To be honest the average person is not going to say: oh this pair cost $180 and this pair cost $315. They just see the price of $315, without bothering to get into the dynamics of the technology and what not.
But, what kills me is that everytime someone post $315 for the price of the shoe someone has to come in and clarify that there is a $180 version like that really makes it any better.
No, people do not just see the price, if people do see a $315 Lebron next to a $180 Lebron that looks the same, they will question the difference in the two for sure. NT is a special case though, tech or no tech, NT will attack anything that they do not agree with, it is simple as that. Look at the people here already forsaking Nike when they assume this is the regular price for Lebron X. In the real world, people will ask why it cost so much, people ask this about Gucci, Prada, LV, etc... all the time. When outrageous price tags are attached to item of desire or "hype", people will question it, on in NTs case, attack it w/o provocation.
And of course someone has to clarify, it is one way reporting. People are already condemning the shoe because the article purposely left out the fact that this is the expensive version, they even used the Lebron 9 Elite version as an example, the version that cost $80 more than the regular version. I mean this really isn't new, we've seen Nike charge more for a "special version" of the shoe or a limited version where people would kill another for.
Another point is this is a message board where people share their opinions and facts, why wouldn't someone point out that there is a cheaper version to try and calm the outrage and even educate those who may not know?
Now this is not to defend Nikes pricing, I really only buy running and training shoes from them now and when on sale if possible but there is a reason why people should point out that there is a cheaper version. It is overpriced but even if people wait to buy at 30% or even 50% off, Nike is still making a lot of money off of them.