How to Cop Limited Edition/Rare Sneakers

How to Cop Limited Edition/Rare Sneakers

Photography by Mikko Puttonen

What I’m Wearing

Sleeveless Bomber Jacket – Daniel Patrick (click here)

Oversized Flannel Shirt – Zara (click here)

Zip Biker Denim – Zara (click here)

Y3 Pure Boost ZG Knit – Adidas (click here)

I’m quite proud to say that I’ve managed to cop some pretty rare sneakers over the past few years, Yeezy 350 Boost, Y3 Pure Boost, Fear of God Military Sneakers etc. It’s never been that easy though and quite a lot of preparation has taken place beforehand to ensure I got the sneakers. There’s been many failed attempts too, every other pair of yeezys and triple white ultra boosts for example. So this is a rough guide on how to be prepared for a drop but having said that even if you’re really prepared you still might not succeed but you’ve got to make sure you’ve covered all bases.

Shop The Look

Research

Sites like Hypebeast, Sneakernews and even the Adidas website all give teaser images, release dates and most importantly closer to the day of release they often give lists of retailers for each upcoming release, whether it be online or in store. Sometimes the site details whether it will be an in-store raffle, a first come first served event etc. This gives you a chance to see if any stores are near you that you can go to on the day of release or whether it will be an online affair.

 

Resources

To arm yourself for the drop there are a few things you can use, Twitter notifications for pages like @SneakerheadUK are a saviour, even when it’s not close to a drop deadline they often tweet about restocks etc so I just have this on 24/7 to make sure I don’t miss out on anything. Then there’s facebook groups like YeezyTalkWorldWide (most of my knowledge is angled towards yeezy drops aha but I’m sure there’s more groups for other drops etc.) YTWW offers rumours, insider knowledge of upcoming drops etc and often people just talking and sharing their Yeezy pieces. Then there’s apps like the Adidas confirmed app, this only just came to London and I’m not sure which other cities it works in but you can basically reserve limited edition sneakers and it will give you a time to go in store, pick up your sneakers and pay etc.

 

Raffles

Raffles are really annoying but it’s actually how I got my Pirate Black Yeezy 350’s so I guess you just have to try and enter as many as you can and you never know – you might just win. There are loads of raffles online and in-store. I had to go to Foot Patrol in central London, write my name, shoe size, email and phone number on a little slip of paper and put it in the raffle box. A few days later, the day before release, I got a phone call confirming that I had a pair reserved and all I had to do was go in store and pay/pick them up. It was the easiest way of copping Yeezys imho.

 

In-Store

Queueing, camping, waiting etc. You can find a store that’s stocking them and go as early as possible to wait outside – this isn’t my favourite way of copping as it’s tiring and there’s no guarantee that they will have your size. I did this with the Fear of God Military sneakers, although I didn’t go that early I was lucky to find a pair in my size but try not to take risks like that otherwise it might all be a waste of time. I think stores are trying to discourage queueing with apps and raffles etc because it is a big burden on the store, more often then not they have to hire security etc.

 

Subs

E-mail subscriptions are actually a really great way to keep on top of new releases, more often then not retailers will want to say they’re stocking a certain sneaker etc and sometimes offer discounts for signing up to the mailing list so I would suggest signing up to any email list that you can.

Making Accounts

If you are trying to an online cop, make sure that you’ve created accounts for all the stores you’re trying to purchase from and have entered your payment details wherever possible as it all makes for a smoother and quicker transaction. A few seconds could help you to get your correct size.

 

Resellers

I personally dislike resellers, I hate the fact that what I’m buying could be counterfeit and 10000 x above the retail value but sometimes they can be impossible to cop. If you do decide to buy from a reseller please do your research, make sure what you’re buying is real, ask social media for a legit check etc. If it’s too good to be true then it probably is and if they seem dodgy, the probably are. You have been warned!

Those are my bits of advice for copping rare/limited edition sneakers etc I hope they’ve helped you and I wish you luck on the next drop, whatever it may be.