Sneaker Buying Bot
11 Best Sneaker Bots of 2021 – Good, Bad & Where To Buy
Sneaker bots, a new concept to the world of fashion, are taking the industry by storm.
Simply put, sneaker bots are behind almost everything sneakers-related right now.
Sneaker bots have become critical tools to hardcore sneakerheads, sneaker spotters, resellers, and collectors.
These tools are also paired with residential proxies to avoid any blocks on sneaker online storefronts – check out this Smartproxy blog to learn more.
Sneaker bots are used to find the latest releases, buy, sell, boost online advertising and sales, and even copy sneaker designs.
With hundreds of exclusive sneaker releases dropping every year, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, the sneaker bot business is growing fast.
In this article, I’ll detail the sneaker bot business, and introduce you to the best sneaker bots of 2021.
I’ll also share with you what we like and what we don’t like about each sneaker bot in this list.
Finally, at the end of the article, I’ll answer some of the most asked questions right now, such as: are sneaker bots illegal, how do sneaker bots work, and so on.
IN THIS ARTICLE:
Top 11 sneaker bots of 2021
What is a sneaker bot?
How do sneaker bots work?
Are sneaker bots illegal?
Do sneaker bots actually work?
How much does a sneaker bot cost?
What are the best sneaker bots?
Top 11 Sneaker Bots Of 2021
New sneaker bots join the market every year, but there’s no way to tell how they’ll perform.
Thus, rather than making a risky investment in unknown bots, it is better to focus on trialed and tested bots.
History shows that a bot that’s been performing well in the past, does well in the next years too.
In this guide, I’ve picked each sneaker bot based on past performance, features, and price.
I have also checked each sneaker bot’s Twitter account, discussions on Reddit, and lots of users’ reviews, to ensure each sneakerbot legitimacy and performance proof.
Without further ado, these are the best 11 sneaker bots of 2021 you can buy right now:
1.
GANESH BOT
Overall Score 7
From $500
PROS
CONS
Very easy to use with a fast return on investment, if you use it right.
Reselling price is very high, around 5k USD.
SUPPORT | 8/10
EASE OF USE | 7. 5/10
SUCCESS RATE | 8. 5/10
AVAILABILITY | 4/10
Ganesh is one of the best sneaker bots to perform on EU-based sites.
Catering for a part of the community that’s long been overlooked.
In terms of websites, Ganesh supports Footlocker EU, Footsites, Finishline, Solebox, Offspring, and many more.
With an applaudable performance on Footlocker EU and Footsites US.
Of course, that’s all great news for EU fam, but if you’re located in the US and want to run Ganesh.
Well, you can always resort to reshipping services. Even if they’re gonna add to your running costs.
Generally speaking, 2020 was a successful year for Ganesh users who copped the Mochas, Jordan 5 Oregon, AJ5 “What The”, Nike Sacai Vaporwaffle, AJ1 Lucky Green, and a lot more.
The retail price of Ganesh falls more into the higher range of prices at £550.
In addition to the renewal fees of $80/ 6 months. But, that’s nothing compared to its aftermarket price.
If you’re looking to buy Ganesh and can’t waste time waiting for a restock, it’ll cost you anywhere between $4500 and $5000.
Pretty pricey, but as with all great sneaker bots, copping the right pairs will pay you back very soon.
2.
CYBERSOLE AIO
From $300
Good retail price and fairly available, if you know where to look.
Support can be a total letdown at times, so rely on Reddit groups if you need help.
SUPPORT | 6. 5/10
SUCCESS RATE | 8/10
AVAILABILITY | 6/10
Cybersole is one of the most in-demand sneaker bots at the moment, at least on the secondary market.
Part of this goes to the excellent success rate it delivers.
Flipping a key of Cybersole, which is Out-of-Stock, could make you as much as selling 3 or 4 pairs of new Yeezys sneakers
Why does it cost so much? Well, because of the reselling bots.
So, if you want to get your hands on the Cybersole bot, before the next drop, you’ll need to pay a good sum.
Now, even if you’re short on cash, you can still cop Jordans and Yeezys, using Cybersole.
After all, the bot sneaker community is one of the most helpful you’ll ever join.
You can rent a good sneaker bot for a period as short as one day, or as long as a month and the bot renting business also applies to Cybersole.
Cybersole bot has earned this reputation by having a consistent and strong performance throughout 2020.
People using this bot have been successfully copping Supreme, Yeezys, Jordans, Off-whites, and streetwear items from Shopify, and Footsites.
Moreover, the bot’s success rate with Supreme merch is what made some critics call it ‘the best supreme bot of 2021‘.
3.
BALKO BOT
Overall Score 6. 8
From $250
Decent success rate and renting option is relatively cheap for those new to sneaker bots
Balko does not support Footsites.
SUPPORT | 7. 5/10
EASE OF USE | 7/10
SUCCESS RATE | 7/10
Another top sneaker bot in the business, Balko supports Shopify, Adidas, and Supreme.
Balko has a decent success rate, you gotta wait for a restock or buy it for the resale price of $1500 to $2000.
However, with Balko, renting is the cheaper and less time-consuming option.
Renting Balko bot isn’t that hard. First, check Twitter and Discord to find plenty of renting keys for a short period of time.
However, one negative point is that Balko does not support Footsites.
As you may know, most air Jordan sneakers drop on Footsites.
Running a bot that doesn’t cop off these sites means a major decrease in your ability to get some of the most coveted pairs of sneakers.
Along with all the cash you’re spending, and the cash you could’ve made flipping them.
4.
NSB BOT
Overall Score 7. 8
From $499
One of the easiest to use sneaker bots out there with a good success rate.
Higher priced bots for shoes than some competitor bots.
EASE OF USE | 8/10
SUCCESS RATE | 7. 5/10
AVAILABILITY | 8/10
NSB (Nikeshoebot) is another highly-performing All-in-one Bot in the sneaker industry.
