[karatestomp]

As long as the intended audience recognizes them, they’re doing their job.

There is also a significant subculture or sneaker collectors who buy them like someone might a rare run of “collectible” action figures, where rareness is all that matters over the value of the item per se. Some crazy-seeming sneaker prices are just companies catering to that market. Of course there’s overlap and symbiosis with the signaling crowd, too.