How I used proxies to win Sweepstakes and sneakers

Feb-16-20245 mins read

Hello, I’m Alex, and I’m thrilled to share my captivating journey with ProxyScrape proxies, shedding light on their pivotal role in my ventures into the sneaker and sweepstakes realms since 2021. As my experiences evolved, my focus gradually shifted toward sweepstakes, and I’ll be providing insights into this fascinating aspect of my journey. Financial Constraints

Financial Constraints and Initial Challenges

In 2021, I confronted the widespread challenges faced by financially constrained students, particularly within the realm of sneaker reselling. The proxy market presented a formidable obstacle, with datacenter proxies of decent quality demanding prices ranging from $1 to $3 per IP—amounts that far exceeded my financial means. This financial strain was exacerbated by the unattainability of cook groups, crucial for navigating the heightened demand in the sneaker reselling landscape. The exclusivity of these groups, coupled with steep membership fees, limited my access to vital information and strategies necessary for navigating the fiercely competitive market.

Furthermore, the exorbitant costs extended to advanced software tools, including EVE NSB, and more desired options like Kodai, Cyber, and Mek, which also imposed a $50 monthly renewal fee in addition to the initial fee of $400 and $6000 from 2021 to 2023. The dynamic nature of the sneaker market, characterized by significant fluctuations, contributed to a depreciation in the value of these bots. Possessing these sophisticated tools did not guarantee success, as achievements were contingent upon factors such as:

Proxy Settings Importance: Properly configuring proxy settings is crucial for successful bot operation. Different sites may require specific proxy types or configurations, and understanding and adapting to these requirements can enhance success rates.
Delays and Timing Strategies: Optimal timing settings, or delays, are essential for navigating release processes successfully. Varying delay strategies for different sites and release scenarios can be crucial for maximizing chances of success.
Bot Selection Based on Site: Different sneaker sites may have unique requirements and challenges. Choosing different bot models for different sites can enhance success rates, as each bot may be optimized for specific platforms.

Discovery of Sneaker Raffles and Proxy Challenges

A significant turning point transpired when I joined a complimentary beta cook group that regularly provided valuable information regarding sneaker raffles from platforms such as Endclothing, Undefeated, DSMNY, and Copdate. These platforms orchestrated lotteries requiring user registration and active participation for a chance to secure the sneakers. However, I quickly realized that to increase my chances of winning, I could leverage software and proxies to register multiple times, giving me a competitive edge over others. Unfortunately, my initial attempts using regular datacenter proxies for multiple registrations led to soft bans from these sites due to frequent access from the same IP addresses. A soft ban occurs when, upon reviewing the bot log, I observe responses with a status code of 429, indicating temporary restriction. Typically, the IP address is temporarily banned, but it usually becomes operational again after a few hours. This challenge prompted me to search for large, affordable DC proxy packages online, aiming to find a reliable solution that could support my participation strategy without detection.

A proxy Game-Changer

Enter ProxyScrape – a game-changer in my journey.

As I scoured the internet for free DC proxies, I chanced upon ProxyScrape. After using their free proxy list, it became apparent that my needs called for more robust capabilities. This realization led me to delve into the realm of paid Premium proxies. Upon discovering ProxyScrape, the Premium Proxy package immediately caught my attention, prompting me to exclusively opt for US proxies from ProxyScrape due to a combination of competitive pricing and superior quality. This strategic choice aims to ensure optimal performance in my proxy usage. What truly distinguished ProxyScrape was not only its effectiveness but also the reasonable pricing for DC proxies. My previous endeavors with shared DC proxies from other providers, including a Russian one, which offered 1000 proxies for $50 and only three free IP address changes, proved fruitless due to their high costs and a lack of user-friendliness. In contrast, ProxyScrape’s shared DC proxies proved both cost-effective and user-friendly. I harnessed their power to create accounts and fortified my strategy by incorporating additional residential proxies for participating in sneaker raffles.

