Remember when fans predicted Dale Jr. coming up with his shoe brand? It looks like they were too ambitious, as it is NASCAR setting merchandise for fans with the American footwear company based in Broomfield, Colorado. Crocs is now expanding its NASCAR licensing association with new pairs of shoes. The trendy pairs also include customized shoes on Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. themes.

In its first impression, these shoes appear vibrant and full of unique color combinations. Fans have been excited ever since the shoe line popped up. But, amid this merchandise launch, the prices are something that’s irking the fans before going to shop for a pair. The question in everyone’s minds is whether the Hey Dude Shoes section of NASCAR is worth the money.

NASCAR does seem to swell it up a bit when it comes to its merchandise. The new set of Wally is set at $75 for the people to buy. The price may fare decently well with the values of society. But it appears to become an issue for the average working-class NASCAR fan living on tight margins.

This difference, however, is that this time people have decided to take the matter into their own hands. Fans reacted to Adam Stern’s post to raise the issue and publicly complained about the soared-up prices for the shoes, which seemed unreasonable in their eyes.

While some gave it a better price, others even decided the stores

The overpricing was perfectly called out by an enraged fan who commented, “$75?! $35 would be fine.” This definitely was a very low hit. If you go and check the official NASCAR store for merch, especially the shoe store, all slippers from the No. 9, No. 4, or even Daytona are priced between $35 and $50. So it means fans are considering the new Crocs even less worthy, as another fan wrote, “$75 for overhyped slippers? Hard pass.”

Another one took a jibe at NASCAR in the most American way possible as he said, “$75? $9.99 at Walmart, maybe.” While this is two times cheaper than a Women’s NASCAR tank top, this comment, in particular, might have flared some chuckles amongst other social media users as well.

People went as direct as they could, pointing out the marketability of the product and how the pricing could hamper the overall success of the product. One user commented, “Dude why so expensive? Nobody will buy this if it’s that price.” While yet another said, “Might be worth $15.00 and should be sold at all gas stations.” But looking at the current merch and pricing, it looks justified, if you go on comparing, even a Women’s Noah Gragson Brooch Pin is priced at $90.

With these comments, although it is evident that fans are not welcoming the Crocs shoes open-heartedly for now, NASCAR has sort of set the price of the shoes correctly. In the long run, the product can face trouble keeping itself afloat. This makes it more sellable to the people and might be an uphill battle for people administrating NASCAR.

For now, only time will tell whether the Wally launch will survive in the market at the price currently decided by NASCAR. But seeing the kind of reactions it received from fans, a middle ground in pricing may not be off the table shortly.

But credit to NASCAR where it is due. This is indeed a unique attempt to keep the entire racing process engaging for the audiences and to establish a close bond with the fans. Right now they only sell slippers and socks under the footwear category.

However, fans may feel that the experience of purchasing these shoes and flaunting them at the racetrack is particularly lost now that NASCAR has closed down its souvenir trailers back in the year 2015. Die-hard fans, without a doubt, still get emotional around it.