Evolution of Scalper Bots Part 5: The Rise of Retail Scalping
Welcome back to our Evolution of Scalper Bots series from the Netacea Threat Intel Center. In our previous blog, we reviewed the early days of anti-bot legislation and its limitations, especially around ticket scalping. Traditional defenses like CAPTCHA quickly became insufficient, which spurred the development of bot management solutions.
This next phase, from 2017 to 2019, is what we call the “Escalation Era.” It was a time when scalper bot groups became more organized, competitive, and technologically advanced. Today, we’ll explore the professionalization of the scalper ecosystem and the rise of retail scalping, as well as ongoing challenges in legislation.
The Legislative Struggle Against Ticket Scalping
Between 2018 and 2019, the UK and EU introduced anti-ticket scalping legislation to control bot activity. However, many felt these laws, like the U.S. BOTS Act, didn’t go far enough. Bots continued to represent up to 40% of traffic on ticketing sites, keeping demand and prices high. This affected ticket availability and raised prices for consumers, as companies passed on the extra costs of combating bots.
In Ontario, officials considered capping resale prices at 50% above face value, but high-profile events, such as the 2018 Hamilton Tour where tickets sold for as much as $6,000, underscored the ongoing problem.
The Rise of Professional Scalping Networks: A New Scalping Ecosystem
During the Escalation Era, the scalper bot ecosystem became more organized, as isolated groups of scalpers turned into professional networks. These networks created specialized services and advanced botting techniques that reshaped the scalping landscape.
Cook Groups: Intelligence Hubs for Scalping
Cook groups became the core of this new ecosystem. These groups acted as intelligence hubs where members shared profitable drop information, trends, and botting strategies. For $20 to $40 per month, members gained access to tips and tools that helped them secure high-demand products. Cook groups built upon the culture established by communities like Sneaker Freaker and grew quickly in popularity.
Bot-as-a-Service and Aggregation Platforms
The development of bot-as-a-service marketplaces allowed newcomers to access scalping tools without owning expensive bots. Platforms like Tidal Mart made high-quality scalping tools accessible, while bot aggregation services like COP Supply helped users choose the best bot for their needs. These services offered comparisons on features and capabilities, making it easier for users to make informed choices about which bots would suit specific retail or event scalping tasks.
Technical Innovation: A Boom in Scalper Bots
This period marked rapid advances in bot technology. Scalper bots grew more sophisticated, leveraging cloud computing and new tools like headless Chrome, originally released for testing purposes. Bots took advantage of these advancements to better bypass security measures and secure items faster.
In 2018, EVE AIO introduced a “quick task” feature, allowing users to respond instantly to high demand drops. Cybersole soon emerged as a leading bot, excelling in speed and efficiency.
Later in the year, NSB rolled out a bot monitor and one-click shock drop system, but it was their innovative “blue task” system that set them apart. This system allowed bots to automatically respond to shock drops even if the user was away, increasing the bot’s effectiveness.
SupBot reaching the top 10 on the iOS App Store in 2019 illustrated the mainstream popularity of scalping. Online communities like Reddit’s r/sneakers surged from 200,000 to over a million members, while r/shoebot and r/sneakerbots also saw rapid growth. The latter expanded from 400 to over 8,000 members between 2017 and 2019. Influencers promoted cook groups on YouTube and Twitter, further popularizing scalping.
The Birth of Retail Scalping: Retail Markets Enter the Fray
Historically, scalping focused on tickets, sneakers, and streetwear, with few instances in retail. This changed in the Escalation Era. For instance, the 2018 release of the Nintendo SNES Classic saw scalping levels so high that eBay removed several listings. This event signaled a shift as scalpers began targeting a broader range of retail items.
Several factors combined to promote retail scalping:
- A growing “side-hustle” culture that normalized reselling as a legitimate income source.
- Access to tools like Amazon’s FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) that simplified reselling.
- The rise of inventory tracking and price monitoring tools that helped scalpers target profitable items.
- Growth in resale platforms like StockX and GOAT, which connected sellers to buyers, making the resale process easier.
Major brands also began partnering with resale platforms, further blurring lines between retail and resale markets. Nike and Versace collaborated with StockX and GOAT for exclusive releases, which fueled the resale culture. Physical resale stores, such as Flight Club and Stadium Goods, established premium retail locations. These boutiques, once run from storage units, legitimized scalping as a business, normalizing premium prices and pushing resale into the mainstream.
The Internal Scalper Arms Race: Competition Among Scalpers
As the scalper ecosystem grew, bot developers and operators competed on two fronts: against retailers and among themselves. Scalpers prioritized faster server response times, quicker task execution, and higher-quality proxies. Financial incentives were high; by September 2018, Forbes valued the underground shoe resale market at $1 billion. Stories of scalpers earning steady monthly incomes of $4,000 became common, with some earning up to $27,000 in single drops.
The high earnings potential spurred collaboration among bot developers, who shared knowledge to overcome new challenges quickly. For example, in an interview with Vice, AIOBOT owner “finalphoenix” described how groups “build communities to write scripts together”. They also explained that even when companies introduced raffle systems, scalpers saw these as new hurdles to bypass, not end-of-the-line defenses.
Bot Management Solutions Evolve
Traditional defenses, such as CAPTCHA, became less effective against bots using solver services. Google’s release of reCAPTCHA v3 in 2018 shifted from typical challenges to risk-based scoring, which made bot detection more sophisticated. However, scalpers adapted by routing traffic through residential IPs and targeting APIs, which are often less secure.
In response, bot management companies introduced more advanced solutions. In 2018, Netacea launched the first server-side bot management solution, which used machine learning and behavioral analytics to analyze the intent of traffic. This approach made it harder for scalper bots to bypass defenses, forcing the bots to evolve in response.
Looking Ahead: The Transformative PS5 Era
From 2017 to 2019, the scalping landscape transformed dramatically. Retail scalping became mainstream, and the technical arms race between scalpers and bot management solutions continued. But this period was only the beginning. In our next blog, we’ll cover the PS5 era, a time when scalping surged to new levels amid a global pandemic and semiconductor shortages. The arrival of the PS5 tested both consumer patience and anti-bot technology like never before. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the evolution of scalper bots.