Cost-Efficiency with ProxyScrape

With approximately 8000 Gmail accounts in my arsenal, using residential proxies for entry became expensive, with providers on Twitter pricing them at $10 or more per 1GB during 2021-2022. Each entry with 8K Gmail accounts could consume 2-3GB. Turning to ProxyScrape’s shared DC proxies for entries provided a cost-effective solution, surprising me with their effectiveness and marking the beginning of my profitable journey.

Using ProxyScrape for Sweepstakes and Browser Module Challenges

ProxyScrape proxies served me well in sneaker ventures and played a crucial role in my transition to sweepstakes. The more reasonable share price for DC proxies allowed me to navigate the sweepstakes landscape without excessive financial burden. Additionally, in most sweepstakes, utilizing the browser module instead of the request module became essential. While this approach enhances chances of success, it can be costly when using residential proxies. ProxyScrape’s flexibility in supporting browser modules because it provided IP authentication, combined with its cost-effectiveness, became instrumental in my pursuit of success in sweepstakes.

What are sweepstakes?

Sweepstakes have become an integral part of my adventurous journey, weaving a thrilling chapter in my tale of triumphs and trials. At their core, sweepstakes are contests that offer participants a chance to win prizes based on luck or random selection, rather than skill. This fascinating world is not just about the allure of winning; it’s a realm where strategy, patience, and a bit of technical savvy can dramatically swing the odds in one’s favor.

Using Puppeteer for e-bike Sweepstake

In the evolving landscape of my sweepstakes endeavors, the transition towards utilizing Puppeteer marked a significant pivot, aimed at enhancing my participation strategy. Puppeteer, a Node.js library, serves as a powerful tool for automating browser tasks, offering me the capability to mimic human-like interactions on the web. This shift was necessitated by the limitations I encountered with certain sweepstakes platforms where my initially preferred tool, OsirisRaffleBot, found its utility constrained.

The core of my Puppeteer strategy revolves around the automated entry into sweepstakes using a sophisticated script. This script is designed to read through lists of proxies and email addresses, stored in separate text files, to facilitate multiple entries. Each entry employs a unique combination of a proxy and an email address, thereby disguising the origin of the entry and circumventing potential rate limits or bans that could be imposed based on IP address frequency.

The operational essence of the script unfolds as it configures Puppeteer to launch a browser instance through a randomly selected proxy for each entry. This proxy diversification is critical in maintaining the anonymity of my entries across the sweepstakes platforms. In instances where a proxy requires authentication, the script adeptly handles this, ensuring a seamless entry process.

Once the browser is up, the script navigates to the targeted sweepstakes page. Here, it leverages the faker library to generate fictitious yet plausible personal information, including names and phone numbers, which it then inputs into the sweepstakes entry form alongside the real email addresses from my prepared list. This blend of real and fabricated data is key to my strategy, optimizing my chances of success while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy in my entries.

The script meticulously executes these actions with programmed delays, mirroring the pacing of human interactions, to evade detection by anti-bot mechanisms that many websites deploy. After submitting an entry, it repeats the process for each email address, employing a different proxy with each iteration to ensure the diversity of entry origins.

This innovative approachunderscores the lengths to which I’ve gone to optimize my chances within the competitive arena of online sweepstakes, leveraging technology to navigate the complexities of digital anonymity and entry maximization.

const puppeteer = require("puppeteer");
const fs = require("fs");
const faker = require("faker");

// Function to create a sleep delay for Async/Await functions
function sleep(ms) {
  return new Promise((resolve) =&gt; setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}

// Read proxy and email information from files
const proxyFile = "proxy.txt";
const proxyData = fs.readFileSync(proxyFile, "utf8").split("\n").map((line) =&gt; line.trim());

const emailFile = "email.txt";
const emailVal = fs.readFileSync(emailFile, "utf8").split("\n").map((line) =&gt; line.trim());

console.log("The Bot is starting...");

// Proxy authentication details
var proxyUser = ""; // Add your proxy username if needed
var proxyPass = ""; // Add your proxy password if needed

(async () =&gt; {
  let browser;

  try {
    for (let x = 0; x &lt; emailVal.length; x++) {
      const randomProxyIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * proxyData.length);
      const proxyUrl = proxyData[randomProxyIndex];
      const emailVal1 = emailVal[x];

      console.log(`Using proxy: ${proxyUrl}`);