And just like AIO bot, it supports Shopify, Footsites, Supreme, and many more sneaker shops.
In 2020, NSB’s name was mentioned among the top-scoring bots on most releases.
Among NSB’s best cops this year were the Jordan 1 Satin Snakeskin, Yeezy Carbon & Zyon, Travis Scott’s Cactus Trails, and thousands of Supreme pieces.
Nike snkrs bot NSB has been maintaining a consistent rate of success, so far.
Plus, being always-in-stock is what makes NSB one of the most sought-after bots.
Moreover, if you were to compare its retail price of $499/year with the resale value of OOS bots, NSB might actually win.
5.
AIO BOT
From $325
One of the oldest sneaker bots in the business, great availability, trust, and success rate.
The support can get better, especially for the operating age of the team behind the bot.
SUPPORT | 6/10
SUCCESS RATE | 6. 5/10
AIO Bot is the OG sneaker bot and a major sneaker bot.
It is the first name that comes to your mind when you think about copping, collecting, and reselling rare sneakers.
Right now, AIO Bot is one of the best sneaker bots in the business.
Not only in 2020 but ever since it launched back in 2014.
The bot supports Shopify, Adidas, Yeezysupply, and Footsites.
AIO Bot is also one of the easiest bots to run if you’re just getting started.
The price of $325 and the availability factor, make it one of the best sneaker bots ever.
In terms of numbers, AIO Bot users cooked on every single Air Jordan Release, including the AJ1 Royal Toe, Satin Snakeskin, Jordan 1 Smoke Grey, and a lot more.
And Yeezy-wise, The Adidas Yeezy 350 V2 Carbon, and Zyon were 2 of the best releases of 2020 and some of the best cops for AIO bot.
AIO Bot would cost you $325 with $69 renewal fees every 6 Months.
6.
KODAI SNEAKER BOT
From $175
Cheap sneaker bot (if rented) with a simple user interface.
Very high resale price with slow return on investment, at least for beginners.
Kodai might not have always been under your radar, but it’s been one of the best sneaker bots in the industry so far.
As an all-in-one bot, Kodai supports Adidas, Yeezysupply, Supreme, and Footlocker EU, and Shopify.
However, Kodai’s biggest strength is the Footsites US.
Since the bulk of sneaker stock drops there, running Kodai can increase your chances of copping, flipping, and cashing in.
Unless you buy it for the resale price, which falls between $6000 and $7000, then you’ll go short on money for a long time.
For that, it’ll take some time for Kodai to start paying you back.
Some of Kodai’s biggest moments of 2020 were:
The Jordan 1 Mochas, Yeezy Carbon, AJ1 Satin, and Jordan 12 Gold.
Check out their Twitter feed, for proof of success.
As for the usage, Kodai’s interface is smooth and relatively easy to use.
So if you’re still new to the sneaker bot business but can afford it, go for it; you shouldn’t have a hard time running and benefiting from Kodai.
7.
WRATH SNEAKER BOT
Overall Score 6. 4
From $350
Easy of use, with good results.
High retail price and a further subscription model that charges you every month.
Launching back in February 2018, Wrath bot is not new to the sneaker bot wars.
However, 2020 seems to be doing the bot justice.
The retail price of Wrath starts at $350 plus a monthly subscription.
But as cupcakes and rainbows as this price sounds, Wrath also follows the very trendy “Out-of-stock” model.
Making it impossible for you to get a key unless you pay the resale price for it.
Which, in the case of Wrath bot, is about $5000 to $6000!
Or you could stay glued to their Twitter account hoping for a restock.
Quite frustrating when you got a whole bunch of Yeezys lined up to drop soon.
Wrath cops sneakers from Footsites, Shopify, and Yeezysupply.
And for your weekly dose of pricey streetwear, Wrath also supports Supreme.
However, to continue on this copping journey, you must pay $125 every 6 months to keep sneakers coming through your windows PC or Mac.
So far in 2020, we’ve seen Wrath cop on almost all hyped releases with checkout numbers ranging from good to impressive!
Some of the biggest successes of Wrath bot would be the Yeezy Linens, Jordan 1 Royals, New Balance Casablanca, and of course Supreme.
8.
PHANTOM BY GHOST
Overall Score 6. 5
Good price, easy to use, and good support.
Sold as an AIO sneaker bot, but it lags updates with certain sites.
SUPPORT | 7/10
SUCCESS RATE | 6/10
Designed $300 for a decent all-in-one bot is not much to pay if we’re being honest.
And Phantom, the AIO Bot by Ghost is one that’s worth your cash.
However, when such a sneaker bot opts for an OOS business model, things get pricey.
So, if you’re aching to cop sneakers or Supreme using Phantom, brace yourself to shed anything from $1500 to $2000.
But even that is not a lot considering how much you can make when you play your cards right and cop smart.
Some of the latest successful drops for Phantom include the Yeezy Quantum Barium, Jordan 1 Royal Toes, Jordan 13 Flints, and Yeezy 700 MNVN Black.
And though its performance on Supreme wasn’t a match to its competitors’, Phantom still counts as an AIO bot.
One that’s actually compatible with Windows and Mac.
9.
EASYCOP BOT
$600/year
Great success rate, with an increasing number of verified checkouts.
Just out of beta testing, little things need ironing here and there, before it goes wrong.
EASE OF USE | 6. 5/10
AVAILABILITY | 7/10
Easycopbots best sneaker botsOne of the promising sneaker bots that joined the industry recently is Easycop Bot.
Known to be a Footsites only bot, Easycop is slowly getting the attention of sneakerheads on big releases.
In terms of performance, this sneaker bot has been getting an increased number of checkouts regularly.
With their recent success scored on the Yeezy Asriel release where they claim to have copped thousands of pairs.
