Markpoons are great, IF you're a size 9 or 10. Can't believe there's no way for him or his shoemaker to make bigger sizes. There are so many size 12 people wanting to wear them that are left out in the cold.
I've been tossing around the idea of getting a pair of those Chinese knockoffs, for $60 it's pretty cheap, but the more I look at them and try to convince myself that with a paint job and light conversion they'd look pretty good, as soon as I look at a picture of the real ones, it just crushes the idea. There really is no comparison. The real ones look so sleek and clean, and those Chinese ones look like cheap shoes (boots, really) that you'd find at Payless or Walmart. And like what was said above, the soles are not translucent, so in order to add the EL, you'd have to re-mold and cast clear versions of that piece. That's a lot of trouble for a shoe that, in the end, still isn't going to look that good. The only advantage is that you can get them in any size and actually be able to wear them.
I too am really surprised that there aren't better knockoffs yet. I keep hearing about the replicas of the McFly Hyperdunks and that they're really well done. What's the hold up with the MAGs??? They're such a big deal in the shoe world, with all the other shoe reps out there, you'd think they'd be on top of that *****. Aside from the electronics, there's nothing that is crazy difficult about making them for the rep factories. Even if they sold them without lights, I'd be fine with that if we could add them ourselves, as long as the shoe looked pretty accurate.