Why is Nike so expensive? 508 pieces and Nike's own numbers

A Nike Dunk Low Retro lists at CAD 119.99 on nike.com/ca. The 93 Dunks on one Toronto shelf ask a CAD 450 median, read 20 September 2026. Nike is expensive in resale, and Nike's own annual report says where the list price goes.

Quick facts

• Live pieces: 508 at Utopia, 132 Cumberland Street, Toronto, read 20 September 2026
• Price range: CAD 100 to 3,000, median CAD 350
• Deepest category: sneakers, 477 of 508; Kobe 105 pairs, Dunk 93, Air Force 1 53, Air Max 48
• Condition: 354 new and 154 pre owned, both at a CAD 350 median
• Sizes: 450 pairs in men's sizes, 19 in kids' sizes, 9 in women's; size 9 the most stocked at 90 pairs
• Nike's own price: Dunk Low Retro CAD 119.99, SB Dunk Low Pro 150 to 165, the same day

The Nike shelf in Toronto prints the size and the price on every piece. Jordans are counted on their own shelf, 630 pairs on the same day, at the Jordan shelf.

Why is Nike so expensive?

Nike's list prices are the cheap part. A Dunk Low Retro is CAD 119.99 on nike.com/ca, read 20 September 2026. An SB Dunk Low Pro is 150 to 165 and a Dunk Low Retro Premium is 165.

The expensive Nikes are the pairs the shops resell. The 93 Dunks at Utopia ask a CAD 450 median, and 65 of them are SB Dunks. The dearest pair on the shelf is an SB Dunk Low Travis Scott at CAD 3,000.

It goes model by model. The 105 Kobes ask a CAD 400 median and the 53 Air Force 1s ask 300. An Air Yeezy 2 Solar Red in a size 9.5, pre owned, asks CAD 3,000.

Nike sells a Dunk Low for CAD 119.99; the resale shelf's Dunk median is CAD 450.

What it costs Nike to make a shoe

Nike's annual report for the year to 31 May 2026, filed with the SEC on 15 July 2026, has the numbers. Revenue was USD 46,398 million and cost of sales 26,487 million, a gross margin of 42.9 per cent. Put plainly, about 57 cents of each dollar Nike takes goes to the cost of sales, the making and the shipping.

The making is outsourced. Nearly all products are made by independent contractors outside the United States. In fiscal 2026 factories in Vietnam, Indonesia and China made 52, 27 and 16 per cent of Nike Brand footwear.

Product costs rose in the year and took about 20 basis points off gross margin, the report says.

Selling is the next line. Demand creation expense, which is brand marketing plus sports marketing including endorsement contracts, was USD 4,754 million, and operating overhead was 11,360 million. Together they were 34.7 per cent of revenue.

Price is a lever Nike names. Unit sales of footwear fell 1 per cent in fiscal 2026 and the average selling price per pair fell as well. In the report's words, the lower price was "primarily due to channel mix, partially offset by product mix and strategic pricing".

Tariffs are in the year too. Nike paid the US tariffs imposed under emergency powers, the IEEPA tariffs in the report's words. It booked a USD 986 million benefit in the fourth quarter when it judged their recovery probable.

Is Nike worth it?

At list, yes, and the list is low: CAD 119.99 for a Dunk Low Retro. At resale it depends on the pair. New and pre owned Nikes on the Toronto shelf both sit on a CAD 350 median, across 354 and 154 pieces.

Pay CAD 450 for a Dunk if it is the colourway you want. Nike will sell you a plain one for 120.

Why are Nike Dunks so expensive?

Because the Dunks that reach a resale shelf are the SB and collaboration pairs. 65 of the 93 Dunks at Utopia are SB Dunks.

The three dearest are an SB Dunk Low Travis Scott at CAD 3,000 and a Concepts Purple Lobster with its special box at 2,500. Third is a Ben & Jerry's Chunky Dunky, pre owned, at 2,400.

Where to find them

The Nike stockist page keeps the shop list and the count current, and the Nike price guide has the full table by model. The sneaker shops in Toronto guide has five addresses.

Nike began as a handshake in Portland on 25 January 1964 between Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, per Nike's own history page. The company was incorporated in Oregon in 1967 and its head office is at One Bowerman Drive, Beaverton, per the annual report.

Read 20 September 2026: 508 pieces, one shop, CAD 100 to 3,000.

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