Nike Said: "Dunk Bots, Be Gone!"
Wanda Maximoff once said: "no more mutants!" Nike retorts: "no more bots!" At least, that's what the string of customers who have been blocked from ordering Dunk Lows might come to think.
Just shy of a month ago, Nike made it clear to its customers, investors, and staff that it would be taking a stronger stance against people using its platform to purchase products for resale moving forward. First and foremost, this begins with knuckling down on bots.
Bots are nothing new; however, as the market has evolved, so have the scripts utilized by bot creators. Now, they're more intelligent and undetectable than ever, leading to single buyers being able to purchase huge amounts of hyped sneakers at once and cashing in big.
In the past year, one particular sneaker has been doing the rounds. I am, of course, talking about the infamous Dunk Low "Panda."
A favorite of the Tik-Tok community, these black and white low tops have restocked time and time again, and thanks to their easy-wearing popularity, secondary markets have become a hotbed for them.
The "Panda" certainly isn't the only hyped Dunk on the market, but it's undoubtedly the most talked about.
Following Nike's initial statement regarding their strategy for clamping down on resellers, customers have begun reporting that their Dunk orders have been blocked online.
As per one user's post on Reddit, Nike is blocking those that have exceeded a certain amount of Dunk purchases. The email states: "you won't be able to purchase any Dunk Lows online at all. This policy applies to all customers. You are not blocked from purchasing any other products."
There's no indication in the thread how many pairs had been purchased prior to this email, but it's safe to assume a fair few. Hopefully, this strategy won't affect genuine fans of a silhouette, as it may indirectly lead people to have no other choice but to purchase via resale; the very thing Nike is trying to counteract.