Consider this scenario: you want to purchase a pair of limited edition shoes online, and anticipate the market for your desired pair is competitive. At most, you will have a couple of hours before they get sold out. If you are unlucky, they will be gone in minutes. So, you want to be in and done in minutes. However, the website limits the number of requests users can make and you need to compete with businesses and resellers looking to buy in bulk. Your only solution is to employ a sneaker bot that is quick enough and versatile enough to increase your chances of a successful purchase.
Unfortunately, these sneaker websites frown upon bot activity and put measures in place to impede them. The right web proxies can help you sneak these bots in. Read on to learn what sneaker bots are, how they work, and the best residential proxies for sneaker bots.
What Are Sneaker Proxies?
You see a pair of sneakers online that you want to cop or a limited edition release you want to purchase. You can stay in line for these high-demand drops. However, you might have to consider some specialised tools to increase your chances of getting the sneakers you desire without later pandering to resellers. One such tool is sneaker proxies.
Like traditional proxies, a sneaker proxy serves as an intermediary between a user’s device and the sneaker website they intend to visit or purchase from. As such, they route user traffic to these websites on behalf of the device. Consequently, they can help users log multiple entries for the same sneaker release, use bots for quicker purchases while escaping detection, etc.
These useful proxies can come in different types; each type of sneaker proxy, in turn, has advantages and disadvantages. Here are the most popular types to note:
- Residential sneaker proxies. These proxies employ IP addresses provided by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to residential locations. As a result, a user connecting from such an IP address appears as a legitimate resident of the location. The website treats the user’s traffic as such, and residential sneaker proxies have better anonymity for this reason. On the flip side, the users of these proxies are subject to inconsistent service depending on location, ISP quality, congestion, etc.
- Datacenter sneaker proxies. These proxies do not use IP addresses from ISPs. Instead, they get theirs from data centres or server farms. IPs from the farms appear as such on websites, making them less legitimate and anonymous. They are more prone to detection and blocking. Nevertheless, they are generally faster and more reliable than residential sneaker proxies.
Both types of proxies differ in their source of IP addresses and usefulness. However, their working principles are the same. They intercept web requests to the sneaker sites, reroute them through a purchased IP address, and receive responses on a user’s behalf. This intermediary activity confers the following benefits to sneaker hunting and purchasing:
- IP masking. By using proxies, users can make their requests to the website appear to originate from multiple locations. For sneaker enthusiasts, they can maintain multiple entries and increase their chances of getting the pair they desire.
- Avoiding bans. Sneaker websites look down on multiple requests from a single IP and other infringements highlighted in their terms. The best residential proxies for sneaker bots will help users distribute their requests across locations and avoid punishment.
- Invalidating location. The diversity of sneaker proxies can help their users extend their hunting horizons. Users can use these proxies to access any sneaker release regardless of region or location.
- Increased success rates. Some sneaker releases may be ultra-competitive. That said, the ability of proxies to process multiple entries and requests can increase a user’s chances of copping limited editions.
- Avoiding rate limits. If the website uses rate limits to slow down individual users who appear to be making lots of requests, the right proxy can help. They would redistribute requests, making them appear from different users.
How to Choose the Right Proxy
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- Nature and priority of the website. Sneaker website utilise similar measures to keep things fair. However, some sites are less particular than others. Categorising the sites can help inform a cost-efficient choice of proxies. For instance, the speed and cheapness of a datacenter proxy is a better choice for a site that’s less particular about multiple user requests.
- Quality and type of IP addresses. The type of proxies will determine the type of IP address. However, you will require extra research to assess the quality of the IP addresses a proxy vendor offers. You can do this by using free trials or considering recommendations from trusted forums, reviews, etc.
- IP address pool size. The number of IP addresses and the diversity of the regions they represent can increase the reach of a user. As such, a user looking to target releases from multiple regions should ensure that there are diverse enough IP addresses to guarantee access. Additionally, they should be of a number that allows rotations and maintains anonymity.
- Speed and Performance. You will not be purchasing any sneakers if your network can’t race with that of other users. As such, high-speed proxies should be a priority. Furthermore, these proxies should have low latency to improve their effectiveness for high-demand releases. Reviews containing speed test results clearly indicate which proxies shine the brightest in this regard.
- Reliability. The fewer interruptions the proxies experience while playing the role of intermediary, the better. Ideally, users should use proxies that guarantee high uptimes and lower downtimes for sneaker purchases. Additionally, ensure the proxy vendor has established measures and principles for dealing with interruptions. The latter can help make sure that interruptions are no more than exceptions to the norm.
- Bandwidth and data limits. Depending on how intensive your operation is, you might need high-bandwidth or unlimited bandwidth plans. These plans can help support high data transmission without throttling or succumbing to data limits.
- IP rotation and session control. The best residential proxies for sneaker bots allow users to control their sessions and activity more. They can use sticky sessions to maintain the same IP for a consistent connection location. Alternatively, they allow rotation to automatically change IP addresses and avoid detection in other situations.
- Security and privacy. As with any digital tool, there are security risks to using proxies. For one, the vendor can have access to your web activity data. As a user, you need to prioritise the proxy provider’s policy on data logging when making a decision. The secure choice should be a provider that doesn’t log data or sell to third parties. Similarly, the proxies should support secure transmission protocols to ensure basic online security.
