The Complete Guide To Sneaker Bots + 4 Tips On A Successful Purchase

by Dan Goodin
26 Aug 2022

"Proxy & VPN Virtuoso. With a decade in the trenches of online privacy, Dan is your go-to guru for all things proxy and VPN. His sharp insights and candid reviews cut through the digital fog, guiding you to secure, anonymous browsing."

For many years so far, sneaker copping has been very much popular among those searching to make a profit or enthusiasts wishing to get their hands on a limited-edition item. Profit-wise, people buy multiple items and then resell them at a higher price. Some make a profit off of it, whereas enthusiasts just want the rarely found items for themselves. No matter the group you refer yourself to, if you still are unaware of how things work, let us dive into the guide and outline everything.

What is Sneaker Bot?

Basically, sneaker botting is the process of availing a bot to buy sneakers. Although this trend started off precisely for sneakers, as the bots became more progressive and widely used, they were applied for buying other items as well.

The bots are automated software that performs purchases automatically and does that much quicker than any human could. Sneaker bots are implemented in a plethora of applications, each of which has a different set of features and is designed for particular sites. Some are developed to operate on one site, while others with many of them – we will definitely go into greater detail below in this guide. Go on reading!

How do Sneaker Bots Work?

Copping means making a successful purchase, it can be achieved only with a bot. Why? Because no human can input the information or merely move faster than a bot.

The sneaker websites themselves are the ones using bots. Sites like Nike or Adidas frequently implement in-house designed bots to try out the purchasing process. Their bots imitate human-like behavior, and they run numerous bots at once to figure out how their website would operate under load. So, sneaker bots are more or less similar to these testing ones.

Bots can vary in possibilities and features. However, all bots for shoes feature an automated add-to-cart and checkout. Also, all of them entail a refresh option that checks the availability of the sneakers. The add-to-cart operation finds targeted sneakers and adds them to the cart, whereas the checkout process fills out the personal information and completes the process.

With this information in mind, you might ask: if thousands of people use the same bot, how can I have an advantage over others? And that indeed is a great question! We promise to answer in multiple threads. Most of the well-known and demanded bots for shoes are equipped with multithreading technology. It enables multiple instances of the bot to check, compare, and make a purchase. This is especially advantageous if someone wishes to buy more than one pair of sneakers.

Types of Sneaker Bots

There are two main types of bots, each of which has some advantages and disadvantages.

Browser-based bots usually come in the form of a Chrome extension. It means your browsers’ choice will be limited if you want to run it. Another shortcoming is that browser-based bots rely on the front end of the site, hence in cases of a website crash, it will need to refresh and start from scratch. On the bright side, they are quite cheap; thus, people on a tight budget might choose them for this reason.

Standalone applications do not rely on the front end of the site and, therefore, are a better choice. This type of bot can automatically submit the requests to the backend of the site, totally bypassing the front end, ensuring that even if the website crashes, the bot can go on to carry out its duties. The significant downside of these bots is the price. They cost several times more than the previous type, so it is understandable why people do not rush to buy them. However, you can rent such a bot. If copping sneakers is not your regular activity and the standalone-application type is outside your price range, there are several options that you can rent for a certain time. Yet daily rental is available, too.

There are also numerous types of bots based on the sites that they work on. The most commonly used and widely spread bots work with Nike, Shopify, Adidas, Supreme, and a few others.

Besides dedicated bots, you can also go for AIO or an all-in-one bot, although it does not mean that you will be able to cop sneakers from all and any sites. Such bots envisage lists of supported sites cited on their website, so you decide which one to look for: AIO, Shopify, Supreme, Mesh, Demandware, Raffle Bots, and lots of other options out there.

Sneaker Bots’ Features

Various bots will have dissimilar sets of features. Of course, all of them will have similar basic features, yet it is the advanced ones that can give you superiority over the others. When researching bots for shoes, along with the lists of supported sites, make certain they provide two essential things: multiple account creation and multithreading.

The reason for this is simple: trying to cop sneakers with the bot supporting only one account and thread means you have only one chance. If you deal with multiple accounts and threads, then your chances significantly increase. This is especially crucial if you strive to cop multiple items, be they the same or not.

Another feature check is proxy support. As a rule, most of them have it but, just in case, make sure to check whether or not you will need proxies with your bot.

Many sneaker coppers highlight CAPTCHAs as their leading cause for concern, so you better check if a bot you are going to choose has a harvester or a solver.

By the way, Gmail accounts can help with that. Encountering a CAPTCHA being logged in on a Gmail account can imply getting an easier CAPTCHA to solve.

Sneaker Proxies

When it comes to copping sneakers, proxies are often overlooked. If you want to avoid red flags and be able to make a successful purchase, proxies are a must.

Proxies are IP addresses intended to hide your real home IP address. When you open up any targeted website, your request is sent directly to it, and the website discovers your original IP address. However, with proxies, you first send the requests to the proxy, which then redirects it to the website you want to open up. With bots for shoes, if you want to make one purchase, you will be okay with the website revealing your real IP address. But, if you are going to utilize the multithreading option, then your same IP will be banned.

Hence, those are precisely proxies that help you avoid a ban for any reason. Even when multithreading, each thread will avail a different proxy, meaning that your targeted website will consider it like multiple people are trying to buy the same item.

When researching proxies for sneaker botting, pay more attention to mobile or residential proxies as well as their location. Usually, location does not play a huge role in how the website handles the request. Yet this is the latency that might cause a problem. The distance between the proxy and the site’s physical location directly affects the latency. For instance, if targeted sneakers are physically in the US while the proxy is Russian, copping might be rather challenging with such a significant latency. Instead, you better go for proxies in the same (or in the neighboring) country as the sneakers.

