Bots. The scourge of the online sneaker game. They’ll steal your prized shoes from right under your nose, and it won’t matter how quick your fingers are because they’re faster. Joe Sneakerhead missed out on the last ten limited releases because he can’t beat bots, and you’ve likely ran into the same problem at least once or twice in your sneaker buying experience.
However, Nike is aiming to put an end to the pestilence that is the online sneaker bot with their new raffle system. Here’s a quick rundown on how it works: you enter an online drawing, and if you win, you can either pick up the shoes at a nearby Nike store location or have them shipped to your house. The speed of entry is no longer important, therefore negating one of the biggest advantages of having a bot. It’s the same system they’ve been using for in-store releases, rolled out to online purchasing.
Although this is an upgrade from their old Twitter RSVP system (we would say RIP, but it won’t be missed in the slightest), it’s not perfect just yet. You get one entry per Nike account, so who’s to say full-time resellers who have way more time on their hands than the average sneakerhead won’t find some way to have 10, 20, 50 accounts? We’d hope Nike could put a stop to something like that, but there’s only so much they can do, and as we all know when it comes to reseller finessing in the sneaker world, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
So we’ll call it what it is: an improvement. Until the reseller plague dies down (which probably isn’t going to happen soon, as resellers are the cockroaches of the sneaker world in that you can’t get rid of them yourself and they just won’t fuck off on their own), any release system will have its flaws, but at least Joe Sneakerhead stands a little better chance with this new system, which is really all any sneakerhead can ask for.
What do you think about Nike’s new release system? Good? Flawed? Have a better idea? Let us know down below in the comments or on Twitter! We’re always willing to engage in good sneaker conversation.
Editor’s Note: Bobby wanted to throw in his two cents on the topic: “I think it’s a good idea, but I have a feeling that I won’t win anything. Ever. Plus there will probably be bots of some sort for it sooner or later so I’ll stay losing either way”.
I think it’s safe to say that the rest of us here at KicksOneTwo feel the same way.
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