And we can’t help but notice the big hype over this new bot.
The number of shoutouts and rate of engagement on Twitter is remarkable for a bot just out of beta testing.
As for the sites, Easycop supports Footsites only.
And it’s still not clear whether or not it will add more sites anytime soon. However, for a relatively new bot, Easycop’s performance on Footsites is quite remarkable.
Among its recent wins, we can mention the Black NMD HUs, the Yeezy 380 Natural and Carbon, and the Kobe “Bruce Lee” on which ECB scored a success rate of 95%.
At the price point of $600, Easycop is not so easy on the pocket.
But again compared to the crazy resell prices of OOS bots, it’s not a lot to pay for such performance.
However, if you’re into all-in-one bots and streetwear, ECB is not your bot.
10.
THE SHIT BOT
Overall Score 7. 5
$999/year
High-performance dedicated sneaker bot to Nike releases.
The price keeps changing which can be very confusing for starters.
We’ve focused more before on AIO bots and those specialized in wiping shelves of Footsites and Shopify.
But unless we talk about Nike bots, we’d be overlooking one major subsection of the sneaker industry.
Nike bots have always been a major part of the industry.
In fact, the whole sneaker botting scene kicked off with Nike bots back when Kanye was part of Nike and Nike Yeezys were the real deal.
Five or six years later, Nike bots are back in the spotlight, with Nike dropping most of the stock on hyped Dunk and Jordan releases.
And although BetterNikeBot is one of the oldest Nike bots around, it seems like The Shit Bot is taking the limelight lately.
With a unique character, one-of-a-kind UI, and lately great performance on SNKRS, The Shit Bot (No really, that’s its name! ) is considered one of the best Nike bots out there.
Scrolling through TSB Twitter, you can tell it performs very well and cops sneakers that aren’t accessible by other bots.
And well, when you add up the number of the Jordan 1 Mochas, AJ5 Off white sail and Nike Dunks copped, TSB’s users seem to be making some good cash!
According to their website, using TSB you can cop Nike sneakers from more than 45 different regions.
As for the retail price, the 10 Grand on the website might look freaky, but the actual retail/ restock price of this Nike bot is $299.
So it’s on the lower side of the price range.
11.
THE KICK STATION
Overall Score 6. 6
Good sneaker bot, once found! Great success rate and good support.
Very hard to get hold of, even the website requires an invitation of password access.
After a very successful year in 2019, TKS has had a rough time getting that same level of success in 2020.
So, if you’re looking to invest in a top-notch sneaker copping tool, TKS might not be the bot for you.
Best bots TKSTheKickStation, aka TKS, was one of the best sneaker bots in 2019.
With its power points being Footsites and Shopify-based websites.
TKS UI is considered a bit tricky to work with so it might not be the best bot for beginners.
However, at the price of $360, it is a fair investment if you consider the potential ROI if you cop.
The biggest downfall would be that it’s out of stock.
So you can’t just buy these shoe bots when you’ve saved up enough.
In fact, you’re probably doomed to pay the resale price which can go up to over $800.
But just in case you really need this bot, in particular, you can always rent it or buy it second-hand off Discord servers.
And that’s where most sneaker bot trading happens.
You just need to find a sneakerhead that’s not interested in whatever drop you’re copping.
Ultimate Beginner Guide To Sneaker Bots
This is the ultimate guide to everything sneaker bots right now!
I’ll show you how to use sneaker bots to increase your money-making chances exponentially, with minimal effort.
Right now, there are many bot services around and endless YouTube tutorials on how to use them.
But, before you start, you have to understand the business where sneaker bots are most used: reselling sneakers.
Rare, expensive, limited-edition sneakers, a good sneaker bot will help you find and sell them very, very fast.
The easiest way to explain how the reselling of sneakers works is via a parallel to concert tickets.
Most concert tickets re-sell for more than their retail price.
However, it is hard to know when someone decides to resell the ticket. For that, some clever buyers use automated bots to spot and buy them.
Just like the ticketing industry, the footwear industry is also run by bots.
Retailers, brands, and designers often speak out about the use of bots are a potential problem, attempting to stop them or to fight back.
More recently, KAWS announced that they were canceling and blocking orders made by bots.
Similarly, Berrics tricked one bot user into spending $11, 000 on a sneaker, while Kith used a similar bait-and-switch tactic to dupe someone into buying 21 pairs, or $1, 700 worth of “Wheat” Jordan 1s.
The sneaker bots war is ongoing, with both sides consistently re-positioning to gain new ground.
What Is A Sneaker Bot?
A sneaker bot is an application, or an automated script, designed and used to speed up the checkout process when buying products online.
Any computer can run a sneaker bot. However, large servers are preferred, given their extra processing speed.
Sneaker bots facilitate the purchasing of extremely rare or limited edition shoes that make their way to the aftermarket to be sold for profit.
Most Valuable Sneakers – adapted from ‘The Korea Economic Daily’.
Many of these shoes are nearly impossible to find and buy without using bots.
Why? Because there are hundreds like you, simultaneously “botting” the same sneakers, so there’s crazy competition right from the start.
The most usually botted sites are Supreme, Dover Street Market, Shopify stores like YeezySupply, and Footsites (Foot Locker, Champs, Eastbay, and Footaction), given that they regularly drop covetable pieces.
For more sneaker stores, check out our full list of best sneaker websites.
How Do Sneaker Bots Work?
In a nutshell, you type your information and purchasing details into the bot interface, such as your credit card, name, delivery address.
Then you instruct the bot on what to buy.
This part can be done in two main ways:
1. Just enter the URL (web address) of the product into the bot.
2. Provide the bot with the product name and other related keywords.
Buyers often search for early information (like the product URL) from so-called ‘cook groups’ which provide support to botters.
