In the mid 1980s the cheap nike shox company came out with several new shoe designs, most particularly created for the sports industry that had always supported Nike so well. Along with new designs, during this period Nike negotiated a contract with Michal Jordan, a well-known, and highly popular, basketball player. Over the next two decades Nike would carry on a line of Jordan shoes in various styles, even after Jordan's retirement from pro basketball.

The two major features that set Nike Air Jordan shoes apart from other sneakers were in the design of the shoe itself, and in the logos printed on the shoes. The earliest shoes, released in 1985, were a leather base in both high top and low top varieties. They were the first shoes to carry the winged basketball that would come to be known as one of two Nike Air Jordan standard logos. This logo would appear on three versions of Nike Air Jordan Shoes, printed on either the side near the ankle or on the tongue of the shoe. When the fourth version was introduced in 1987 the logo was changed to what was dubbed the 'jumpman' a picture of a basketball player going up for a slam-dunk. This logo appeared on many places depending on the particular shoe. Sides, tongue and sole were all fair game for logo placement and the jumpman appeared on all.

The most unique feature of the Air Jordan line though was in the Nike Air technology. This allowed for a design that brought extra air into the sole of the shoe, creating a better cushion for the foot of the wearer. All of the Air Jordan shoes had this technology, but it became much more visible in the later lines. In these designs a squeezable shoe 'pump' was installed into the tongue of the shoe. By pressing the pump a customer could change the firmness of the fit of the shoe, adjusting this for personal preference and maximum comfort.

Currently many top of the market shoe stores sell the Nike Air Jordan shoe lines at full retail prices, leaving wholesale Nike Air Jordan for outlet stores, prices ranging from $70 to over $300, averaging out around $100.In order to combat these prices and take a share of the wholesale Nike Air Jordan market online websites such as urbanhotlist.com have appeared. They offer discounted prices on these shoes, through wholesale options and bulk orders. This guarantees the authenticity and quality of the shoes, but for a much lower price.

Both advantages and disadvantages exist when it comes to purchasing from an online wholesale site, like urbanhotlist.com. The access to a much broader base of merchandise, in this case additional colors and styles of shoes that might not be available in stores and at wholesale pricing, can be kept reasonable, even after shipping and handling.

For these reasons, among others, websites such as urbanhotlist.com have become popular with wholesale Nike Air Jordan consumers. The biggest drawback to such sites is that the customer is unable to see or handle the merchandise before it is purchased. Customers must be sure to get a good refund policy before placing an order, so that any defects or sizing problems can be easily addressed.