Released at 5am Hawaii time, this is what I saw in the SNKRS app.

Yes, right at 5am, these shoes were out of stock. Gotta be them bots. I tried buying online and was in line to add the Zeroes to my cart, but all my attempts came up empty. Throughout the morning, various sizes popped up in inventory, but I could never add one to my cart, getting the usual error messages. The SNKRS app was totally useless after showing Out of Stock.

So what did I learn from this latest experience?

• I won’t (yet) use bot software. Just not right, and these are shoes after all.
• Nike still has a ways to go to make the buying process more fair.
• Nike has another “IPO” with the release of the Air Max Zero.
• I don’t have to worry about matching yellow kicks.

While I never had looked into this, it should have been obvious. Whenever Nike (or any retailer) releases a new popular shoe, it sells out in seconds. It’s crazy trying to get a pair online. Why is this so? Bots, of course.

Via software shenanigans, these bots scour the online site, snatching up all the good stuff as they’re released. Spending a few hundred for this bot software to get high demand kicks for your personal collection or for resale? I can understand the appeal, but still, that’s an unfair advantage. Just be warned that all bots are not equal.

So Nike is attempting to remove this advantage with the implementation of access codes. Not sure how or when these codes kick in, but obtaining an access code does not ensure you have a pair, just the ability to order the shoes.

Here is Nike’s official policy of the Access Codes.