Once the bot is launched, it will automate the checkout process and purchase items quicker than is humanly possible.
In fact, a good sneaker bot can check out products in as little as 0. 2 seconds.
Without bots, shopping limited-edition releases would prioritize those with fast internet or close to the manufacturer’s server.
“In order for any release to be fair, everyone has to be using the same speed of internet. Moreover, everybody must be at the same physical distance from the servers, as that also affects the amount of time it takes to be first in line, ” said Erik Fagerlind from Sneakersnstuff.
Although it sounds simple, using sneaker bots can become quite complicated.
That is because you have to set up and use proxies, alongside a dedicated server and the bot.
Servers are preferred with bots because they increase the speed to which you are connecting to the site that sells rare sneakers.
Proxies are unique IP addresses that can be used to make you seem like you are multiple buyers, from different parts of the world.
For instance, if you want to enter into an online queue to buy the latest YEEZYs, the more entries you have, the higher the chances of completing your purchase.
If you don’t use proxies, the site will identify all your entries as one source, resulting in an IP ban.
After procuring a sneaker bot, a server, and proxies, it comes the training time.
You’ll have to get used to your sneaker bot, know the delays, how the targeted site works, and if it has bot protection.
The bot and user training part sometimes takes months as it is not something you pick up once you get the bot.
Also, buying an expensive bot won’t assure you to get sneakers.
There are sneaker bot users, usually, the people copping and cooking shoes, that have been in the sneaker-reselling game for a long time.
They know this business from the back of their head, so remember that in your early days. It might take some time.
1. Sneaker Bot Proxy
There are Unknown proxies, Oculus proxies, Shadow and Leaf proxies.
But, the most popular types of proxies are ISP and residential.
Residential proxies are needed for sites with very high bot protection.
Most residential proxies are rotating the provided IP addresses while, on the other hand, a data center doesn’t rotate IP addresses.
So if the IP gets banned, it’s banned and you have to wait until you’re unbanned.
2. Sneaker Bot Proxy
There are Unknown proxies, Oculus proxies, Shadow, and Leaf proxies.
3. Gmail Accounts For Sneaker Bots
Gmail accounts are needed for four different sites: Supreme, Yeezy Supply, Footsites, and Shopify.
When a CAPTCHA message pops up, Gmails make it easier for you to solve the CAPTCHA, and thus, it gives you fast access time.
Ideally, you’ll use an aged Gmail account.
Aged Gmail accounts are from 2010 and even older.
There’s a black market for Gmail accounts, but the most wanted are old Gmail accounts.
Another way to get an aged Gmail account is from people that farm Gmail.
Gmail farms put a lot of activity on these accounts so they don’t look fake.
4. Virtual Credit Card Profiles
There are many ways to get credit cards for sneaker bots.
For once, there are virtual credit cards. Here’s how it works.
Most modern credit card providers have a feature called virtual cards that allows you to make unlimited cards.
Always use these virtual cards so your card does not get flagged and canceled.
As a form of bot protection, most sneaker sites no longer allow buyers to save profile checkouts anymore.
For that, use different credit cards, names, numbers, and addresses.
But, how do you use a different address on your card? It’s simple, you just jig on your virtual credit cards.
5. How To Jig On Credit Cards
Let’s say your address is 123 Apple St. It is a house, and it is just you living at that address.
But, by jigging, you’ll add a ‘Room 1’ to your address.
Then, on the next profile, you put ‘Room 2. ’
The third profile you put ‘Room 3 and so on, up to 500, if needed.
You can change room to an apartment (in the same house, 123 Apple St. ) and can go up to 10, 000 apartments.
In this way, jigging shows the company or the site that’s dropping the sneakers that this guy is not getting multiple pairs of shoes.
To them, these are all different addresses.
In reality, you’re just changing the room number, in your own house.
6. Sneaker Bots Updates
The developer of the bot pushes frequent updates.
Most sneaker bot developers tend to push updates every day.
Software updates are needed because the sites fight to ban the bots, and developers create patches or updates that allow them to fight back.
Usually, developers inform users on Discord when there’s an update available.
If you don’t update, your sneaker bot might not work as expected or, you might get a bunch of errors during the drop.
Are Sneaker Bots Illegal?
Sneaker bots are not illegal.
However, the use of sneaker bots goes against the terms and conditions of most websites.
Supreme, Shopify, Nike, and Adidas are aware of sneaker bots, and they all update their online protection against them on a regular basis.
However, sneaker bot developers are also quick to update their operating software in order to bypass any new protective measures.
These bot updates entail changes in coding that aim to tell the difference between a bot and a human user.
Although sneaker bots are legal, do not confuse them with ticketing bots, illegal in the USA.
Is Botting A Pyramid Scheme?
No, sneaker botting is not a pyramid scheme.
Sneaker manufacturers, sellers, and resellers are legit businesses run by legitimate people.
What sneaker botting does is the selective acceleration of the sneaker trade.
– What Are Retailers Doing To Combat Sneaker Bots?
Sneaker bots are something they “focus very much on“, said Simon Lister, marketing director at End Clothing.
“We’ve implemented a number of solutions designed to make life more difficult for bots. When we release limited products, we do so through our new Launches Platform. Instead of having a ‘first come, first served (FCFS) operational system in place, where bots triumph, we enter the customers in a raffle. Only the lucky winners will be able to purchase the limited items, ” added Simon.
Simon asserts that releasing limited products in this way is the only way of “ensuring fairness for customers”.
A lot of other retailers have since followed suit.
Chris Bone, general manager of Livestock, shares a critical outlook on sneaker bots, referring to bot users as “vampires” who “suck the life out of whatever it is they’re trying to make a buck off. ”
Bone also mentions that in-store releases and raffles are the way forward to combat the issue, stating that Livestock is constantly “working to get these releases into the right hands”.
