Nike OF1 NFT Sales Surpass $1 Million Despite Delays, Technical Issues
Nike’s .SWOOSH Web3 platform has released its first non-fungible token (NFT) sneaker collection, surpassing $1 million in sales despite persistent delays and technical issues hampering the user experience.
Sales of the much-anticipated virtual Nike creations began on May 15, almost a week after theirs previously announced start date May 8. The first round of sales, called “First Access”, was open exclusively to selected users who were sent from “posters” that served as their early entry ticket. In total, Nike says 106,453 posters were distributed to the earliest .SWOOSH community members.
The “General Access” sale began on May 24 – two weeks after that proposed sale date May 10 – and aimed to remove any remaining NFTs from the total holding of 106,453.
As of Thursday afternoon, over 66,000 NFTs had been sold, according to Polygonscan. Each NFT was priced at $19.82 – a tribute to the year the Air Force 1 sneaker was first released – indicating that Nike has raked in around $1.3 million from the sale so far, although the sale is ongoing and now ends on 1 June.
While the initial numbers look promising, the launch was delayed several times due to technical and traffic issues, according to Nike, leaving excited buyers frustrated by the cumbersome process.
Meanwhile, updates from the Nike team have suggested that the sale is going slower than expected. While popular Nike physical sneaker releases often sell out in minutes, over a third of the OF1 NFTs are still available for purchase.
Chronic delays and technical errors
When the First Access sale finally took off on May 15, the launch was bogged down by repeated delays, setting the tone for a bumpy NFT coin.
On May 7, the Twitter account became .SWOOSH tweeted that the platform needed a few more days to “fine tune” the rollout and create a “seamless” experience.
But when First Access sales began, the website crashed frequentlywhich leads to an uneven coining experience which lasted several hours. Some users expressed Disappointment with the discerning experience, considering Nike’s expertise in releasing limited edition collectibles to the masses.
May 16, Nike expanded its First Access sale “due to the ongoing technical issues,” and pushed back General Access sales in response. Additional “traffic problems” led to another delay.
On May 17, Nike said so there were still over 85,000 OF1 boxes left. By May 22, it the number was still around 83,000despite what appeared to be a large number of users eagerly awaiting the opportunity to purchase their NFTs.
The General Access sale began on May 24th, although it has been since then plagued with processing delays. Some users even reported to be charged for OF1 NFTs despite not receiving them. In response, .SWOOSH so that it “ran into an unforeseen error that held up the minting process” which “also blocked further purchases”.
On May 25, Nike tweeted that over 55,000 OF1 boxes had been sold to over 30,000 unique buyers and hailed the sale as a success. Other Nike employees praised .SWOOSH for “manage some insane traffic.”
Nike did not immediately respond to CoinDesk for comment.
The global sneaker giant has made steady moves to expand its Web3 strategy in recent years, previously acquiring digital fashion startup RTFKT Studios. RTFKT has launched several successful NFTs, including the CryptoKicks collection, and has partnered with brands such as Rimowa and artist Takashi Murakami on limited edition releases.
.SWOOSH has teased the release of a .SWOOSH marketplace in the coming months and has the spying plans to expand into virtual and IRL experiences, games, mint passes and 3D files.
