The Illusion of Scarcity: Supreme, Fluid Values, and Drops

Supreme has mastered the art of creating — and maintaining — customer hype. By Megan, 20, Baltimore

Is Supreme fluid? Certainly their system of drops and the related fluctuations in value give the impression of a dynamic brand in motion. But is this culture of more, scarcity, and exclusion fluid? Megan Schaller talked to people waiting in line at the NYC-weekly drops to find out.

On a cold, wet Thursday morning in October, three of downtown
Manhattan’s busiest blocks are dotted with security guards in sets of two, monitoring an ever growing line of young men. The first among these teenagers, eager college kids, and apathetic, weathered 20-somethings, arrived at the very crack of dawn, lining up amidst the drizzle not to meet a celebrity or for an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime pop up, they are here to shop for sweatshirts, t-shirts, and puffer jackets at Supreme. Some of them tell me, they would have arrived earlier, but for its weekly 11 AM sharp worldwide Thursday drops, Supreme bans overnight camping. On this day, they are here to cop pieces from a limited-edition collaboration between North Face and Supreme. The collection’s $1,600 puffer jackets, which feature prominent Supreme branding, were generating the greatest amount of hype. For most of these men, this is a weekly commitment in perpetuity.

While Supreme didn’t invent the concept of the routine drop, the streetwear-bred marketing tactic of releasing frequent, limited collections, it perfected the execution. The sales strategy came from elite streetwear labels in Japan, which would “drop” only one or two of each of their highly-coveted shirts at a time. Even though all of Supreme’s apparel is mass-produced (fans on Reddit estimate that the company cranks out at least 10,000 of each product per drop), the brand’s limited, geo-targeted drops create the illusion of scarcity — which gives its products the appeal and exclusivity of luxury at a fraction of the price.

Supreme pushes out tens of thousands of new pieces of merchandise every week, but by keeping supply slightly below demand, Supreme has mastered the art of creating — and maintaining — customer hype. Along with being an invaluable marketing tool, the illusion of scarcity has created a massive resale market for the brand. There’s a major secondary business in attending Supreme drops solely to resell product at a substantial up charge to those who didn’t attend (or succeed at) the drop. The money is in the logo pieces: the average resale price of a white box logo tee is a +1,132% markup ($54 to $665), and logo sweatshirts typically sell for over $1,500. Supreme has banned known resellers from waiting in line or loitering near Supreme customers. To get around the airtight Supreme security, resellers will often wait around the block and bribe Supreme customers that have just left the store to give away their new merchandise in exchange for a portion of the resale. The weekly drops at Supreme’s Manhattan location are typically attended by at least eight security guards spread out across the line and storefront. Supreme has also cracked down on resellers by limiting each customer to only one of each new product (before this restriction was enacted, Supreme fans would typically buy two of each item — one to keep, one to sell online or outside the store).

Once shoppers are inside the store, they are not allowed to communicate, use their phones, or look at “notes.” If security suspects someone is a reseller, they will not hesitate to kick them out of the line or the store. It happens often. While waiting by the line on that October morning, I meet a 20-year-old fan named Amir. Amir, who grew up in Manhattan, had been going to Supreme drops since he was fourteen. In high school, he used to skip class to attend a drop at least twice a month. Now that he’s older, he focuses on bigger prizes. Amir explains to me that Supreme’s infamous Thursday drops are only the tip of the iceberg. Supreme obsessives like himself scour blogs including Highsnobiety and Hypebeast for news of top secret drops, which happen at random times and locations and can only be accessed with a ticket.

In 2016, Amir waited 31 hours to buy a rare camo box logo hoodie at one of these ultra-exclusive events. “Regular drops are low-hanging fruit,” says Amir. “Those items are relatively easy to get, as long as you put in the time. The super- exclusive products are where the clout is. If you walk down the street wearing one of those products, you’re untouchable.”

The limited runs of Supreme products create stiff competition among fans; it’s every man for himself. Which is one of the most interesting ways that Supreme fans differentiate themselves from other fan communities: their lack of community. Evan, a 28-year-old freelance photographer who attends drops weekly, said, “I see the same faces in line every week. But we rarely talk to each other, and never about Supreme. You mind your business, I’ll mind mine. But if you come in between me and the item I’m trying to cop, then we have a problem.” Supreme fans rely on Twitter accounts like @dropssupreme and blogs like Highsnobiety for community information. “I wouldn’t trust a random fan who claimed he knew secret information about the next drop,” explained Evan. “Nobody would give away that information to the competition.” I couldn’t help but wonder how all these people who were taking time off work and school could afford to spend this type
of money every week. Here, 8 hardcore Supreme fans explain how and why they are deeply loyal to the Supreme drop.

The following Supreme fans regularly attend the weekly drops at Supreme’s Manhattan location. I interviewed them as they waited in line for a regular Thursday drop. Supreme’s lines tend to be mostly (or all) men, typically between the ages of 14–30. The line forms at a predetermined place several blocks away from the store. Just before 11PM, security escorts the line — in small groups — into Supreme.

Name: Amir Age: 20

Other brands he attends drops for: Off-White, Kanye, Bape (online only), Balenciaga

Name: Evan Age: 28

On whether he resells: “I cop Supreme for me. If you really care about Supreme, you’re not in it for the money. You’re in it for the piece.”

Name: Kai Age: 29

On how long he sees himself going to weekly drops: “Forever. It’s just a part of my routine.”

Name: Henry Age: 15

On his favorite source for Supreme information: @supreme_leaks_news (1.4 million followers) on Instagram

Name: JP Age: 26

On why he attends weekly drops: “I want to collect all the collaborations. Collaborations are always super limited.”

Name: Sergey Age: 17

On how he can afford to go to Supreme drops every week: “My parents.”

Name: Eric Age: 28

On how he fits weekly drops into his work schedule: “I work part-time and I like it that way. I make enough money reselling that
I can afford to work part-time and still go to drops. I still get pieces for me, but I find myself reselling more and more because the money is just too good.”

Name: Huan Age: 19

On what he likes about waiting in line:
“I feel like I’m a part of something bigger than myself.”