Some retailers are now also implementing CAPTCHAs onto their site to try and stop bots.
Supreme has also tried this tactic, though it wasn’t successful – bots now allow you to log in to Gmail accounts, and if enough activity is monitored on the email account, the site will not ask you to solve a captcha.
Similarly, Simon Bus from SNIPES, mentioned that the brand “uses a market-leading system to successfully block bots, ” and that “suspicious orders, classified technically flawless by the system, are hand-checked by the staff”.
It means that even if you manage to get past their anti-bot protection, your order is still at risk of being canceled.
Do Sneaker Bots Actually Work?
Botters are now increasingly competing with other botters.
Some site, such as Adidas, YeezySupply, and Nike, release their products with a raffle-based system.
Each buyer enters a queue and then a small number of people are randomly selected to purchase the item.
While this might sound like it could eliminate the success of bots, this isn’t the case, as they are also used to put mass entries into queues and raffles.
So, while bots do not guarantee success, they drastically increase your chances of success.
How Much Does A Sneaker Bot Cost?
The average sneaker bot cost is $50-$60 a month.
However, you might not be able to get your hands on a bot, despite paying for it, because they barely restock for retail.
So if you can catch a sneaker bot for retail, it’s going to cost you from $300-$500 a year.
A good sneaker bot retail for £300 and even more. However, some of the most popular and successful bots are very hard to get.
There are cases when a sneaker bot user has paid £4, 000 to buy one of these top bots from a reseller.
`Ironically, it is actually harder to purchase the sneaker best bots at retail value than it is to get an average pair of collectible sneakers like YEEZYs.
If you’re going to pay resale, you could pay from $1, 000-$8, 000.
There’s a bot called Sole AIO, which goes for $2K, and Balko, which goes for $3K.
Cyber bot, for example, goes for seven grand or more, while Wraith bot sells for eight grand and up.
There are so many more sneaker bots we could keep naming but the main problem is finding one to buy.
Then, the costs add up as some people don’t have computers powerful enough, so they have to get a server.
A good server can cost you almost $80 to $100 a month.
Add to the cost proxies, which depends on how many tasks you run and how secure you want to be.
The average person runs 50 to 100 tasks on every release.
Proxies will help you hide your identity and the IP address from websites so they can’t block you from being a reseller.
A good proxy provider will charge you about $100-$150 a month.
Then, each aged Gmail account is about a dollar.
So you could end up paying $30 a month for Gmail accounts, used to help bypass CAPTCHAs on retailers’ websites.
And then you have extra expenses, such as Nike’s SNKRS accounts.
You can get them for about $1. 50 per account. However, SNKRS accounts get banned very quickly, so you could end up paying more.
I personally know people that pay $100 a month for SNKRS accounts, just because they keep getting reset.
Overall, you’re looking at an expense of $800-$1, 000 per month to be successful.
Based on my calculations, the cheapest way to use a bot and resell sneakers will cost you at least $600 per month.
What Are The Best Sneaker Bots?
There are a couple of bot types and bots names you must know about when going into the sneaker reselling market.
There are going to be Shopify bots, Nike bots, Adidas bots, Footsites bots, Supreme bots, and Yeezy Supply bots.
The best bots for these sites are going to be Cybersole AIO, Balkobot, Splashforce, Polaris, MEKPreme, VeloxPreme, Wraith, and Nike Shoe Bot.
The best and most popular sneaker bots occasionally restock, and due to the unprecedented demand, they sell out in seconds.
We tapped a UK-based sneaker bot developer who chose to remain anonymous, to ask what he’s doing to stay ahead of retailers and brands.
“I don’t think that retailers can win this cat and mouse game of anti-bot protection. I put it down to 2 main factors:
Firstly, it is expensive and time-intensive for retailers and brands to attempt “patching” the plethora of sneaker bots out there.
Secondly, where there is demand, there’s money… and a way around.
Right now, there’s crazy money to be made in the botting industry. See for example the developers of ‘Cyber bot’, boasting that their users collectively spent over 30 million dollars in the last year. “
Personally, I don’t recommend buying all-in-one (AIO) bots. That’s because they don’t really work.
Why? Well, there’s no bot that supports every site.
The sellers will market these bots as fully compatible with all sites but, because all sites change so much so fast, the developers can’t keep up.
To get your own sneaker bots, you have to follow the developers on Twitter.
There you can be the first to know if they do restocks, when, where, and how.
The most interesting part of the sneaker bots business is that there are bots designed to let you know when to get the restocks.
Simply put, people use bots to buy bots.
However, most people are getting their bots from resale or restocks.
Usually, you can get a bot from $1, 000-$8, 000.
The most popular top 3 resale markets for bots are BotBroker, Bot Mart, and Tidal.
Above all, don’t get scammed.
Often, when people buy bots, they go through middlemen.
There are people that join those bot marketplaces and impersonate real middlemen with fake names and accounts.
Final Words
If you want to buy a sneaker bot just to get yourself a pair of rare sneakers, I wouldn’t recommend it.
That’s because you might not succeed for the first time and things will become increasingly expensive, soon.
There is another important to know; not everyone in the sneaker bot business is getting rich.
You should know that this is not an easy business and it’s not like you’re going to be making instant money.
It’ll take you six months to a year to get the ball rolling as nothing happens overnight.
Finally, if you’re serious about using a sneaker bot, this article should give you a headstart over the competition.
You know what you’re dealing with, where to start, and who to trust.
Also, keep in mind that the sneaker industry is ever-growing.
The industry’s growth calls for new sneaker bots to join every season.
And, while some new bots might not have (yet) the reputation of OG sneaker bots, there’s a chance they’re going to be even better.
So, keep an open mind, heart, and an eye on this article for future sneaker bots updates!
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What is your favorite sneaker bot in 2021 and why?
Do you think online stores will be able to stop sneaker bots from working in the future? If yes, how?
