Let’s be honest: copping shoes online is a chore. You’ve got to have the speed of a sprinter and the reflexes of a Gold Glove-winning shortstop to hit on a pair of hyped shoes on any website. If you don’t get the shoes in your cart and check out mere seconds after they drop, you aren’t getting them. It’s a pain in the ass and can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress.
But what if there was a solution? What if there was something that you could use to cop effortlessly and not have to worry about your fingers fumbling on the keyboard as you attempt to type in your card’s security code? Well, there is.
There are “sneaker bots”, or programs that will auto-fill your information and send you to checkout instantly, saving you valuable seconds and all but guaranteeing your kicks will be in your hands. They’re great. They take the stress out of copping kicks. Hell, you might already be using one right now.
But the question begs to be asked: Are sneaker bots a good or a bad thing? There’s no cut-and-dried answer, and that’s what makes the question so damn interesting. The argument for them being a good thing is simple: They make checking out easy, and they guarantee you a pair of whatever shoes you want. Pretty simple stuff.
The argument for sneaker bots being a bad thing is just a tad bit more complex. Sneakerheads without a bot will argue that it’s just not fair. They don’t even get a chance to cop their kicks because the bots are on them as soon as they drop. They argue that resellers will have multiple bots on multiple computers, and snap up all the shoes to flip for ridiculous prices. They’ll argue that it’s not right, because now it’s not about who’s the fastest…it’s about who has the best bot.
What do we think? Well, we’re torn. If you really truly want a pair of kicks, and you feel that a bot is the best way for you to get them, we can’t really fault you for using one. On the flip side, we’re of the belief that at its core, sneaker culture is a pure thing, and people using auto-checkout bots to get their kicks kind of mires the pureness of the hunt, and keeps those without bots from a fair chance of copping. There’s no right or wrong answer, and that’s what makes it such an interesting debate.
But we do know one thing: bots aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so you either need to make sure your copping reflexes are on ten…or just give in and get one.
What do you think about the use of sneaker bots? Do you think it’s an understandable part of the game, or does it seem wrong to you because it robs people of a fair chance? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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