Proxies for Sneaker Bots: How to Choose the Best for Successful Nike and Adidas Drops

Sneaker culture has turned into a multi-billion dollar market, where success in releases depends on speed and proper technical preparation. The use of bots to purchase limited sneakers has become standard, but without quality proxies, even the most expensive bot is useless — you will be banned at the cart addition stage. In this guide, we will explore which types of proxies work on different platforms, how to configure them correctly, and how many IPs are needed for a successful cop.

Stores like Nike SNKRS, Adidas, Footsites, Supreme, and Shopify sites use powerful anti-bot systems (Akamai, PerimeterX, DataDome) that instantly detect multiple requests from a single IP. The right choice of proxy is the difference between a successful cop and a wasted expenditure on a release.

Why you can't cop sneakers without proxies

All major retailers use rate limiting — a restriction on the number of requests from a single IP address. When you run a bot with 50 tasks on one IP, the site detects abnormal activity: dozens of requests to the API per second, multiple attempts to add items to the cart, identical browser fingerprints. The result is an instant IP ban, and all your tasks stop.

Proxies solve this problem by distributing the bot's tasks across different IP addresses. To the site, this looks like regular customers from different locations, rather than a mass bot attack. However, the type of proxy is critically important: cheap public proxies are already blacklisted, and a poorly chosen type will lead to a ban even faster than operating without proxies.

Types of proxies for sneaker bots: comparison and selection

In the sneaker industry, there are three main types of proxies, each with its advantages and limitations. The choice depends on the target site, budget, and type of release (FCFS, raffle, queue system).

Residential proxies: when they are necessary

Residential proxies use IP addresses from real home internet providers (ISPs), which cannot be distinguished from regular users. To anti-bot systems, this looks like legitimate traffic, which is critically important for sites with strict protection.

When residential proxies are mandatory:

• Nike SNKRS — uses multi-layered protection with IP reputation analysis. Datacenter proxies get banned instantly, ISP proxies work unstably. Residential proxies provide a success rate of 60-80% on FCFS releases.
• Supreme — the queue system checks not only the IP but also the ASN (autonomous system). Residential proxies with different ISPs allow for more slots in the queue.
• Adidas (Yeezy releases) — requires clean IPs with no botting history. Fresh residential proxies work more reliably than reused ISPs.
• Raffles (End Clothing, SNS) — raffle systems often limit the number of applications per IP. Residential proxies with rotation allow for more entries.

Disadvantages of residential proxies for botting:

• High cost — for one release with 50 tasks, you may use 5-10 GB of traffic ($15-50)
• Unstable speed — some residential IPs may be slow, which is critical for FCFS releases
• IP rotation — if the proxy changes IP during the session, you will lose your place in the queue

Datacenter proxies: a cheap alternative for Shopify

Datacenter proxies are IP addresses from servers in cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, OVH). They are fast and cheap, but easily identified by anti-bot systems due to their ASN and lack of residential characteristics.

Where datacenter proxies still work:

• Shopify sites without protection — small boutiques (Kith, Undefeated, local stores) often do not use advanced protection. Datacenter proxies work on 70-80% of such sites.
• Release monitoring — for scraping pages and tracking product availability, datacenter proxies are ideal: fast and cheap.
• Account generation — creating multiple accounts on low-security sites.

Where datacenter proxies DO NOT work:

• Nike SNKRS — ban at the account login stage
• Supreme — does not pass through the queue
• Footsites with Akamai — detect and ban after 2-3 requests
• Adidas — blocks on the product page

Datacenter proxies are suitable for beginners testing bots on small Shopify releases. The cost of $1-3 per IP allows you to buy 50-100 proxies without breaking the bank if the release fails. However, for serious botting on major sites, they are useless.

ISP proxies: the golden mean for Footsites

ISP proxies (also known as Static Residential) are a hybrid of residential and datacenter proxies. They are hosted in datacenters but registered to internet providers (ISPs), so they have residential ASNs. To sites, this looks like a static IP of a home user.

Advantages of ISP proxies:

• Datacenter speed — ping 10-50ms, which is critical for FCFS releases
• Residential reputation — pass most anti-bot checks
• Static IP — does not change during the session, unlike rotating residential proxies
• Average price — $2-5 per IP, cheaper than residential, but more expensive than datacenter

Where ISP proxies perform best:

• Footsites (Footlocker, Champs, Eastbay) — ISP proxies work more reliably than residential due to speed
• Finishline — requires fast proxies to pass the splash page
• Yeezy Supply — the queue system accepts ISP proxies just like residential ones
• Shopify with protection — large boutiques with DataDome or PerimeterX

How many proxies are needed for one release

The number of proxies depends on the number of tasks in the bot and the type of release. The basic rule: one unique IP for one task. However, there are nuances for different sites.