Do you think AI will play a role in the market of sneaker bots? If yes, how?
Would love to hear your thought below!
Sneaker Bots Made Shoe Sales Super-Competitive. Can …
When Nike released this shoe last year, it sold out online within minutes. How did it get so hard to buy sneakers?
Welcome to the bot wars.
1985
Jordan 1 OG Bred
Original retail price: $65
Recently sold for: $15, 000
The sneaker craze began nearly four decades ago, with the debut of the first Air Jordan.
1995
Jordan 11 OG Concord
Original retail price: $125
Recently sold for: $890
Back then, sneakerheads who wanted to get their hands on the latest styles had to do so in person.
2003
Nike Dunk High Pro SB Supreme Blue Stars
Original retail price: $75
Recently sold for: $10, 000
Limited-edition shoes, many of them designed in collaboration with statusy street wear brands, would command long lines outside shops.
2005
Nike Dunk SB Low Staple NYC Pigeon
Original retail price: $200
Recently sold for: $33, 400
As the value of these rare sneakers rose, high-profile releases became more chaotic at stores, and sales began to move online.
2011
New Balance 999 Concepts ‘The Kennedy’
Original retail price: $150
Recently sold for: $1, 750
Brands aggressively rolled out themed drops, such as these New Balances, inspired by John F. Kennedy’s love of sailing.
2014
Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October
Original retail price: $250
Recently sold for: $10, 502
Then Kanye West entered the game, turning shoe-buying into a social media frenzy.
2016
adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Beluga
Original retail price: $220
Recently sold for: $980
Digital releases created demand for automated checkout software — i. e. bots — that would enable some shoppers to buy up supplies of rare shoes, then sell them at a premium.
2019
New Balance 997S Bodega No Days Off
Original retail price: $160
Recently sold for: $880
These days, bots are increasingly sophisticated, but so are the defenses retailers are implementing to combat them in this high-tech arms race.
BOSTON — When Bodega, a streetwear shop in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, released a hyped, limited-edition New Balance 997S sneaker in 2019, the entire stock sold out online in under 10 minutes.
There was one problem, though: About 60 percent of Bodega’s sales went to shoppers gaming the system with bots, timesaving automation software used to speed through checkout. The bots had claimed hundreds of pairs of New Balances for a single customer; many other shoppers failed to secure just one.
“We got destroyed by bots, ” said Jay Gordon, one of Bodega’s owners. “It was making it impossible for our average customers to even have a shot at the shoes. ”
Shoppers armed with specialized sneaker bots can deplete a store’s inventory in the time it takes a person to select a size and fill in shipping and payment information. For limited-release shoes, the time advantage afforded by a bot could mean the difference between disappointment and hundreds of dollars in instant profit.
In the case of Bodega’s New Balance drop, one person managed to buy a pair of the $160 sneakers before the product page was even live. Others seemed to navigate the site with superhuman efficiency, zooming from product page to purchase confirmation in 30 seconds.
Though Bodega had limited each shopper to a maximum of three pairs, the store found that it was about to ship 200 pairs of New Balances to several addresses in the same apartment building in New Jersey.
To most customers, bots are the bane of online shopping. But for sneaker brands and retailers, the relationship is more complicated.
Thanks to resale sites like StockX and GOAT, collectible sneakers have become an asset class, where pricing corresponds loosely to how quickly an item sells out. Sophisticated sneaker bots, which can cost thousands of dollars, are key to creating the artificial scarcity that makes a sneaker valuable and, in turn, makes a brand seem cool.
It all raises a big, difficult question: If the bots lose, who wins?
Status Sneakers and the ‘Swoosh Curve’
For most of the 20th century, sneakers were considered little more than utilitarian footwear for sports. But that changed dramatically in the 1980s, in large part because of Nike’s Air Jordan. The original Jordans came out in red, black and white — so defiantly different from other sneakers at the time that the National Basketball Association fined Michael Jordan for breaking its “uniformity of uniform rule. ”
Michael Jordan wearing the original Nike Air Jordans during the 1985 N. B. A. All-Star Slam Dunk D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
The original Jordans and subsequent models ushered in a new era. Sneakers were no longer bland shoes with extra padding and rubber soles; they were fashion accessories and expressions of identity. It wasn’t long before sneakers became a collector’s item starting in the early 2000s when Nike released Dunks, originally a basketball shoe, in limited quantities at independent skateboarding shops, such as FTC in San Francisco and Uprise in Chicago.
Nike often collaborated with skaters, designers and streetwear brands such as Supreme, which elevated the SB (for skateboarding) Dunks into a status symbol. Each release had a unique look, back story and catchy nickname that made the shoe feel more exclusive. For example, the so-called Tiffany dunks featured a turquoise color that resembled the boxes of the famed jeweler.
Over the last decade, most major sneaker brands have turned to high-profile collaborations. Kanye West worked with Nike and Adidas on realizing his vision for Yeezys. Nike teamed with Virgil Abloh’s Off-White to put a new spin on popular shoes from the company’s archives. Nike also tapped the design sense of Travis Scott for more than a dozen pairs of shoes since 2017.
These days, there are highly anticipated drops almost every weekend. It is not unusual to see a handful of big releases — usually coming from Nike’s SNKRS app — in a week. In online discussion forums, every new release is dissected like a company going through an initial public offering.
“It’s more about how much would you make off those shoes versus what would you do in those shoes, ” said Nick Engvall, a footwear consultant and founder of Sneaker History. “We’re becoming flooded with the idea that sneakers are a commodity and that we should always be thinking about the dollar amount. ”
StockX, a popular sneaker marketplace, found that most hyped releases follow a similar pattern: the “Swoosh Curve, ” named for Nike’s trademark logo. When a new shoe is announced, its resale estimate is high but decreases steadily as the release date nears. The price hits a low when sales begin, then climbs steadily until it plateaus and completes the curve.