What are the Best Proxies for Sneaker Botting?

To put it shortly, those are residential or mobile.

These proxies entail IP addresses from mobile or home internet connections; hence websites should be considering them just like regular buyers. Residential and mobile proxies are usually more expensive, but their ability to remain undetected is worth it.

There are multiple residential proxy providers, the most reliable of which are IPRoyal, SmartProxy, and Rayobyte. Speaking about mobile proxies, we recommend checking Oxylabs or BrightData. Both types of mentioned proxies will work just fine, and if you do not know which to go for, pick residential proxies – they should work just remarkably.

Some people use data center proxies, but we do not recommend them. Many data center proxies are already red-flagged; hence the risk of a ban and access denial is much higher.

Bot Rentals

Multiple bots can be rented out for a specified timeframe – daily, weekly, or monthly options.

Renting a Bot

As a rule, renting does not involve a middleman, and you do not receive access to the bot’s Discord server, meaning that your renter must provide any information about guides or updates. Usually, at first, the buyer pays, and then the renter is to send the download link and license key, together with any guides required. As soon as your rental period is up, the renter “resets” the key, and the bot’s activation on your computer will be lost. Remember to appeal to reputable renters only because getting scammed while renting a bot is not that uncommon.

Renting Out Your Bots

This process is easy (although it might depend on a particular bot): you find a legit and reliable renter, they pay, and you send them the guides, key, and download link. You should make certain that your bot is capable and allowed to be rented in the first place. The trustworthiness of renters is hugely important in this case. If you are unlucky, a scam buyer could charge back the payment or simply crack your key, which would result in getting banned and losing your key. Renting out your bots is a great way to earn some passive income every month.

Tips on a Successful Sneaker Bot Purchase

Out-of-Stock Bots

Situations when you run into the bot that you want but it appears to be out of stock are not uncommon. A bot is a software, but developers save them in stock and do not rush to sell thousands of licenses. This usually happens more often with application-based bots; with the browser-based ones, things vary.

If you still want to get the bot need, we advise following them on Twitter. While restocking, many companies usually send out a tweet, and that is the moment when you need to move fast to get your hands on a license.

If you are afraid to miss the opportunity because of your absence, resort to countless extensions and plugins offering an auto purchase option to buy it for you. Or, as an alternative, if you do not mind paying a higher price, look for people reselling sneaker bot licenses. Neither we, nor companies recommend buying a bot from a reseller, but if you find yourself in a tight spot and need to get a bot ASAP, check Botbroker or Botmart.

Manual

Don’t get us wrong, but quite often, people consider themselves smarter than they actually are and start exploring and inspecting the bot themselves. If you are serious about sneaker botting, then better open the developer’s instructions and stick to them. One wrong small step may result in losing the sneakers.

To make sure that you’ve got the guides right and everything is correct, try it several days before the release. That way, you will have time to fix something if it goes wrong, and it won’t turn out a stroke of bad luck on the coveted day of release.

Location and Payment

Also, not that uncommon situations occur when there is trouble with the shipping or you would like to get sneakers from a location that is not supported in your region. Another barrier might be the payment method if the site notices a different country through your credit card and decline the order request. But, take it easy; there is a workaround.

Some services can provide “fake” credit card data, meaning that the card details will be fake, but the payment will be legal. On your part, to make the payment, you will continue using your credit card, but the website will see another card from the location where you would like your sneakers to be sent.

Regarding shipping, you can resort to the services of reshipping companies providing an address in the intended location. Once the sneakers arrive there, they could be resent to your real home address.

Both the “fake” payment option and the re-shipping one will cost more than proceeding without them. Remember to do your research beforehand and make sure the chosen companies are not scams.

Correct Details

A usual typo is something that may happen even to the best of us when you just enter things wrong. If it happens while ordering sneakers, be sure the purchase will be unsuccessful. It may go to the wrong shipping address, or the payment will not go through at all. In either case, your dream purchase will fail.

Do not rush and take your time to set things up beforehand to ensure that everything is correct and contains no mistakes. And, of course, double-check everything.

Conclusion

Do sneaker bots work? Yes, they do. Above that, successful sneaker copping cannot be achieved without using a bot. To a first-time user, bots for shoes might seem confusing or even intimidating, yet having got the hang of them, you will have no issues with the operations. And prior to purchasing a proxy or a bot, do not forget to check out reviews and figure out how they perform and if they would meet your needs.

FAQ

Are free proxies good to use for sneaker botting?

No, they are not. And in any case, you better avoid free proxies at all costs. Free proxies imply that you will have no clue who has control over your data or who may read it. Besides, you will put in your credit card details and other personal information, and we doubt you would like that data to fall into the wrong hands. Free proxies are extremely unreliable, do not put too much faith in them.

How do I realize whether a bot is good or not?

First of all, make sure the targeted bot supports the website and the location you are going to purchase from. Afterward, check the bot’s features and compare them to what we have covered above. Overall, we cannot state there is a right or wrong sneaker bot. Instead, there are bots for shoes that either suit your needs or do not.

Are sneaker bots legal?

At this stage, from a legal point of view, there is no law in any country forbidding sneaker botting. On the other hand, many websites are currently implementing all sorts of protection to avert customers from purchases with bots since it is against their terms of use. To sum it up, the worst thing that could happen is that the IP or an account you use would be banned. However, this is something that can be easily fixed by using another one.

We use cookies on our site to ensure that we give you the best browsing experience. By continuing to browse the site, you agree to this use. For more information on how we use cookies, see our Privacy Policy.

Got IT

We added this proxy to compare list