Please let me know if you see any misleading information in this guide so I can fix it! Since this guide is intended for beginners, you do not need to read it if you are an experienced user, as you can easily research which batch you think is best based on your experience.
If you’re a broke ass like me, or just don’t want to pay resell for that grail you want, then replica sneakers are for you. Resell prices can be rape and you could lose your home if you do so.
It’s important to know that this guide is very long, so please read it thoroughly before asking any questions which might already be answered if you read it all. I hope you all enjoy it.
Replica Sneakers: An Introduction
How do replica sneakers work? Replica sneakers are basically imitations of sneakers made by companies such as Adidas and Nike. There have been replica sneakers on the market for a long time now, and they have been improving recently.
What is the purpose of replicas? It’s not clear to me why replicas are even made at all, but for real, copyright laws in China aren’t as strict as they are elsewhere, so if you set up a factory in China and make replicas of a certain shoe, nobody will give a fig about it unless they raid it by force.
What is the reason for the price difference between replica sneakers? Hence, some shoes are priced at $20 while others are priced at $120 for example, because the quality used in making them is different.
“Grade” Level of Replica Sneakers
In the market, replica sneakers come in different grades, such as (AAA,SP,SMP,UA,1:1)
A grade of AAA is considered the lowest/worst. A shoe will always have a lot of major flaws that are easily noticeable. Don’t get me started on the comfort of these shoes, they have the worst comfort ever and I bet they won’t even last a month if you wear them every day. It’s like there’s no insole at all in my AAA Jordan 4 “Fear” pack.
The Super Perfect (SP) tier is the lowest. In contrast to Grade AAA, SPs have fewer flaws and are more comfortable, but the quality of the shoe is still poor and may last 1-3 months.
The Super Max Perfect (SMP) is a mid-tier product. Despite the fact that SMP shoes still have major flaws, they are minimal. If you want a pair of reps and don’t want to spend much on “UA” or “1:1” shoes, I would recommend buying SMP shoes instead. SMP shoes are twice as durable as AAA or SP shoes, so you might be able to use them for 6-12 months.
UA – Unauthorized Authentication. For short, Unauthorized Authentic uses the same materials as the original shoe and usually fixes all major flaws while leaving some minor ones. The only person who can call you out if you wear UA shoes is an expert in legit checking.
1:1 – The highest tier. UA uses the same materials, has no major flaws, but it has at least 1-2 flaws, which is the only difference from UA. The original company has flaws, but they’re minor and not obvious.
*(BONUS) True 1:1 – God level. Materials are the same (probably the same factory too), shoe looks flawless, and you can easily pass it off as retail, but it will never be a true 1:1. Is it going to happen?
There will never be a true 1:1 because of reasons (see 1:1) unless you have an insider in the factories who can duplicate the shoe for you.
Shopping for replica sneakers
Reps can be purchased anywhere, even in your local mall. My local mall sells those “extremely comfortable Yeezys with LEDs”
In order to get reps, you usually check Amazon or eBay and sort the prices from lowest to highest, but here is a tip, instead of Amazon or eBay, use DHgate or Aliexpress instead. Are you wondering why DHgate/Aliexpress? There are usually more reps available and it’s usually cheaper than Amazon/eBay. If you’re buying from Amazon/eBay, you don’t need an agent as Amazon/eBay will ship to most countries. But eh, who buys reps from those sites? You’ll get ripped off anyways.)
Look here if you’re really looking for those high quality reps, and I suggest you visit those subreddits (aka FashionReps/DesginerReps/RepSneakers). You may already be familiar with the names “PK, H12, Tony, David, Mango, etc.”, but unless you buy from the so-called “middlemen” or a Taobao agent called CSSbuy, you cannot get cheap reps.
What are the fitting characteristics of replica sneakers? The majority of these shoes fit TTS (True to Size) just like their original counterparts, but some need to be sized down or up by half or a full size
It’s time to stop talking and tell us how to buy from those people you mentioned, OP!”
Here is a list of websites where you can buy their shoes (If there are sellers/middlemen/agents that I haven’t added to the list, please send me a PM and I’ll add them):
A NEW PAGE WILL BE ADDED FOR THE SELLERS LIST
When buying from a site using your CC, use Privacy.com to protect your real CC information from being leaked. Please note that Privacy.com is only available to Americans. If you live outside the US, you have other options to hide your actual credit card information. “Virtual Credit Card” can be found by simply searching Google.
Sellers on Instagram
That’s a very common question, I know. It’s always asked, is this “Insert seller’s Instagram username here” legit? That’s right, they are. It means they are just another replica shoe seller when I say “Yes, they are legit”.
Lots of Instagram hypebeasts who want to join the Yeezy Boost hype train but don’t have the money to buy a retail pair actually purchase “high quality replicas” from these Instagram sellers.
Sometimes people actually record their reviews and experiences when they purchase from these sellers on YouTube. “Do they actually receive the shoes?” should be a question you ask yourself.
In most cases, yes, but not always. If the seller posts their buyers’ feedback on their Instagram page, does that mean they are reputable? Unless someone made a video review, it’s easy to “spoof” messages to make them appear real.
You won’t get fucked if you buy from this Instagram seller. If you buy from a reputable seller next time, you are less likely to get baited and switched.
When buying from Instagram sellers, here are my tips. I wouldn’t risk it unless you use Privacy.com if they have their own website, as your credit card information may be leaked. With Aliexpress/DHgate’s buyer protection program, you can get your money back if the seller has an Aliexpress/DHgate page. Buying from new sellers is always at your own risk, I am not responsible if you get fined.
