For some, buying sneakers is simply a necessity. For others, it’s a hobby. But for a select few people, it’s a way of life.
Sneaker copping is quickly becoming a significant trend that could offer a massive payoff. If you’re a sneakerhead and successfully get your hands on a top pair of exclusive kicks, you could turn a profit by reselling them at a much higher price.
But there’s a catch. Limited-edition sneakers are hard to come by. With thousands of people attempting to get the few available pairs, the odds of you getting them first (or at all) aren’t exactly in your favor. And the more vigorously you’re clicking on the “place your order” button, the higher the chances that you’ll get an IP restriction from the site.
That’s why you need to rely on sneaker proxies. These handy little tools will ensure that you’re a top-runner for the new limited-edition pair of sneakers.
What are proxies?
Proxies are remote servers that act as a middleman between you and the site you’re trying to reach.
Without proxies, you’ll need to communicate directly with the site you’re on. You send an information request to a site when you search for new sneakers, for example. The site reads the request, but it also reads information such as your IP address to determine where you’re coming from. It then collects your information and presents you with relevant results – in this case, it takes you to the sneakers page.
Every time you communicate directly with a site like this, it recognizes you and knows that it’s you who’s browsing for new sneakers, or at least it knows it’s your computer.
But when you use proxies, the site cannot recognize you. Instead of your computer communicating with the site directly, it communicates with the proxy server requesting information. The proxy sends the information request to the relevant site in your name, receives the results, and sends them back to you.
The end result is that the site will read the information about the proxy. It will collect the proxy’s IP address and other data, keeping you in the clear.
Multiple uses of proxies
Proxies have a multitude of uses. Primarily, users rely on them to improve their online security and anonymity. Since the user’s IP address will only be read by the proxy server, they can remain anonymous as they browse the net. However, it’s essential to have a reliable proxy server that doesn’t have problems with DNS leaks.
Proxies can also be used to bypass restrictions and censorship. If a site restricts access based on user location, a proxy user can rely on a server located in the unrestricted area and access the site freely.
Additionally, proxies can be used to set up parental controls, limit access to distracting sites and social networks in the workplace and schools, and more.
Most commonly, proxies are used for web scraping – the process of extracting available data from websites to use in competitor and market research, price comparisons, and lead generation.
Using proxies for sneaker copping
Sneaker proxies are your new best friends. They’re add-ons that you can use to streamline your sneaker copping techniques and increase your chances of success.
But to understand sneaker proxies and their intrinsic value, you first need to understand the challenges you face when trying to get your hands on top sneakers.
Limited-edition sneakers are a precious commodity that’s highly sought after. Sneakerheads deploy all tools at their disposal to ensure they get a top pair of kicks either for the purposes of completing their collections or for reselling them at higher prices later on.
Retailers are well aware of this fact, but they still want to make their products available to the broadest audience possible. They want to ensure that buying their sneakers is a fair game and that everyone gets equal chances of success. So, they tend to limit the number of items that one user can buy or the number of times they can attempt to place their order.
To avoid having your IP blocked and missing out on top sneakers, you can use rotating sneaker proxies. They change the IP address before placing an order in your name, so you can try and place an order as many times as you’d like and perform sneaker copping without a hitch.
While there are many sneaker proxies providers in the market, it’s crucial to find a reliable one. You may start your research and visit Oxylabs to find out more about their solution for sneaker copping).
Datacenter vs. residential proxies for sneaker copping
When you start looking into sneaker proxies, you’ll notice that there’s a wide variety of them, and you might be overwhelmed with choices. For sneaker copping purposes, there are only two relevant proxy categories you should know of – datacenter or residential proxies.
Residential proxies are typically given to you by your Internet Service Provider, but you can get them from a private proxy service to hide your real IP. They provide you with a legitimate-looking IP address that will seem genuine. They tend to be slightly slower, with a response time of between 300 and 1,000 ms, but they significantly minimize your chances of being banned while sneaker copping.
Datacenter proxies aren’t connected to your ISP. They’re remote servers held in big data centers and typically serve a multitude of users simultaneously. They offer excellent speed, with a response time of between 50 and 150 ms. However, they don’t change the IP as frequently, so there’s a higher chance of a ban while you’re using them.
Conclusion
Sneaker proxies are an essential tool if you’re sneaker copping. They can help you mask your IP address and get your hands on the best limited-edition sneakers. In the competitive sneaker copping market, you won’t stand a chance of succeeding without a reliable sneaker proxy.