The ‘Swoosh Curve’
Jordan 3 Retro Black CementWeekly Average PriceJan. 2018 – August 2021
Jesse Einhorn, a senior economist at StockX, said the Swoosh curve reflects supply-and-demand dynamics and ultimately the upward pressure on sneaker prices as fewer unworn so-called “deadstock” or sold out pairs remain.
“While prices do fluctuate significantly around the time of release, the long-term appreciation tends to be steady and consistent, ” Mr. Einhorn said.
When the pandemic hit, sneaker resale reached a frenzy on sites like StockX and GOAT. Rare shoes benefited from a lockdown-fueled investment mania that pushed up the prices of cryptocurrencies, sports trading cards and even real estate. The sale price for a new pair of vintage “Chicago OG” Air Jordan 1s from 1985 went from $3, 000 in 2017 to $7, 500 in May 2020 to $19, 000 in February, according to StockX.
Bodega Meets Its Match
It wasn’t like this when Bodega opened in Boston in 2006. The store had no website, so anticipation for major releases was built in person, said Mr. Gordon, who owns the store with Oliver Mak and Dan Natola. Sneakerheads would travel from New York and Montreal and wait in long lines to get the latest design.
Bodega’s Los Angeles zette Rago for The New York Times
About 10 years ago, the owners thought it was becoming unsafe to have shoppers camp out overnight in front of the store, so major releases moved online. It was “before the bots arms races, ” said Mr. Gordon, so Bodega allowed people to buy sneakers online on a first-come, first-served basis.
By around 2015, the site had 20, 000 people appearing for major releases even though they only had a few hundred pairs of shoes. It didn’t take long before the bots swooped in. Bodega started offering web raffles, but people deployed bots for that, too. Employees had to manually check each winner so no one was securing an unfair share of shoes.
Rozette Rago for The New York Times
For years, Bodega put up with the bots and did what it could to mitigate their impact. But after the 2019 New Balance release, Bodega decided it needed to be more proactive or it risked losing ordinary customers who felt that the game was rigged.
Bots are not illegal, nor are they exclusive to the sneaker industry. They are used to obtain anything in high demand with limited supply. During the pandemic, people amassed stockpiles of video game consoles, graphics chips and even children’s furniture using bots. For Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce giant behind dozens of the buzziest sneaker boutiques (including Bodega), protecting against a bot onslaught is a part of keeping sites up and running.
Shopify’s Defensive Team vs. a Bot-Making Teen
The face of Shopify’s bot defenses has been Jean-Michel Lemieux, a plain-spoken Canadian engineer who was, until recently, the company’s chief technology officer. His public antagonization of bot users — who are also known as botters — has made him something of a hero among sneakerheads.
“I actually don’t like sneakers. I like computers, ” Mr. Lemieux said in an interview earlier this year. “I’m a sneaker celebrity without being a sneakerhead, mostly because I’ve got to protect their platform. I know more about bots than maybe anyone on this planet because I had to reverse engineer them to understand how they work. ”
Jean-Michel Lemieux, Shopify’s former chief technology officer, with his shoe collection at his home in Ottawa, Chan for The New York Times
Shopify uses different techniques to prevent bots, including puzzles and trivia questions that are difficult for an automated bot to solve. It has also taken steps to prevent transactions when a shopper’s checkout path follows the shortcuts used by bots.
Shopify’s job, he said, is to slow down bots to a human level. In the last few years, Shopify has devised custom, one-off defenses for retailers who want to stamp out bots from spoiling their major releases. In March, Mr. Lemieux gleefully tweeted a video of botters lamenting the difficulties of cracking Shopify’s custom bot protections.
Dennis Ho, a senior product manager at Shopify focused on bot protections, said that his team working with retailers tries to change tactics every time.
“We understand that nothing we do will be bulletproof forever, ” said Mr. Ho, whose team will carry on Mr. Lemieux’s work.
If there is a person who keeps Shopify employees awake at night, it’s probably Lucas Titus, a 19-year-old who started college in London this month.
Mr. Titus is the founder of Cybersole, one of the best-known sneaker bots. It works on a wide range of retailers including Shopify stores, Supreme and sneaker chains like Foot Locker and Finish Line.
Similar to the sneakers it helps to procure, Cybersole sells at a significant premium. The company has limited licenses to its bot to 5, 000 users. While the official retail price for a license is around 300 British pounds, or $420, it sells for 10 times as much at resale.
Lucas Titus, the 19-year-old developer of Cybersole, at his home in Eno for The New York Times
Mr. Titus said he started reselling sneakers when he was 14. Early on, he found success with using computer software to simulate multiple smartphones to game a raffle run by Adidas to secure four pairs of Yeezy sneakers. Mr. Titus resold the shoes, pocketing a profit of 1, 000 pounds per pair, he said.
“I realized that automating things was the best way to secure not just one pair but multiple pairs, ” Mr. Titus said.
He experimented with other technologies and taught himself how to code. He wrote a basic automation script to submit 50, 000 entries into a sneaker raffle. Soon, sneaker buyers started encouraging Mr. Titus to sell his work. In 2018, he started Cybersole, which gained notoriety as one of the few bots to work on Shopify.
That year, the bot was put to the test when Nike released an Air Max 1/97 in collaboration with Sean Wotherspoon, a famous sneaker collector. Nike had allocated shoes for Kith, a sneaker boutique in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo, to sell on its website, which is powered by Shopify.
Cybersole users, exploiting a shortcut in Shopify’s checkout process, cleared out Kith’s entire stock of 700 pairs, Mr. Titus said.
