Must Have Apps for Sneakerheads
If you're interested in copping sneakers and want to build your sneaker collection, then there are some apps that every up and coming sneakerhead should have. Whether you want to cop for retail or you're looking for sneakers you have missed out on, we have a list of the apps that will help you get what you're looking for. This list will give you insight into what the apps provide and how to use them. Let's get started.
1. SNKRS
The Nike SNKRS app is a must have for everyone looking to cop Nike and Jordan brand products. This app provides access to all of the upcoming Nike and Jordan sneaker releases. Once you download this app, you'll be asked to create a Nike account if you do not already have one. You simply plug in your shipping address, payment information, and shoe size into the account page then you're good to go. You can see product on the 'Upcoming' tab and click "Notify Me" to set notifications for when a sneaker releases. On the 'In Stock' tab, product is readily available to purchase at a click of a button. Special Nike apparel is also available from time to time for purchase.
For scarce or hype products, Nike has set up a system to randomly select winners to purchase the product. Sometimes that means Nike will set a 10 minute timer to enter a raffle for a particular sneaker or it will be a quick strike release, with no timer, which means you have about 2-3 minutes to enter before the product says sold out. Just make sure you open the app at the time of release and click the purchase button as soon as possible.
Upon release, typically 10 a.m. eastern time, you will be able to click the purchase button under the sneaker. SNKRS will then ask you to confirm your purchase information. After confirming, the app will bring you to a "Pending" page. At that moment, you have entered the raffle. If you are selected, then you'll receive the "Got Em'" page which means you automatically purchase that product. When you are not selected, you'll receive the "Your submission wasn't selected" notification.
Unfortunately, most of the time, you will not be selected for highly coveted products, but do not be discouraged. The more you attempt to buy, the better chance you'll have at copping. In fact, Nike issued a statement saying that the more active you are on the app, the more likely you'll be selected after entering a raffle. Whether that's true or not is a mystery, but it never hurts to be active on the app and follow their advice. Activity involves interacting with the videos, live shows, stories, polls, and product that the app has to offer. Try being active on the app, and hopefully Nike's raffle algorithm will favor you. Good luck.
2. adidas Confirmed
Similar to the SNKRS app, the adidas Confirmed app gives you an opportunity to purchase the most sought after adidas products through a raffle process. You have to create an adidas account with all of your purchase and shipping information so that you automatically purchase the sneaker if you win. However, unlike Nike, adidas typically gives you an opportunity to enter the raffle a day or more before the release. On the release day, you'll receive a notification saying whether or not you were selected to purchase that Yeezy or adidas sneaker that you have been having your eyes on. This app gives you an opportunity to purchase all Yeezy, Human Race, and other adidas product and gives you access to interactive features pertaining to adidas product. Again, you may not win on this app majority of the time, but continue to enter raffles. Adidas did not issue a statement like Nike, but it won't hurt to click on the interactive features and maybe gain an advantage. Even if you do not win, keep attempting to purchase sneakers and eventually you'll cop.
3. Footlocker/Champs
To cop some of those Nike and adidas products from your local Footlocker or Champs, you'll have to enter raffles on the Footlocker and Champs apps. These stores do not release coveted sneakers to people who walk in the store on release day anymore. The days of waiting in a line outside the store the morning of the release are over. You have to download those apps, create accounts, and click the release calendar to see what sneakers are available through the raffle. When you click on the sneaker you want, the app will tell you which stores in your area the sneaker is available for purchase at. It'll give you the opportunity to click on a maximum of three local in range locations where your raffle entry will be included. On release day, you'll get a notification telling you whether or not you can come pick up your sneaker upon winning the raffle.
Here is the key to increasing your chance to win. You must buy products at the store or online through the account you created. Every time you make a purchase, you'll gain "XPoints" that you can use to "boost" your entry. That boost will maximize your opportunity to win a raffle. Without that boost, you pretty much have no shot at winning. Unfortunately, even if you lose the raffle, you do not get those points back; so choose your raffle entries wisely.
