow, i always manage to impress the entirely wrong sort of people. maybe next time i should aim not for popularity amongst hoi polloi, but try to target the intellectual peer group instead.  

  • Thomas Shaped

    So they’re shoes.. but you’re not allowed to wear them..

    • Gulliver

      So they’re shoes.. but you’re not allowed to wear them..

      Much like the DeLorean…technically a car, but you’re not allowed to time travel in it…yet…

  • Daneel

    Scary that we’re only four years from reaching the ‘Future’ point – and even scarier that when we do, 1985 will be as long ago as 1955 was when the film was released…

    The auction? Meh. Colour me unimpressed. If they were available for retail at shoe prices (especially with power laces) this story (and the product) would be a million times more interesting to me.

    I’d rather have a hoverboard.

    • Brainspore
      Scary that we’re only four years from reaching the ‘Future’
      point – and even scarier that when we do, 1985 will be as long ago as
      1955 was when the film was released…

      I imagine that the inevitable remake will involve a teen driving the contemporary equivalent of a DeLorean (Tesla Roadster?) back to 1985. The “oldie but goodie” he sings at his parents’ prom will be “Baby Got Back.”

      • Daneel

        http://havetheyremadebacktothefutureyet.com/

        I STILL want a DeLorean, even though I know they’re crap.

        • Gulliver

          Yes, but stainless steel crap!

          • Donald Petersen

            Yes, but stainless steel crap!

            Phooey.  If I wanted stainless steel crap, I’d buy another Maytag.

            Adam Carolla’s kinda lame new Car Show had a mildly entertaining bit recently, where they drag raced a DeLorean against a fairly new Toyota Sienna minivan, shortly after they raced a 1985 Ferrari 308 against a 2010 Camry.  The results may surprise you.

          • Gulliver

            To be fair, Toyotas don’t have breaks.

            It does sorta look like an domestic appliance, doesn’t it? Hmmm…

            Well, speed’s not everything.

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4yhp9L6Ok

          • penguinchris

            Wow, yeah, I thought Top Gear USA was awful (and for the record I love real Top Gear), but that’s much worse – at least they tried to do an interesting demonstration (that’s something straight out of Top Gear UK, though they haven’t done those particular comparisons), but the hosts are awful.

      • Gulliver

        I imagine that the inevitable remake will involve a teen driving the
        contemporary equivalent of a DeLorean (Tesla Roadster?) back to 1985.
        The “oldie but goodie” he sings at his parents’ prom will be “Baby Got
        Back.”

        Don’t even joke about that. Hear that, Spielberg. I could forgive Lucas for Phantom Menace, but if you ruin Back to the Future, there will be a special place in nerd hell for you.

      • Daneel

        I was thinking “The Final Countdown”.

  • Thomas Shaped

    Think I’ll just modify my own that I CAN wear them outside.

  • http://riverlaw.myopenid.com/ riverlaw

    Oliver you seem like a serious nike fan. Thats cool. Just remember this a is charity deal that seems to be working well. I would recommend not taking it so personal. 

  • http://twitter.com/dolemite Rudy Moore

    Nike’s already filed the patent for the auto-lacing:
    http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/26/nike-files-patent-for-auto-lacing-sneakers-marty-mcfly-doth-pro/

    And Nike knows exactly what they’re doing: issue the very limited edition non-lacing first, then the mass market version, THEN the limited edition auto-lacing versions in 2015 and then the mass market auto-lacing afterwards.

  • Mim

    I did a more precise search to create this new link to results with just the shoes for this charity auction –  not all clogged up with unrelated items. – Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarian

    • siloxane

      Here’s a link to eBay’s dedicated page for the Nike Mag, with a link to all the auctions for the shoes. (And don’t miss the video with Christopher Lloyd, Bill Hader and Kevin Durant.)

  • http://www.facebook.com/Shelli.lynn Shelli Frew

    they are being made just not by nike. 
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Efr2TaEPo 

  • lauren finn

    The shoes are the only accurate prediction the movie made about “the future” LOL

    • mccrum

      I’m not so sure, that Marty McFly is still a hothead these days…

      Seriously though, I do have a biometric lock to my kid’s preschool (how I feel about it is another matter…)

  • http://www.ikaink.net Itsumishi

    I tried putting a bid on a pair last night. $4,800. I knew I wouldn’t win, but I figured if by some bizarre chance I did, I can afford to pay that, then in a few months re-auction them and probably make my money back, perhaps even a little extra. In the meantime I’d look at the shoes, try them on once or twice. Take some photos and always have the memory of wearing Nike Mags for about 15 minutes.

    The problem is that despite the many reports saying otherwise. They won’t ship outside the US. 

    That seems like a dumb move. I know where are a lot of sneaker freakers in the US of A, but there are also a lot more outside the US.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500232362 Andy Toutant

    I still want power laces.  I made series video idea   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTcAw_W15Ts