text: Industry growth and reselling Sneakers have some of the highest resale multiples among retail consumer goods. Sneakers are resold for prices that can exceed 10x return on the most coveted, low-production releases. In the 2010s, the sneaker market expanded into online retailing and auction sites. Some retailers have implemented a raffle system for online and in-store sales, while others have implemented a first come, first served model. Nike launched its SNKRS app in 2015 to give better access to its latest sneaker releases. The app implements multiple variations of raffle systems – notably 10-minute-long "draws" – and as of 2020 mostly eschews the first come, first served model. (Nike still sells the vast majority of its products via its separate, non-SNKRS-related app, along with sales through traditional brick-and-mortar sellers such as Foot Locker and large department stores.) Apps like SNKRS were made to give ordinary buyers a fair chance to purchase a given pair, but with mixed results. While Nike has the financial wherewithal to continuously improve the app to prevent internet bots from exploiting it, this is generally not the case with small, independent sneaker boutiques; on many such sites, bots and proxy servers in particular (which "spoof" IP addresses to obfuscate multiple purchase attempts from a single buyer) have made it difficult to purchase popular sneakers via scheduled releases before they sell out. The old-school sneakerhead community routinely expresses distaste for the resale community, especially buyers who only do so for profit, not appreciation for sneakers' history or artistry.