4. StockX
If you fail to hit on SNKRS, adidas Confirmed, or any other raffle, then you can always hit the secondary market and purchase any dead stock (unused) sneaker on StockX anytime you want. StockX is an app in which you can sell and buy many different products, but it began as a market for sneakers. Interestingly enough, just like in its name, this company works like the stock market in which the value of a shoe is dictated by the people who own the sneaker and the people who desire to have that sneaker. The more coveted or rare a sneaker is, the higher the value. Supply and demand.
To use this app, just create a StockX account, add your payment and shipping information, and begin scouring the app for any sneaker you have been looking for. Once you find that grail or sneaker you missed out on, you can either click 'Buy' or 'Sell'. When you click 'Buy' and select your size, you have the option to either buy the sneaker immediately or place a bid and wait for a seller to accept your bid. Be aware that StockX charges fees, taxes, and shipping charges for both the buyer and seller. So the price you see initially is not the final price you're paying. Regardless, you can still find great steals and deals if the market is down on a sneaker for a period of time.
Another benefit of this company is the use of getting a third party to verify the authenticity of your sneaker, item, or apparel. After buying your sneaker, the seller must ship it to a StockX facility where StockX employees verify that the sneaker is authentic before shipping it to the buyer. You'll know your sneaker has been verified when you receive it with a StockX hang tag attached that you can cut off with a pair of scissors.
5. GOAT
The GOAT app works the same way the StockX app does. GOAT is another secondary market company that came about after StockX to give consumers an opportunity to find any sneaker they have been looking for. The main difference is that this app allows people to sell used sneakers. When you find your item, you can either buy it used or dead stock. Obviously, buying it used would be cheaper, but you'll have to carefully look at the images that sellers must provide of the condition of their used sneaker.
Other slight differences between the two apps include the fees and selection of apparel and items. The shipping charge is pretty much the same for both apps, but taxes differ, and GOAT does not charge a processing fee for the buyer. Whatever differences you find in the added charges, resellers price their sneakers in such a way that the overall price tends to be close between the two apps.
At the end of the day, the GOAT app is another secondary market tool that you can get your sneakers authenticated through because of their third party authentication process. You should have this app to compare the price of a sneaker to the rest of the market and to possibly purchase a good used pair for below market price.
6. eBay
The eBay app and website has always been a popular place to purchase sneakers on the secondary market. However, if you wanted to know that your pair was authentic, you had to look at reviews to know if the seller was reputable. Now, in the past couple years, eBay has become smart about what will bring more sneakerheads to their site to purchase sneakers. Sneakerheads want to know that their sneaker is authentic. With so many well put together fakes being made, it's hard for the average person to know whether or not their shoe is legit by simply looking at it. That is why GOAT and StockX have dominated the sneaker reselling market by providing the guarantee that your sneaker will be authenticated. Now, eBay provides that same service at no charge to you.
EBay has created an authentication department that will act as a third party between transactions. When searching for a particular sneaker, make sure you filter your searches by selecting "Authenticity Guarantee" so that you will only be seeing sneakers that will go through the authentication process at an eBay facility. No added fees for the seller or buyer means that you will only be paying the listed price plus tax and the shipping cost if the seller wants the buyer to pay for shipping. Because eBay provides a no fee service, resellers are starting to sell more on eBay to maximize their profit. As a buyer, you won't find a huge price difference from what you'll see on StockX or GOAT because sellers raise prices to almost the equivalent of the prices on those markets after fees, taxes, and shipping. However, you can still find cheaper deals on eBay if you stay on the hunt and if you negotiate a price with a seller (which you can't do on StockX or GOAT).
7. Tradeblock
Tradeblock is a new up and coming sneaker app that you can use to trade sneakers in your collection with other people who may be looking for what you have and vice versa. You simply create an account and begin adding sneakers to your closet and to your wishlist. If someone is interested in what you have and they see something on your wishlist that they have, they'll send you a trade request. When you accept the trade, both members then send their pairs to Tradeblock where they are authenticated and then swapped to be sent to the trade recipients.
This new app is a fun tool for making trades happen. It even allows you add multiple sneakers to a trade or add cash on top of a sneaker that was offered to make the trade fair. New or used sneakers are allowed to be traded. The only drawback is that there is a transaction fee once the trade is executed. Nonetheless, Tradeblock is a great app for getting sneakers you dreamed about having in your collection.
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