When I was starting to get really into sneakers I wondered how everyone managed to get all the hyped up shoes I really wanted. I too read the blog posts that all say the same things. Now that I have a bunch of sneakers that are harder to get I have some of my own advice to give:
Atmos Pack. My best win ever. Photo from @laizey_bones
Raffles
Every blog post about how to get great sneakers says; “enter raffles!”. So I enter raffles. In all the hundreds of entries to raffles I have tried, I have won exactly twice (Breds and the Atmos pack). This includes pay to play raffles. So is it worth entering?
YES! If you don’t enter you will win even fewer times than I have. I enter every in-person raffle I can, and all the online ones. I put so much time into finding European sites that do online raffles, and into finding out the the timing of local raffles it is just ridiculous. But I do have that Atmos pack and I wouldn’t if it wasn’t for the raffle.
Air Max 90 Moon Landing on the beach in Philippines. Every one looked at us like we were crazy (like always)
Research
That time I put in to entering raffles? Double that, and you have the time I have spent in making sure I know what is releasing, where it is releasing and when. Is it coming out early in Europe? Should I wait for a local release? Online or in person? Some blogs recommend having a great relationship with a local store so you stay up to date on this stuff (and local stores are really important) but I do 99% of my research online. Every single day.
I do go into local stores regularly because I buy lots of sneakers there. And I ask about releases, but mostly about the timing of local Air Max releases because we just don’t get everything Europe gets.
I don’t have a plug or a connect or a source. It just takes time. So much time.
Nike Air Max 1 Masters with the CN Tower. Photo from @laizey_bones
Community
Getting out and talking to regular people is the other way I manage to get sneakers I am looking for. There is a strong community here in Toronto and people look out for each other. I got Jordan 1 Top 3s for under retail because a friend saw them at the outlet and proxied. My Air Max Masters and Jordan 5 Tokyos came at a fair price from someone I have bought from in the past and supported through their raffles. On the other hand, I have entered 30+ raffles to help a co-worker get the Yeezys she wanted for retail and had no problem making sure a friend got the Royals he wanted when I had a chance to get another pair. It takes a team to get sneakers a lot of the time.
Stay tuned for Part 2 (timing TBD)
Hype Less 