There are fake Nike shoes that are often on the market, whether they are sold on the internet or from a van on the side of the street. They are known as Variant Jordan Shoes and Lookalike Jordan Shoes, both of which look very similar to the real thing. The Variant shoes are complete fakes, while the Lookalike shoes are sold in department stores and are usually created by an anonymous shoe designer. Both of these may look authentic, but the real test is the way they hold up when worn.
A rare and excellent find is a pair of Sample Jordan Shoes, which are only in a size 9. They also don't come with a box and are used to test out new design styles for Jordan shoes. Some are very unusual in appearance and extremely valuable. When an odd colored pair of Jordan shoes is found, ones that haven't been seen in a catalog or magazine, it's often hard to tell if they are samples, fakes, or custom made. There are custom Jordan shoes that are detailed by hand, which makes the price go way up.
Weeding out the fakes from the authentic pairs can be difficult, but the easiest way is to find out which stores are licensed dealers and go directly to them. Purchasing shoes online can be very convenient, especially when anything ordered over the internet is generally delivered directly to a house address or a post office box. There are many websites that claim to be selling true Nike Jordan shoes, but it's hard to tell which ones are legitimate and which ones aren't.