For sneakerheads trying to cop the hottest and most limited releases, speed is everything. Being just a few seconds late can mean taking an L and missing out on that pair you’ve been dreaming about.
That’s why the best sneakerheads arm themselves with sneaker bots – to automate and expedite the checkout process. But bots face one big obstacle that can bring everything to a grinding halt – CAPTCHAs.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about how CAPTCHA proxies can help you bypass CAPTCHAs and cop with ease.
Contents
What Are CAPTCHAs and Why Do They Disrupt Bots?
You’ve probably seen CAPTCHAs on many sites that ask if “you are a robot” or make you identify fading images. CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”.
It’s a challenge-response test designed to determine if a user is human or an automated bot script. This prevents bots from interacting with sites in malicious ways, like credential stuffing or content scraping.
For sneaker retail sites, CAPTCHAs stop checkout bots from buying up stock before human users get a chance. That’s why CAPTCHAs often appear right on the checkout page.
Some common types of CAPTCHAs include:
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Text CAPTCHAs – User has to enter distorted text shown in an image
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Image Grid CAPTCHAs – User selects images that match a description
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reCAPTCHA Checkbox – User clicks a checkbox verifying they aren‘t a robot
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Invisible reCAPTCHA – Runs a check in the background without user input
Sneaker bots cannot solve text or image CAPTCHAs without human assistance. Even worse, different CAPTCHAs appear each time, so they can’t be hardcoded to solve repeatedly.
This means your bot will grind to a halt on the CAPTCHA, unable to checkout before the shoes are sold out.
Major Sneaker Sites That Use CAPTCHAs
Nearly every major sneaker retailer has implemented CAPTCHAs to restrict bots during hyped releases:
- Shopify – reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox
- Supreme – reCAPTCHA v2 Invisible
- Yeezy Supply – reCAPTCHA v3
- Adidas – reCAPTCHA v3
- Footsites (Foot Locker, Eastbay, Champs Sports, Footaction) – GeeTest CAPTCHA
Top bot services like AYCD and Kodai have CAPTCHA solving tools built-in. But manually solving CAPTCHAs during a drop is too slow.
CAPTCHA proxies can help your bot automatically bypass CAPTCHAs so you don’t have to waste any time.
What Are CAPTCHA Proxies?
CAPTCHA proxies are dedicated IP addresses optimized for generating easy, one-click CAPTCHAs that bots can solve automatically.
They work by creating "trusted" Google accounts that sites like Supreme and Shopify recognize as human users instead of bots.
When these accounts access sites during checkout, they are more likely to receive:
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reCAPTCHA v2 – A single checkbox that‘s easy for bots to programmatically click
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reCAPTCHA v3 – No visible CAPTCHA, only invisible background checks
This prevents your bot from getting stuck trying to solve difficult distorted text or image CAPTCHAs during frenzied releases.
How Do CAPTCHA Proxies Work?
CAPTCHA proxies create trusted Google accounts by:
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Using aged accounts – Older accounts are seen as more legitimate by Google
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Performing human-like activity – Watching YouTube videos, searching Google creates usage history
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Accessing from clean IPs – Using new proxy IPs not associated with bots or abuse
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Avoiding automation – Accounts created manually without scripts flagging them
By imitating natural human web activity, CAPTCHA proxies build up accounts that earn Google‘s trust.
Tools like AYCD Harvester then plug these accounts into your bot to make it appear more human-like.
When your bot checks out through an aged Google account, Shopify recognizes it as legitimate and serves a checkbox instead of a difficult image CAPTCHA.
This allows your bot to blaze through the checkout process unhindered.
Requirements for Good CAPTCHA Proxies
Since CAPTCHA proxies are used for farming Google accounts, they don‘t need to be lightning-fast or work with sneaker sites.
The main criteria are:
Long-lived – CAPTCHA proxy IPs need to stay consistent, not rotate rapidly. Using the same IPs strengthens your Google accounts over time.
Access to Google – CAPTCHA proxies must be able to access Google and YouTube without issues to build activity on accounts.
Cheap – You‘ll need a lot of CAPTCHA proxies to avoid bot-like behavior. Opt for affordable datacenter or ISP proxies over more expensive residential ones.
No bandwidth limits – Generating human-like usage on accounts eats up data. Choose unlimited plans to avoid surprise overage fees.
Testing Your Accounts for One-Click CAPTCHAs
Don‘t wait until drop time to test your CAPTCHA proxy accounts – do it ahead of releases.
Here‘s a quick way to check if your accounts will get one-click CAPTCHAs:
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Log into the Google account
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Click the "I‘m not a robot" checkbox
If you have to solve image CAPTCHAs, your account may be flagged as suspicious. Keep performing human activities until you consistently get checkbox or invisible CAPTCHAs.
For batch testing accounts, tools like AYCD Harvester can automate this process.
Best CAPTCHA Proxy Providers
Here are some top-rated CAPTCHA proxy providers trusted by cook groups:
Proxydrop – Offers affordable, dedicated datacenter CAPTCHA proxies optimized for one-click reCAPTCHAs. Plans start at $11 for 10 IPs.
Leaf Proxies – Provides datacenter CAPTCHA proxies designed for reCAPTCHA v3 solvers, priced at $80 for 50 IPs.
Ping Proxies – Datacenter and residential ISP CAPTCHA proxies proven to work for sites like Yeezy Supply and Supreme. 10 IPs start at $22.
FAQs About CAPTCHA Proxies
How do you get one-click CAPTCHAs?
Use aged, active Google accounts accessed through CAPTCHA proxies. This tricks sites into serving checkbox or invisible CAPTCHAs that bots can breeze through.
Do Footsites use CAPTCHAs?
Yes, Footsites like Foot Locker and Champs Sports use GeeTest – a difficult image-based CAPTCHA system. Using a CAPTCHA solving service like 2Captcha is recommended.
Does Footlocker use CAPTCHA?
As a Footsite retailer, Footlocker does utilize CAPTCHA during hyped sneaker releases to restrict bots.
Does Yeezy Supply have CAPTCHAs?
Yeezy Supply implements reCAPTCHA v3, which uses advanced background analysis instead of visible challenges. Using CAPTCHA proxy accounts results in higher bot-trust scores.
How to avoid CAPTCHA on Supreme?
Supreme uses invisible reCAPTCHA v2, so no user action is required with trusted accounts. Use CAPTCHA proxies to build aged Google accounts that Supreme recognizes as legitimate.
Conclusion
Cooking up the hottest sneaker drops requires speed, which CAPTCHAs severely slow down. CAPTCHA proxies can help your bot blaze through checkout by automatically solving CAPTCHAs.
By using dedicated proxy IPs to build trusted Google accounts, your bot will get easy one-click CAPTCHAs instead of difficult image and text challenges.
Equip yourself with CAPTCHA proxies and watch your checkout times and cop percentages skyrocket.
