Chances are you joined SoleSavy so you could learn how to beat the bots and better increase your chances at buying the sneakers you want. This guide will have all the information you need in order to prepare you upon release day.
The Pre-Cart Method
Without a doubt, the most important technique you can learn to reduce your chances at taking an L is our Pre-Cart Method. The steps outlined below will not only save you time and headaches but they will also help you circumvent bots and other less prepared customers that are trying to buy the same shoes.
It’s important that you take the time to learn and practice the Pre-Cart Method before heading into any other guides. For a quick run down on the Pre-Cart Method, check out this video:
If you haven’t already, please aside some time and watch our Pre-Cart Method course videos here. You can also join any of our weekly live training sessions to learn more on pre-carting from one of our Community Leaders. Register here.
#announcements and Release Guides
By now you should have received an invitation into SoleSavy member’s only, exclusive Slack. This is where you’ll find your fellow SoleSavy members and the Community Leaders.
Of all the different channels in Slack, the most important one by fair is #announcements. On release days, this is where we will provide our detailed release guides,
Release Guides: For each of the week’s big releases, our team puts out customized guides via the #announcements channel. Each guide is tailor made with information that is important and unique to each release. This is where you’ll find retailer lists and release times, early links, stock information, anti-bot details, and more.These guides will be published 1 - 2 days before the shoes release.
Our Community Leaders can't emphasize enough how important the #announcements channel is on release day! You should always have notifications on for the #announcements channel. You never know what might happen on release day and our team works around the clock to ensure we keep you in the know with the most up to date information.
Next you’ll want to familiarize yourself with our Monitors.
What are Monitors?
Monitor's are specialized programs that instantly notify you in Slack whenever a sneaker releases. These notifications include a link that adds the product to your cart instantly in just one click.
Our monitors are grouped into various categories, each of which can notify you about a particular type of product. Check our release guides in #announcements to find out what relevant monitor channel to use. (Ex. Looking for a pair of New Balance 992 sneakers? Then turn on notifications for the channel: #_monitor-newbalance) Learn more here.
Next, make sure you have an account made ahead of time for any store you want to try purchasing from. Sometimes stores will only let you buy products if you have an account and are signed in at the time of purchase.
How to checkout even quicker with auto fill & the right browser:
We recommend using Chrome because it is generally the fastest browser and it allows you to create alternate profiles for sneaker shopping.
Make sure you have your credit card saved to your browser autofill to ensure speedy checkout. If you are typing in your information you are moving too slow!
Make sure to memorize your credit card’s CVV as it is the one field that isn’t autofilled.
You should never use ShopPay on release day and Paypal is not recommended as it’s too slow.
Unsure? You can ask the team in slack for advice before a release!
Prepare Bookmarks:
It sounds so simple but book marks combined with our other tips can help shave off precious seconds and help you feel more confident with the right links prepare.
Examples of some bookmarks worth making:
The website URL with no /password in the link for Shopify based stores that do password protect before a release
/cart URL in case a site crashes after you cart
/checkout URL in case a site crashes once you get to cart
Each URL can be different but most Shopify sites do follow the same cadence of SITENAME.com/checkout etc.
When preparing for a release that is not shopify based, it is good to do a test run through of their check out process to save the URL’s to your bookmarks. Supreme and SSENSE are two sites where having bookmarks can be helpful if the site is crashing.
Join a Training Session:
We try and do weekly live training sessions especially the day before a big release
As your community leader for information on the next training session thats available to you
When in doubt head into slack and ask the team and your community we are here to support you.
Pre Release Checklist:
The Pre-cart Method: Learn the pre-cart method before a big release if possible & practice.
Notifications: Turn on your notifications for the correct Monitor channel & Announcement channel.
Set up autofill for your payment method
Prepare your bookmarks
Sign into the retailer before drop time
Join a training sessions
Prepare to use a backup browser with your payment method set up
Pay attentions to the announcements & watch for a customer release guide
On Release Day:
Announcement channel: Releases rarely go as planned so keep an eye on this channel for any relevant updates.
Use the monitor channel links to checkout
Stay calm and be confident
Additional Pro Tips that will help you out:
Your Credit Card is ready: Make sure your credit card of choice is not maxed out and has room for a new charge
Practice in Seconds: Change your computer time to show seconds if it already doesn’t. This way you can better prepare for an incoming drop and refresh 1 second before release to try and get an edge on others
Set backup Alarms: Set yourself an alarm 1-2 minutes before release even if you are awake. This is a back up reminder in case you get distracted by something else in your life.
Backup payment methods: Login to your paypal account, even if you don’t plan on using it it can be a good idea to be logged in just in case a store makes it mandatory or changes there payment methods shortly before release.
Login to the site well before the release: Be cautious of when you prepare for a release, site traffic spikes closer to a release. For ex. you don’t want to login for a site 5 minutes before release as the site might crash and take too long.