“We got every single one of them, ” he said. “That really piqued interest from tons of people in our products and we also got the attention of Shopify. ”
The Pros and Cons of a World Without Bots
After the Nike Air Max 1/97 release, Mr. Titus said Shopify began to implement anti-bot measures at checkout. It only took a couple weeks before he and other bot developers found a workaround.
Mr. Titus said the bot has successfully completed two million automated checkouts, or transactions worth around $300 million since it went live in 2018. That’s to say nothing of the millions more it’s allowed resellers to rake in as profit.
Cybersole’s interface as Mr. Titus uses the software to purchase sweatshirts from urtesy of Lucas Titus
A bot alone is no guarantee of success. Many prominent botters run multiple types of bots for major releases, because each one has different strengths and weaknesses. Some botters rent dozens of computer servers in the same facilities as the retailers to save milliseconds on data latency.
Mr. Titus said he understands the frustration some sneaker buyers may feel about bots. But as he sees it, he is merely providing tools that people want. That includes retailers who have seen bots generate demand for their products.
“While they have to act like they’re trying to stop bots, it’s making them a huge profit, ” he said.
He has developed a friendly rivalry with Mr. Lemieux. When Mr. Titus showed off a new Tesla, Mr. Lemieux suggested that he decorate the car with some Shopify decals.
Mr. Lemieux said Mr. Titus “is a very, very good programmer” and that he would try to hire him for Shopify if he were willing to cross over to the other side.
“I’ve had some nice interactions with him, ” Mr. Titus said. “Obviously we can’t disclose too much of what either of us are doing because it’s kind of a cat-and-mouse game between Shopify and us. ”
Ahead of a special release, the New Balance 990v3 to celebrate Bodega’s 15th anniversary, the boutique and Shopify had devised a few obstacles to slow the bots down. The first was to place the product on a brand-new website with an unguessable address —
Right away, botters saw this as a deterrent.
“We may have to go manual, ” said Trevor Roskovensky, a sneaker buyer, in a YouTube video of him trying to buy the shoe live.
Bodega also added a question that shoppers had to type out the answer: What are the last four letters of the alphabet? After that, shoppers had to complete a challenge of drawing boxes around airplanes.
Shopify’s bot obstacles include typing out the answer to a question and drawing boxes around urtesy of Shopify
This was intended to throw a wrench into the store’s usual checkout procedure and make it difficult for anyone to automate the process. And it seemed to be working when the shoes went on sale in June; Bodega and Shopify didn’t see much bot activity. But then, they started seeing very little activity at all.
Shoppers started to encounter error messages as they tried to pay for the shoes.
For the next 30 minutes, only a trickle of orders were being processed. Many potential buyers gave up, assuming that the shoes were probably sold out already.
Shopify said later that routine system maintenance, unrelated to the flood of orders coming in, crimped its capacity to process payments.
For Bodega, the damage was done. Because of the payment issues, it took 45 minutes for the shoe to sell out completely, which for a major release is an eternity.
“If a shoe like this doesn’t sell out in less than 15 minutes, it’s considered a failure, ” Mr. Gordon said. “It’s really disappointing because we did all this to give the ordinary customers a shot. ”
The slow sellout time didn’t seem to go unnoticed by the resale market. Even though most of Bodega’s previous New Balance releases carry a significant premium to their retail price, the 15th anniversary shoes are selling at close to retail on StockX.
It’s possible that if Bodega took no steps to curb bot activity, the store could have sold its entire stock of shoes to botters before the problems kicked in because of how quickly bots complete transactions.
“It’s depressing to think about, ” Mr. “At some point, you have to ask, ‘How much time are we supposed to spend to stop people from buying our products? ’”
Timeline photographs courtesy of StockX and Nike. Data via StockX.
Design and production by Sarah Almukhtar and Rumsey Taylor. Edited by Bonnie Wertheim.
Daisuke Wakabayashi covers technology from San Francisco, including Google and other companies. Previously, he spent eight years at The Wall Street Journal, first as a foreign correspondent in Japan and then covering technology in San Francisco. @daiwaka
Nike Says Bots Will Not Help Anyone Get Exclusive Access to SNKRS
Just last month, Nike revealed that the SNKRS app would be receiving an update for its Exclusive Access launch model coming this Summer 2021. The brand recently shared additional details that showed users how they can receive access on Nike’s most coveted drops outside of the regular launch dates.
The brand emphasized that its goal is still to provide its members with access to the most exclusive products. However, content engagement is a must in order to be notified of any upcoming drops. Users are encouraged to tune into SNKRS Live sessions as ways that will help them increase their chances of gaining exclusive access.
Nike also confirmed that bots will not do anything to help users get greater chances. Using a bot to set up multiple accounts or tap on buttons will in fact get the users blocked from launch access. It is to be acknowledged that it is not something new for Nike to give its members Exclusive Access. The brand reminds fans that those who are lucky enough to receive exclusive access still might not be able to purchase the shoe in their preferred size due to limited releases.
The Swoosh brand recently confirmed that Virgil Abloh‘s upcoming 50-sneaker Off-White x Dunk collection will exclusively drop through SNKRS.
In other footwear news, take your pick at who had the best on-court kicks in Game 1 of the NBA 2021 Finals.
Nike Says Bots Will Not Help Anyone Get Exclusive Access to SNKRS
Frequently Asked Questions about sneaker buying bot
Is it possible to BOT Snkrs?
Users are encouraged to tune into SNKRS Live sessions as ways that will help them increase their chances of gaining exclusive access. Nike also confirmed that bots will not do anything to help users get greater chances. … It is to be acknowledged that it is not something new for Nike to give its members Exclusive Access.Jul 8, 2021
How much does it cost to run a sneaker bot?
The average sneaker bot cost is $50-$60 a month. However, you might not be able to get your hands on a bot, despite paying for it, because they barely restock for retail. So if you can catch a sneaker bot for retail, it’s going to cost you from $300-$500 a year.Feb 22, 2021