If you know how to buy from Taobao, you can skip this part.
Dummies’ Guide to Taobao and Taobao Agents
The steps for buying on Yupoo/Tmall/etc… are similar to those for buying on Taobao.
If you’re here, I’m assuming you’re interested in buying some rep Supreme from Taobao? Maybe you found the same Ultra Boost on Taobao for a lower price.
This guide will teach you how to use Taobao and a Taobao agent, so just keep reading. Initially, it may appear that this is very complicated stuff, but trust me, it’s not, since I was in the same situation as you when I had 0% understanding of Taobao agents.
A brief introduction to Taobao and Taobao agents
With Taobao, you can find more authentic replicas than you can on Aliexpress, and the prices are much lower.
Now let’s talk about Taobao agents. What are they? You pay them the item you want to buy, and they buy it for you.
Taobao agents make Taobao shopping easy for people living outside of China.
A Taobao agent can help you
You can find numerous Taobao agents on the Internet, just search for the keyword “Taobao agent” on Google, but in this guide, I’ll only mention the Taobao agent I use to buy my stuff from Taobao. The agent in question is CSSbuy.
I have had a great experience with CSSbuy, and I haven’t had any problems with the agent. Although their working hours are 9 AM to 6 PM (China Time, GMT+8), their customer support may not always be 24/7 like other agents.
Using a Taobao agent is as easy as this:
- Register at CSSbuy.com by clicking the register button. For more information about CSSbuy, click here
- Here you can add your address after registering
- When you’re done, you can recharge your account here.
- You will be able to see your balance in the User Center within 1-2 minutes after you recharge.
- Now it’s time to go shopping! To get you started, I’ve created a Taobao store link document that lets you find some cool stuff on Taobao
- If you copy the link and paste it on CSSbuy’s green outlined box, your item should appear on the Quick Buy page.
- Pick the size and color of the item you want and once you are done, click Add to Cart.
- Your shopping cart will be notified that it has been added successfully. The shopping cart text will redirect you to your shopping cart when you click on it.
- When you’re ready to check out, click the Submit to Buy button. It’s okay to add more items to your cart if you want.
- Once you submit your order, you will be on a confirmation page where you can take pictures to ensure that the item you are purchasing is not badly flawed. Make sure to check “Take Picture” so you can get QC (Quality Check) pics of the item you are buying. The “Drop Shoes Box” option is also available if you are purchasing shoes without needing a box.
- After submitting your order, you must wait. You should receive your item within 1-7 days, so please be patient. You can check your order status here.
- As soon as it arrives in the warehouse, click “In Warehouse” and it should be there. Now check the box on the left and click submit to ship. Before submitting it to shipping, you can view the QC pictures by clicking “View Photos”.
- You can now choose your courier after selecting your address in the submit to ship page. You should choose DHL as the courier unless you live in a country where shipping with DHL might result in customs seizure
- You can recharge your account if you don’t have enough balance to pay shipping, just go back to the submit to ship page to recharge.
- Your shipping information will appear on the “My Parcels” page once you click “Submit to ship”.
- The tracking number should appear on that page within 2-3 days, so you can begin tracking it!
- If your parcel arrives, click “Confirm” on the “My Parcels” page so CSSbuy knows you’ve received it, and you’ll receive points that you can use to buy a coupon to reduce shipping fees.
- That’s it!
You may need to check your spam folder if you don’t receive your CSSbuy confirmation email.
Finding representatives on Taobao
Instead of using other people’s outdated links, you want to go out into the wild and find your own reps? I will show you how to make full use of Taobao without having any problems.
Do you remember the url of Taobao when you first visited it? When the url says http://world.taobao.com, you can type whatever rep you want to find in the searchbar. Otherwise, keep reading as I will explain how to switch to Mainland China Taobao from World Taobao.
Switching from World Taobao to Mainland China Taobao:
- Visit world.taobao.com
- Hover over the region changer on the top left (use Google Translate if you must) and you should see this.
- The Taobao page should change to the original Chinese Taobao page once you click Chinese Mainland
- You can search for any rep you want (e.g. Supreme 16FW box logo) and just hit enter!
Unlike Taobao World, Chinese Taobao has a wider selection than Taobao World, and you can also use reverse image search, which is described below:
- Search Google Images for a picture of the item you are looking for and save it to your computer
- When you return to Taobao, click the little camera inside the search bar.
- You should now see results based on the picture you uploaded. Have fun shopping on Taobao!
Calling it a day
If you know you’re buying the top replicas in the market, you won’t get called out, and if you’re paranoid about being called out, don’t buy them.
It is possible to get called out in public 30% of the time, and if you do, that person is either jealous that you own their grail, or they will shout that your shoe is fake. If they do that, ask them what the flaws are and if they cannot answer, then move on.
It’s a lower than 30% chance of getting called out, and most of the time you’ll get compliments. In this case, I’m referring to top quality reps from the rep market, not those $20 led hip hop yezzy from Aliexpress
Remember, most of the time it’s in your head that you think people can call out good replica batches, so wear your reps with confidence. Never wear your reps if you feel some kid will call you out for wearing PK’s batch.
The end
I congratulate you! This not-so-accurate guide has finally come to an end!
You should already know the following after reading everything;
- Here’s a quick introduction to replica sneakers
- Middlemen/agents/sellers
- The best batches of Yeezy Boost
- Taobao agents and how to use them
- Instead of World Taobao, use Mainland China Taobao
- Finding reps using Taobao’s reverse image search
Send me a DM if you still have doubts or questions.
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