Manual Guide
Once traffic begins to pick up on a site, Shopify sites will automatically enable a queue that only allows so many people to be in checkout at a time
A queue bypass can be used to avoid the queue Shopify sites make you sit through before being allowed in the checkout stages. When you run preload modes in bots like Cyber, this is what the preload is doing. It is creating a checkout session prior to the drop that can be used to bypass the queue entirely.
By having an active checkout session, you can cart any item you want, and simply return to the URL of that checkout session that was generated previously. You can create an active checkout session on any site that does not have a password page up. This means for sites like Kith, Undefeated, etc., you are able to generate a checkout session prior to the drop time. However, you cannot create an active checkout session on sites that enable the password page prior to drop, such as DSM and Kaws.
Utilizing the queue bypass method will be your best chance of hitting drops manually. If you do not bypass the queue when others will be, then your chances of hitting are already very slim on top of going manual over a bot.
You should 100% bypass the queue when there is no password page up on site. You can generate a checkout URL on these sites by starting tasks 3-5 minutes earlier prior to drop.
A checkout URL/queue bypass link does not last forever. It’s best to stick to a 3-5 minute window when creating a checkout URL for queue bypass purposes, otherwise the checkout session can be lost and you will have to sit through the queue to get back into the checkout stages.
Before creating and bookmarking your checkout session, take note of these two things first:
If the site is using checkpoint captcha for that drop.
If the site uses a flat rate for shipping or not.
Checkout Captcha
You can tell if a site has checkout captcha enabled or not by simply looking at the first page of checkout where you input your shipping information, and see if checkout captcha is enabled or not. Refer to the image below for what to look for.
The reason why you want to check this is because it will affect which part of the checkout session you want to bookmark.
If checkout captcha is enabled on the site, then you will have to bookmark stage 2) of your checkout session, Contact Information. This is because you will have to solve this captcha first before completing checkout. However, you can still preselect your shipping rate option on the next page, Stage 3) Shipping Method, and then simply return to stage 2) afterwards. More info is given below.
If checkout captcha is not enabled, then you can simply bookmark the final stage, Stage 4) Payment Method and just fill in your payment info and then submit order. Your shipping address and shipping rate option will already be saved in that checkout session in this case.
Shipping Rate Option
By having an active checkout session, you can preselect the shipping rate option prior to the actual drop. This will save you time during the drop as you won’t have to wait for rates to load in stage 3) of checkout.
You can check to see if the site will use a flat rate by visiting the Shopify site list guide
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZzGy96wOD2K92UtPwxZ4JdgZ8cZ9QaWg6QcBKo6YSf0/edit?usp=sharing
In the image below, Kith will use the same UPS Ground (5-7 business days) option for $10 for all drops, so you can go ahead and select that option for example and it will be saved for the item you will attempt to checkout at drop time.
However, if the site does not have a flat rate shipping for all items, then you do not want to have a shipping method selected prior. Most sites do have a flat rate shipping option, but require you to be in a certain price range in order for you to have that shipping option. It’s helpful to note which sites exactly require a certain price and type of item (Footwear, etc.) when doing this to ensure you have the correct shipping method already.
Queue Bypass Method
The queue bypass method is the manual bookmark method that was used by many during the Yeezy Supply Shopify days. You can create a checkout session for queue bypass through the following steps:
1) Cart any item from the Shopify store you’re going for. For example, if you’re going for a Kith drop, cart an item such as this: https://kith.com/products/kith-x-stance-2-0-classic-crew-sock-black.
Keep in mind the shipping method portion discussed previously in Shipping Rate Option, to see if you will need to cart an item with a similar price.
2) Go to checkout. You can do this on most Shopify sites by simply going to your cart and then proceeding to checkout. You can also add /checkout to the end of the store URL to instantly take you there - https://kith.com/checkout for example.
3) You will need to bookmark the checkout session URL in order to bypass the queue. There are 4 stages of checkout as mentioned previously:
Cart
Contact Information
Shipping Method
Payment Method
When you go to your checkout the first time, you will automatically be taken to Stage 1) Contact Information. It should look like either of the following two below:
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?_ga=2.68218643.384307778.1589075319-31999877.1587909595
Or
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?step=contact_information
Check to see if the site is using checkout captcha and if it has a flat rate shipping option for all items. Check each of the scenarios below to see which part of checkout you should bookmark.
Scenario 1) Checkout Captcha Enabled and Flat Rate Shipping Option Available
If the site is using checkout captcha, and has a flat rate shipping option available, then you should go up until Stage 3) Shipping Method and preselect your shipping rate option, and then return to Stage 2) Contact Information and bookmark that URL, as you will need to solve the checkout captcha on this stage of checkout prior to submitting your order.