- Customer support. Even the most perfect of products and tools can throw up challenges to users. Proxies may offer more challenges than expected because of the know-how required to set up and tweak them. As a result, a proxy provider that guarantees round-the-clock customer support is a must. They should be responsive, helpful, and available via multiple mediums.
- Reputation and reviews. The reputation of a provider is a simple indicator of customer satisfaction. The more popular and reputable a proxy provider, the more likely they will have a long trail of impressed clients. Reviews are the confirmatory test because you can read the exact things that past clients have to say. Combine both, and you can improve your chances of bagging great value for money.
Best residential proxies for sneaker bots
Proxy-Cheap
Features
- Proxy Cheap has a large pool of residential IP addresses (6.9 million) from over 100 countries. This guarantees great geo-diversity in accessing sneaker releases, a higher degree of anonymity, and less risk of bans.
- Proxy Cheap only provides the best quality proxies, which helps it maintain a high success rate with sneaker botting activities
- They offer 24/7 support for all users in addition to an experience-based onboarding process, a user-friendly interface, a proxy dashboard, and a proxy manager extension.
Pricing
- Static residential proxies starts at $1.99 per proxy per month. Rotating residential proxies start at $2.99 per GB per month. Datacenter IPv4 and IPv6 proxies start at $1.13 and $0.30 per proxy per month, respectively. Mobile proxies are available at $30 per proxy per month. The business also offers discounts for longer purchases and bulk discount deals for large-scale users.
Why you should avoid FREE Proxies
Free proxies are appealing because they cost nothing and claim to provide the same services as a paid proxy. However, the financial convenience may be offset by other issues. Here are some of these issues and reasons why you should avoid free proxies:
- Security risks. The fact may be run by malicious entities who intend to log your data and alter or inject malicious code into your data transmissions. As regards sneaker botting, this can be very risky, especially when you share financial data, and login details, online. There is also the risk of association with illegal activities conducted by other users of the free proxies.
- Privacy Concerns. There is no guarantee of privacy with free proxies. Their developers are anonymous most of the time, and the proxies can be an avenue to collect and sell user data to other parties.
- Performance issues. Even when free proxies are legit, there is no financial incentive to provide top-notch service. This usually leads to limited maintenance budgets, poor performance, slow loading speeds, frequently interrupted browsing, etc.
- Limited functionality. Free proxies are unlikely to have bandwidth limitations, thus limiting the amount of data an individual user can transfer. This makes them unsuitable for data-intensive tasks. Additionally, they may be blocked from some sites due to the activities of previous users.
- Lack of support and updates. The lack of financial incentives could also lead to developers of free proxies providing limited or no support. Due to this, technical issues can become full barriers to connection. These proxies are unlikely to receive regular updates or maintenance to up their security and performance.
- Lack of reputation and trustworthiness. Free proxy providers have no reputations to protect. As a result, they are not nearly as committed to the reliability and security of their proxies as they should be. Their poor performance could reflect on your sneaker purchasing. Interruptions could cost you a pair.
The above issues combine to form the argument for paid proxies. For instance, a paid proxy from Proxy Cheap is tethered to the brand’s reputation. As such, they do their best to source ethically, update, secure, and maintain their proxies for users. In addition, they provide quality support and a friendly interface to facilitate efficient use and management of proxies.
Frequently asked questions
Do Sneaker Proxies Work?
Yes, sneaker proxies work. They reroute requests and allow users to make multiple entries for the same pair of sneakers. Functionally, they help their users mask their original IPs, spoof new ones, ignore rate limits, and increase their success rates on sneaker purchase sites.
Do You Need Proxies for Bots?
Yes, you need proxies for bots. Admins of sneaker websites frown down on bot use and ban IP addresses associated with bot use. Proxies can rotate through a pool of addresses, making it difficult for the websites to identify the use of bots. Consequently, proxies help users avoid bans, run multiple accounts, send multiple requests simultaneously, and maintain anonymity.
Are Sneaker Proxies Illegal?
Sneaker proxies are not illegal. Rather, their specific use can be deemed legal or illegal. To stay safe, sneaker proxy users should ensure that their activities do not violate the terms of service of the websites they patronise. They should also be ethically responsible where possible, and legally in the right at all times.
What Is the Best Sneaker Bot?
The title of the best sneaker bot will vary from situation to situation and depends on personal factors like the websites you intend to shop at, your budget, the features you require or prefer, and their effectiveness. Some popular sneaker bots around include Nike Shoe Bot (NSB), Better Nike Bot (BNB), Kodai, CyberAIO, AIO Bot, Sole AIO, etc.
What do proxies do for sneaker bots?
Proxies perform a very specific function for sneaker bots. They can reduce the likelihood that the bots being detected by websites, thus improving their effectiveness. They do this by rerouting requests from different IP addresses thereby affecting how websites detect bot activity.
Augustas Frost
Support ManagerAugustas Frost is a valued contributor at Proxy-Cheap, specializing in proxy-related content. With a knack for simplifying complex topics, he's your go-to source for understanding the world of proxies.
Outside his work, Augustas explores the latest tech gadgets and embarking on hiking adventures.