We recommend that you purchase from retailers that use Shopify-based sites because Shopify uses anti-bot technology, which includes a queue system.
As the name implies, anti-bot technology is there to help prevent bots from making purchases in order to favor real, individual customers. That means you’ll have a better chance at a successful purchase.
During a regular online purchase on a Shopify store, you’re probably used to simply adding an item to cart and clicking ‘checkout’.
However, when a big release is underway, the process becomes a little different due to Anti-Bot.
Anti-Bot consists of three changes to the checkout flow:
A “Queue” system is activated to handle traffic and filter out bots
CAPTCHA checkpoints are turned on
Sometimes, a skill testing question is asked that must be answered correctly before adding an item to your cart
A Queue is a virtual version of a store lineup. Like a real line, it lets customers check out on a first-come, first-serve basis. They let users through the checkout process in batches, rather than letting thousands of users flood the website all at once.
Queues are activated automatically during high-traffic, and they almost always activate 3 - 5 minutes before a shoe releases.
If a shoe releases at 2:00 PM, then its queue likely activates around 1:55 PM. If you go to checkout and it takes you straight to the checkout page, this means the queue is not live yet. Go back to your cart page and wait maybe 15-30 seconds before you try again.
Learn more how on how the queue system fits into the Pre-Cart Method here.