      // Launch Puppeteer with proxy settings
      browser = await puppeteer.launch({
        args: ["--proxy-server=" + proxyUrl],
        headless: false,
        slowMo: 50,
      });

      const page = await browser.newPage();

      // Authenticate proxy if details are provided
      if (proxyUser !== "" &amp;&amp; proxyPass !== "") {
        console.log("Authenticating proxy user/pass");
        await page.authenticate({
          username: proxyUser,
          password: proxyPass,
        });
      }

      await page.setViewport({ width: 1200, height: 800 });

      // Navigate to the target website
      await page.goto("https://rustysurfboards.com/pages/bike-to-surf-sweeps");

      // Generate fake data
      const firstNameVal = faker.name.firstName();
      const lastNameVal = faker.name.lastName();
      const phoneNumber = getRandomPhoneNumber();
      const PHONENUMBERVal = phoneNumber;

      // Form selectors
      const firstname = "#ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_FormView1_FirstNameTextBox";
      const lastname = "#ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_FormView1_LastNameTextBox";
      const emailst = "#ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_FormView1_EmailTextBox";
      const phoneselector = "#ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_FormView1_HomePhoneTextBox";
      const submit = "#submit";

      // Fill out the form and submit
      await page.type(firstname, firstNameVal);
      await page.type(lastname, lastNameVal);
      await page.type(emailst, emailVal1);
      await page.type(phoneselector, PHONENUMBERVal);
      await sleep(1000);
      await page.click(submit);
      await sleep(10000);
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  } finally {
    if (browser) {
      await browser.close();
    }
  }
})();

// Function to generate a random phone number
function getRandomPhoneNumber() {
  const randomSevenDigits = faker.random.number({ min: 1000000, max: 9999999 }).toString();
  const formattedPhoneNumber = `646${randomSevenDigits}`;
  return formattedPhoneNumber;
}

Peak Success with Jordan 4 Retro SP30th Anniversary Union Taupe Haze

I achieved the pinnacle of success by securing the checkout link during the release of the Jordan 4 Retro SP30th Anniversary Union Taupe Haze and Desert Moss. Employing ProxyScrape’s shared DC proxies and OsirisRaffleBot, I managed to acquire an impressive 50-60 invoices, each with a value ranging between $100 and $300. The essence of this process lies in winning the checkout link from Union and then engaging in the resale of these desired links so people can buy the shoes.

Shown above: Screenshot of the OsirisRaffleBot

Esnkrs Raffle Shutdown and Industry Changes

In the sneaker realm, I initially utilized Esnkrs raffle, a tool that unfortunately shut down in 2023. The shutdown was attributed to the significant downturn in the sneaker market. The diminishing profitability and evolving landscape prompted adjustments, ultimately leading to the discontinuation of the Esnkrs raffle. This further highlights the dynamic nature of the sneaker industry and the need for adaptability.

Shown above: Screenshots of the invoices

Shown above: Esnkrs raffle tool, screenshot from the original website

Adapting to Industry Changes and Shift to Sweepstakes

Making money in the sneaker industry has become more challenging, prompting my shift towards sweepstakes. Two significant reasons fueled this transition. First, the profitability of sneakers diminished over time, making them less lucrative. Second, most sneaker raffles transitioned to the EQL system, introducing complexities such as the requirement for real addresses and credit cards. Manipulating addresses was no longer possible, making the traditional methods less effective. I adapted by embracing sweepstakes, where the flexibility of ProxyScrape proxies played a crucial role.

Software and Tools

In addition to Esnkrs raffle, I utilized OsirisRaffleBot in the sneaker realm, which, along with other tools, enhanced my chances of securing items during releases. These tools provided automation and efficiency, streamlining the process of entering raffles and increasing the likelihood of success.

This transition has proven to be advantageous, yielding significant successes such as acquiring the Murf Higgs Step-Thru E Bike valued at $2,395, securing an $800 Amex prepaid card, substantial amounts in Venmo cash, Amazon gift cards, and Starbucks gift cards.

I’m currently a web developer, and I am dedicated to advancing my skills by pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Science. Thank you for taking the time to read this.