The URL in this case should look something like this when you bookmark it. The alphanumeric characters will be different for each checkout URL however. :
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?step=contact_information
Bookmark this URL as it will be your queue bypass link.
Scenario 2) Checkout Captcha Enabled and Flat Rate Shipping Option Not Available
If the site is using checkout captcha, and has no flat rate shipping option available, then you should simply bookmark the first URL that appears when you enter checkout. This will look either like:
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?_ga=2.68218643.384307778.1589075319-31999877.1587909595
Or
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?step=contact_information
Scenario 3) Checkout Captcha Disabled and Flat Rate Shipping Option Not Available
If the site is not using checkout captcha, but has no flat rate shipping option available, then you will input your information in Stage 2) Contact Information, and then bookmark Stage 3) Shipping Method.
Or
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?step=shipping_method
Scenario 4) Checkout Captcha Disabled and Flat Rate Shipping Option Available
This is the ideal scenario to be in. In this case, you can fill in all of your information in Stage 2) Contact Information and preselect your shipping rate option in Stage 3) Shipping Method. You can then head to Stage 4) Payment Method and bookmark that URL.
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?previous_step=shipping_method&step=payment_method
Or
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?step=payment_method
4) Return to your cart and remove the item that you carted previously. Simply click the cart button shortcut in the checkout page to return to your cart, or add /cart to the end of the store URL to return to your cart - https://kith.com/cart for example.
5) Once you’ve created the checkout session and have bookmarked the URL according to the scenarios mentioned above, you will then wait for the item to drop. If you have an early link such as kith, simply refresh it at drop time until the item shows up, select the size you want and cart as fast as possible.
Note that clicking variant ATC links from a monitor will create a new checkout session and not bypass the queue, so you’ll want to cart it from the product page itself.
6) Click on the bookmarked URL you made previously in step 3). This will allow you to skip the queue and jump ahead of the line.
7) If antibot is enabled, you will need to solve checkpoint captcha first.
8) Complete checkout as fast as possible.
Out of Stock Bypass
If the item you were going for sells out before you could complete your order, it is possible to checkout a different size if it’s a bigger drop or if you want to manually try for restocks. For example, during the Union Jordan 4 drop, if you reached the sold out page, you can keep the same checkout session, but cart a different item and then return to that checkout URL you bookmarked to complete checkout again if that size is in stock.
You can do this either two ways.
Method 1) Refreshing the OOS Page
Once you reach the Out of Stock page in checkout, don’t close out of that tab.
Open a new tab and go back to the product page and attempt to cart another size or item that you want. For example, if the size 12 Union Jordan 4 Guava sold out, then you can go back to the cart page and cart a size 8 Union Jordan 4 Guava instead. Make sure to remove the out of stock size in this case from your cart.
Once you have the new size in cart and removed the oos one, go back to the tab that was out of stock. Simply refresh the page and oftentimes it will reload the checkout and allow you to complete it if the session has not expired.
You can do this as long as your checkout session is still active. Keep in mind that sometimes checkout sessions can expire within 3-5 minutes after creation, so if you start to see the old item appear, your session most likely expired.
Method 2) Changing the Checkout URL Link
To use this method, take a look at the oos link.
It might look something like this: https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1/stock_problems?previous_step=shipping_method&step=payment_method
You can simply remove the stock_problems from the link, so that it looks like how it did previously:
https://kith.com/942252/checkouts/02e4f0e22417b39bdb5e74f26e0194a1?previous_step=shipping_method&step=payment_method
Click out of the OOS page by clicking either of the two spots shown below.
Go back to the item page and then attempt to cart again. Once you have carted, simply click on the link you edited previously to remove stock_problems and attempt to complete checkout again.
You can do this as long as your checkout session is still active. Keep in mind that sometimes checkout sessions can expire within 3-5 minutes after creation, so if you start to see the old item appear, your session most likely expired.
Common Errors
Double QueueThe checkout session was likely too old and expired, so trying to bypass the queue failed. Checkouts made within 3 minutes before the drop seem to work best.Old Item ShowingJust like double queue, usually due to the checkout session expiring and not allowing you to use it anymore. Generating 3 minutes before helps to avoid this.
Manual Tips
If you do not have a bot and manual is your only way of hitting a release, then I would suggest to use some type of autofill/autocheckout extension to aid you. Most sites will be difficult to hit manually. Some sites that utilize a ATC question before carting, or sites that have high stock, such as Kith, can be more manageable for a manual user if quick enough.
If you only have access to free extensions, you can use the following below:
Autofill - Extension Link
This extension will fill in your payment info only, but you can set it to automatically have your card info filled in as soon as you reach the payment page.
SSS Autofill - Extension Link
This extension can fill in your info, complete each checkout step and complete your order for you.
AM Autofill - Extension Link
This extension is available for free for all AM members. It can also autofill your info and complete each step of checkout and submit your order.
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