If you had asked me about Sneaker Bots last month, I would be lost.
And when I searched for it, I found out how these bots pose a high threat in the $42 billion sneakerhead bot business. These days be it:
- Union x Air Jordan 4 ‘Off Noir’
- Sean Wotherspoon x Atmos x ASICS Gel-Lyte III
- Or even Air Jordan 1 High ‘Dark Mocha.
Almost every hyped sneaker release receives 100% bot traffic. At the moment, these sneaker bots are dominating the market and that’s a bummer.
Bad Bots are Bad for Business as they wats away the trust & connection between retailers & consumers. So, going ahead in this post, I’ll explain what is Sneaker Botting & how they work for you in the background. Let’s get started:
Sneaker Botting Explained for Dummies
Call it an application or an automated script, Sneaker Bots are used on a computer to speed up the checkout process when you try to buy sneakers online.
Sneaker Bots makes it quite easy for you to purchase on-sale limited edition sneakers. These sneakers are listed in the aftermarket at higher prices where they’re then sold for profit.
Without these bots, it becomes nearly impossible to buy the limited-edition items against others who are simultaneously running bots for the same items.
How does Sneaker Bots Work?
It’s quite interesting to see all these Sneaker Bots work.
Well, the 1st thing you need to do is enter the following details in the BOT:
- Your Name.
- Credit Card.
- Delivery Address
And then enter a URL or keyword in the bot to instruct it on what you want to buy. Once you’ve initiated the bot, it automates the checkout process to purchase items at a quicker speed.
The speed that’s impossible for humans to achieve as the bot can purchase the assigned product in as little as 0.2 seconds.
However, if you run these bots on your PC, you won’t get such fast speed. For this, you might need to use proxies and a server. And that’s where things start to get a bit complicated for everyone.
Here a server is a Virtual PC that can increase the overall speed and connection of bots running on the site. And proxies are unique IP addresses that make it seem like you’re not one but multiple users.
This helps greatly as more entries result in increased chances of completing your purchase in a queue. And when you don’t use proxies, every entry would mean that you’re coming from a single source. Hence resulting in IP Ban.
How Sneaker Bots Impact your Business?
Generally, an online retailer sells a pair of Travis Scott Air Jordans at $200. However, the sneakers bought using the automated bots are then sold by middlemen at unthinkable prices. See it for yourself:
With that much of high price, it’s the retailers & true sneakerheads who lose out in the end. And lastly, it’s the brands that miss out on the golden opportunity to connect with a real human & establish a strong relationship.
Not only this, when Add to Cart services are added with a bot, retailers completely blocked from interacting directly with the customer. This in return limits the collection of consumer data. I guess that’s probably why Companies had to go one way forward & use incentive programs to Gain/Retain Customers.
What’s the Solution of Sneaker Bots?
Today, we’re living in a world where finding the answers isn’t a mystery. The same goes for the case of Sneaker Bots.
There’s a solution and it is Sneaker Raffle.
Just like a raffle ticket in Gambling competitions, a sneaker raffle gives every shopper an opportunity to buy a pair of sneakers. All you need is a tad bit of Good Luck.
As a potential buyer, you’ve to submit your entry to the retailer either online or offline. Then out of all the entries, only one random user is offered to purchase the sneakers & that too in a limited time.
And if you fail to do so, the opportunity is then passed on to the next lucky winner. Once you’ve paid up all the expenses, you can pick-up the items at an in-person location.
Frequently Asked Questions | Sneaker Botting
Question: Are sneaker bots illegal to Use?
Answer: Automatic bots do violate the retailer’s terms & conditions but as of now there are no laws against such bots.
Question: Does the Nike shoe bot work on mac?
Answer: Nike shoe bot is available on both Windows & macOS.
Question: Are sneaker bots safe?
Answer: When it comes to security, most of the sneaker bots are secure. Recently I used Nike shoe bot & it didn’t even save my site data on their server. Reliable bot sites use global practices in storing data collected from you.
Final Thoughts
I’ve said this earlier, I would say this again – Bad Bots are Bad for Business. It’s not just the Sneaker business, automated bots give an unfair disadvantage to people trying to buying it through legal means.
Last year in a report, Imperva clearly stated that 18% of traffic on eCommerce sites is from Bad Bots. The domination game by bots has resulted in brands losing customer trust.
Now, it’s up to the brands like NIKE, StockX to remove the threat posed by these automated bots. That’s all for now.
What do you think of Sneaker Botting? Is it unfair?
What do you think are the best solutions to eliminate the impact of Sneaker bots from the sneaker business? Do let me know about them in the comments section given below.