There are few bigger gripes in the world of sneakers than missing out on the release of your favorite drop because a few people swooped in with their bots and scooped up the entire inventory. Popular attempts at bot prevention include captcha puzzles, lengthy queues, and trivia questions. But Colombian superstar J Balvin might have just set a new standard for bot protection with the release of his Air Jordan 3 “Rio” on his website this afternoon.
The price of Balvin’s latest 3s on the site was listed at $25,000, a lofty markup 100 times above the shoe’s actual retail price of $250. Of course, Jordan and the Balvin were not charging five figures for his fourth collaborative drop with the brand—there was a discount code.
A launch recap from X user UncleChrissy explained that to access the launch at first you needed a link and the discount code “Jose24@,” which were distributed by Balvin through his Familia club. After that, there was a new password, “Lego24@,” and the discount code “Medallo24@,” which brought the price down to the actual retail price of $250.
One X user posted a screenshot appearing to show someone who went ahead and checked out with a bot, paying the full $25,000.
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