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Adidas brings its Yeezy reservation app to some European cities
It's Yeezy Season yet again. Today, following weeks of speculation, Adidas made the release date for Kanye West's new sneaker official: June 11th. In preparation for that, the company has updated its Confirmed app with a new look and, most importantly, expanded availability. The application, which lets iOS and Android users reserve Yeezys for in-store pick up, will work in Europe for the first time, starting with Berlin, Milan and London.
Adidas tries to make buying Yeezys fair but misses the mark
Buying Yeezy Boost sneakers online is tough. It comes down to this: Supply cannot meet demand. The shortage is so acute that if you don't buy them at launch for retail price -- between $200 and $350, depending on the model -- you'll have to pay upwards of $2,000 on eBay or another site to get your hands on a pair. Reselling Yeezys has become a business, and both Adidas and Nike (with its retro Jordans) are turning to tech to make the shopping experience fair and safe for everyone.
Nike and Adidas turn to tech to make sneaker shopping safer
I recently bought an online shopping cart from a 16-year-old on Twitter. And when I say "an online shopping cart," I mean it: In exchange for $140, I received a login code to Nike's site that guaranteed me a pair of highly coveted sneakers, the "Chicago" Air Jordan 1s. That code was won through a Twitter-based raffle, a system Nike has started testing for limited edition releases; I had entered myself, but wasn't lucky enough to have my name drawn. Instead, while sadly browsing the social network to see how many people were chosen, I came across a young kid from New Mexico who had been picked and wasn't interested in purchasing the shoes. I reached out to him; we followed each other on Twitter; and, after vetting my character over direct messages to make sure I wasn't a scammer, he agreed to sell his "ticket" to me. It was bizarre, considering I still had to pay the $160-plus-tax retail price for the footwear. But, nowadays, it's the kind of thing you have to do to get Jordans. My other option was to find them on eBay or Amazon and shell out $400 to $500 -- more than twice as much as the original MSRP.