Recommendations for the number of proxies:

Additional proxies for insurance:

Always buy 20-30% more proxies than you plan to use for tasks. Reasons:

• Some proxies may be banned by the provider even before the release
• Some proxies may turn out to be slow (ping >200ms) — they need to be replaced
• If a task fails with an error, you can restart it on a new IP

Setting up proxies in popular bots

Most sneaker bots support importing proxies in the format IP:PORT:USERNAME:PASSWORD or http://username:password@ip:port. Let's look at the setup in the most popular bots.

Setting up proxies in Cyber AIO:

1. Open the Proxies section in the main menu
2. Click Import and select the file with proxies (each proxy on a new line)
3. Select the type of proxy: Residential, ISP, or Datacenter
4. Click Test Proxies — the bot will check the speed and availability of each IP
5. Remove proxies with a ping >150ms or status Banned
6. In the task settings, select Proxy List and specify the imported group

Setting up proxies in Balko:

1. Go to Settings → Proxies
2. Create a new proxy group (e.g., "Nike Resi" or "Shopify DC")
3. Paste proxies in the format ip:port:user:pass
4. Select the mode: Sticky (one IP for the entire session) or Rotating (IP changes every request)
5. Run Speed Test and sort proxies by speed
6. When creating a task, select the proxy group in the Proxy Group section

Setting up proxies in Kodai:

1. Open the Proxies tab
2. Click + Add Proxy List
3. Paste proxies (both authenticated and non-authenticated formats are supported)
4. Kodai will automatically detect the proxy type, but it's better to specify it manually
5. Use Proxy Tester to check functionality
6. In the task settings, select the proxy list and rotation mode

Which proxies to use for different sites

Each site uses its own anti-bot system, and the requirements for proxies vary. Here are proven recommendations based on community experience.

Features of regional releases:

If a release is only available in a specific country (e.g., Nike SNKRS US or EU), proxies must be from that region. Using UK proxies for a US release will lead to an error "Not available in your region" or account ban for VPN usage.

• Nike SNKRS US — only US residential proxies
• Nike SNKRS EU — proxies from European countries (UK, DE, FR, IT)
• Supreme — US or EU proxies depending on the store
• Adidas — the proxy region must match the account region

How to test proxies before a release

Testing proxies is a mandatory step in preparing for a release. Even premium proxies can be banned or slow. Here’s a checklist for verification:

Step 1: Basic functionality check

1. Use the built-in tester of the bot (Cyber, Balko, Kodai have a Speed Test function)
2. Check each proxy for availability — it should return code 200
3. Measure ping — for FCFS releases, a ping <100ms is needed, for raffles up to 200ms is acceptable
4. Remove proxies with connection errors or timeouts

Step 2: Check on the target site

1. Run a test task on the target site (for example, try to add any item to the cart)
2. Check that the proxy is not banned — if you receive a captcha or 403 error, the IP is in the ban list
3. For Nike SNKRS, try logging into the account through the proxy — if it requires verification, the IP is suspicious
4. For Supreme, check that the proxy passes through the queue page

Step 3: Geolocation check

Open an IP check site (e.g., whatismyipaddress.com) through the proxy and ensure:

• The IP shows the correct country (US for Nike SNKRS US)
• The ISP (provider) appears as residential (Comcast, Verizon, AT&T), not datacenter (OVH, Hetzner)
• The IP is not in public blacklists (check on mxtoolbox.com)

Step 4: Final check one hour before the release

The situation with proxies can change within hours — the provider may ban the IP or the site may add it to the blacklist. One hour before the release, repeat all checks and replace problematic proxies.

Conclusion

Choosing the right proxies for sneaker bots is a balance between cost, speed, and the level of site protection. For major releases on Nike SNKRS, Supreme, and Adidas, residential proxies with sticky sessions are necessary despite their high cost. Footsites and Yeezy Supply work well with ISP proxies, which combine datacenter speed and residential reputation. Datacenter proxies are only suitable for small Shopify boutiques without advanced protection.

Key rules for successful botting: use a 1:1 ratio (one proxy per task) for protected sites, always test proxies an hour before the release, choose proxy regions according to the release region, and buy 20-30% more proxies for insurance. Proper proxy preparation increases the success rate from 20-30% to 60-80% on competitive releases.

If you plan to work with major Nike or Supreme releases, we recommend trying residential proxies — they provide a high level of anonymity and minimal risk of blocks. For Footsites and fast FCFS releases, pay attention to ISP proxies, which combine speed and residential IP reputation.