Hello avid readers and to the new comers, welcome. Today I come to you with something different, however it is just as informative. It’s about raffles and why they’re used by sneaker shops and apps like SNKRS today.

Is it a scam, a scheme to somehow increase their revenue? Or is it simply to help consumers out? Keep on reading for more details.

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There are many ways to cop sneakers and winning raffles are just one of them in this multi-billion Dollar market. So let’s get right to it!

For quick info skip to the end conclusion

What Are Raffles?

If you’re new on the sneaker reselling scene or the sneakerhead fan-base in general. You may ask yourself, what are raffles? Well newbie, raffle is just another word a lucky draw. Well, kind of.

.jpg" alt="Image of SNKRS app and a red jordan shoe. Curtesy of Bookmark Los Angeles." class="wp-image-34727" title="Image of SNKRS app and a red jordan shoe. Curtesy of Bookmark Los Angeles."/>
Image Via Bookmark Los Angeles.

To put it simply, a lucky draw is free to play while a draw is a pay to play kind of deal. Still confused? I’ll explain further.

In a raffle, when you get a ticket you’re basically paying for a chance to win a new sneaker. Not paying for it directly. Once you win, you shall receive a call being asked to pick up your new pair for retail price.

Why is that such a prize you may ask? Well every re-seller and sneakerhead knows that getting your hands on a limited release is a prize in itself. As you may have seen in one of our articles such as the march 2020 best shoes to resell.

A lot of these sneakers are gold and can earn you a hefty profit even if you pay for the retail. For Example:

Here is a perfect example of why raffles exist

  • Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October
  • Retail Price: $250
  • Peak Resell: $10,240
  • Release Date: Sunday, February 9th, 2014
  • Colorway: RED
  • Style Code: 508214-660
Image of the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October on StockX showing last sale of $8,500. Image Via StockX
Image of the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October. Image Via StockX

As you can see these kicks can earn you a massive profit of $9,990 at peak resale. Would you not line up outside shops to snatch a pair like this in the future?

Now since some shoes are so highly anticipated because of expected high resale value that there are often lines that are miles long. That is where the first reason comes in as to why sneaker shops use raffles.

Why Do Sneaker Shops Use Them?

Have ever seen people lining up, possibly for hours to get a the new iphone. Well that is nothing compared to the sneaker world as some people actually wait days. That’s right, days!

Miles long waiting lines outside a jordan store.
Miles long waiting lines outside a Jordan store.

In New-Castle England for example, people queued for 3 days. Some traveling 300 miles to get their hands on the Nike Air Max 90’s at the END clothing line.

The police were called in due to there being a massive gathering. Turns out 500 people showed up to grab the sneakers, some having set up camp while being there for days.

One man even needed medical attention and had to be attended to immediately!

The long lines were a massive problem however, that was the least of the worries.

Violence In Sneaker Queues

People have always craved what they can’t have and some resort to violence to get it. Unfortunately, a lot of violence has ensued over the years before raffles were a thing and long queues were common.

In 2013 in California, the Air Jordan Gamma XI’s released and were highly anticipated. People in a hurry get into all sorts of trouble and as a result a fight ensued leaving several injured.

No one was arrested as the police arrived too late. This however, happened all over the country after the release of the Air Jordan 1 Gamma XI.

In March 2014 in New York City, the Jordan Future released with a hand full of Colorways. It was pretty limited and sought after, causing lines of people waiting to buy the pair.

At a store called Flight 23, people rushed through the entrance crushing a woman that felt threatened.  She pulled out her pepper spray and sprayed at the crowd possibly in frustration.

luckily police arrived at the scene and handled the situation.

April 2014 in New York City, there was a line at a Foot Locker for the Nike Air Foamposite Pro Yeezy.

A 15-year-old boy tried cutting the line and was shot in the foot. The boy survived however the shoe was delayed until 11 am and was sold out by 6 pm.

Various other instances have occurred which even proved to be fatal for many people. These incidents wee becoming widespread so one of the reasons sneaker shops use raffles is to avoid such incidents.

On the other hand, there are also more positive reasons

Giving Back To The Community

Luckily online sneaker shops also hold raffles for other reasons such as charities. A notable example is when Eminem and StockX Joined forces to help raised funds for hurricane victims.

StockX and Eminem raised 440k for hurricane victims. Image Via StockX
StockX and Eminem raised 440k for hurricane victims. Image Via StockX

After the devastation that was hurricane Irma and Harvey, the two were kind enough to help out massively.

The raffle worked like this. Every $10 donated entitles one entry for the donor which is a chance to win a valuable sneaker. The funds raised were $440,000 which was matched by Eminem.

Combat Sneaker Bots

The latest way sneaker shops, retailers and companies use raffles is to combat those pesky bots. They don’t like bots as shops prefer their customers to be, well, human.

Image of a Nike Sneaker with sub text Enter the drawing, exit the line to promote online raffles after countless injuries from store camping.
Image Via Captenilan

Nike in 2015 held a raffle where they did just that. To enter, you’ll need to follow the particular store and wait for a link. Then you sign in through a verified Nike+ account, enter your size and wait for confirmation.

Winners are emailed and given details on where to pick up. The good part about this was there was no need to hurry so it made things a little less stressful.

What To Do About It?

2 words. Raffle Bots. As sneaker manufacturers have gotten smarter, so have the re-sellers and their bots. Today you can use an array of various bots to enter raffles and win through ingenious methods.

The raffle bot includes features such as account creators, rapid checkout tools, keyword monitors and more.

BNB AIO Bot and the Better Nike bot are examples. The ultimate may be on the expensive side but a good investment.

For example, the Better Nike Bot has the DAN Feature which helps you enter a large number of accounts for raffles.

Conclusion

Raffles initially started to reduce the amounts of violence during release events. They were also held for charity events. Re-sellers however created programmes called bots to cop them faster than anyone else and sell for a profit.

As the sneaker manufacturers evolved to combat these bots, so did the programmers and their bots. Better Nike Bot and BNB AIO bots are good examples of bots that combat raffles.

Well I hope you guys learned something new today. Some love them some hate them but to level the playing field in the reselling game. Bots are a necessity.

Also follow our Instagram for quick info and snaps of your favourite hot new releases. You may also be interested in our SFS cookbook!

If you’re thinking about entering the reselling business, look no further as the highly reviewed Hypemaster Playbook is your best friend.

Take your reselling game to the next level

Author

Mohammad Yousaf

Mohammad Yousaf

As a business student, Mohammad was thoroughly impressed with where the secondary market was heading for sneakers. He quickly realized that what used to be considered as a side hustle, was now the main income stream for many. He has studied the game ever since.

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