Saw this on Friday night’s 20/20 and thought it was pretty neat.

Launched in 2006, New York Nick’s Stephon Marbury partnered with Steve & Barry’s to promote a line of shoes and clothing bearing his nickname, “Starbury.” Understanding the pressure that inner-city kids face to spend $150-$200 on footwear sold by other companies such as Nike, Reebok, and Addidas, Marbury’s line of shoes will sell from $9.98 to $14.98. To show their quality, Marbury will be wearing these shoes for the entire 06-07 NBA season.

On March 23, 2007, Starbury was featured in a segment on the ABC show 20/20 (edition entitled “Enough!”), hosted by John Stossel. The segment dealt with the high price of sneakers and the role of Starbury and Marbury as an alternative. During the show, Marbury stated “If you take my shoe and you take a $150 shoe, cut it down in half, and it do the same exact thing.”

Sure, the shoes are still made in China, but at least they’re not $150 made in China shoes. And yes, Marbury isn’t exactly a star NBA player (contrary to his own self proclaimation of “best PG in NBA”), regardless, promoting the idea that brand and quality doesn’t always equate to high prices is awesome enough in itself.

It’s reader’s appreciation day here at Stop Buying Crap. To show my appreciation for the many unfortuante readers who couldn’t find the unsubscribe button (or too lazy to remove the blog feed), here are some reasons why you are better than me:

1. You’re better looking
2. You’re taller (I’m a short geek with glasses)
3. You have better eyesight
4. Your IQ is higher than 87
5. You make more money and you’re most likely wealthier
6. You are definitely more educated (oh I hope I graduate one of these days)
7. You have a bigger you-know-what
8. You spell better and have a better command of the English language
9. You’re not scared of horror movies
10. You smell nicer (mmm… is that lavender?)

Check out 50 fun facts about credit cards from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

The fun part is that over 10 of those facts aren’t favorable facts to consumers like you. Yay!

On an unrelated note, if you have a few minutes to kill, head over to MyMint.com and fill out the survey available on the site.

The group is lauching a supposedly kick-ass personal finance application, so the more input from potential users — the better the chance for the software to meet everyone’s need.

I’m totally screwed.

It really is a tough habit to break as the article mentions. Argh.

Not.

Unmoderated message boards are usually pretty messy to sort through, but this is still pretty bad (the stock message boards anyway).

Talk about a group of angry people. Besides the frequent exchange of insults, you’ll also find useful stock advice such as:

…don’t get scared now man. This is the time where you grab your nuts and buy some more…

This is after the stock sank 23% earlier in the day, due to decade long poor business practices, and the fact that the company is knocking on bankruptcy door. And no, the current price is still no where near liquidation value.

Avoid like the plague.

Cleaning out the bookmarks today and realized that I never mentioned the very funny arch-nemesis blog: The Impulsive Buy.

Next time I’m in Hawaii, I’m going to punch him in the face — as soon as I can find him.

And uh, as soon as I save up the money to fly there.

From Monday’s paper (that I finally got around to reading). These are tried and true tips that are worth mentioning again (yes, even if gas prices have gone down a bit):

1. Take it easy.

Driving at a reasonable speed will conserve gas. EPA’s rule of thumb: for every 5 mph over 60 mph, you’re paying an additional 20 cents a gallon for gas.

2. Cruise Control.

Engaging cruise control on the highway for better fuel management.

3. Lighten Up.

Take everything out of the car that you don’t need so your engine doesn’t have to work as hard. If packing for a road trip, try to keep luggage inside the vehicle rather than strapping to roof where it creates wind resistance.

4. Stay in tune.

Keep up with regular maintenance. Simple things such as changing the engine air filter on a needed basis can improve gas mileage as much by 10%.

5. Pump them up.

Properly inflated tires play a big role in good fuel economy. Check the sticker at the driver side door or glove box for the proper inflation pressure. Besides affect fuel economy, under/over inflated tires can significantly affect ride handling, vehicle safety, AND add unnecessary wear to your tires, costing you more money in the future.

6. Cool it on the AC.

Use air conditioners conservatively. Most air conditioner have a “economy” or “recirculation” setting that reduces the amount of outside air that must be chilled.

Related Post:

• HOWTO: Save Money at the Pump (& Free eBook)

Not to alienate any international readers… but, still the greatest country in the world, IMO.
Here’s to the next milestone, hopefully followed by less problems and more solutions.