Monitor Guide and FAQ

Having access to the monitors and knowing how to use them can be the difference between taking the W or the L. They are a great way to stay on top of releases, and increase the odds of copping highly hyped product tremendously. Here’s a quick guide on how the monitors work and how you should be using them.

What is a monitor?

A monitor is a programmed application that automatically checks multiple sites, numerous times a minute (and sometimes every few seconds), continuously checking if new products have been added to a specific site. Think of it as someone refreshing the ‘newly added’ product page of a site over and over, and posting an update to Slack when something is added to the page.

Where are the monitors?

The monitors can be found in Slack. If you are a Tier Zero member and you do not see them please send a direct message on slack to @DP with your member email. The channels are named #_monitor-canada, #_monitor-worldwide, #_monitor-all-products, #_monitor-supreme, #_monitor-snkrs, #_monitor-discussion.

What does the monitor do?

The monitor uses a code that keeps a tab on keywords, product UPCs, product names and more. Anytime there is a change in a website, the monitor grabs the change in the site (like a product being added) and publishes a link to that change. That product link is added to the monitor with a list that includes check out links for each size (also known as ATC or Add To Cart links).

On a high hype release, the monitor is a key to success and a tool that increases your check out speed greatly. 

How the links work.

The links are laid out in a way that is easy to navigate and pretty straightforward.

Once a product is added the link will have:

• The product name
• The product price
• The product sizes
• The quantity of units per size*

*Not always included in the link.

Example: Livestock releases the Yeezy 700 Mauve randomly on release day. The monitor grabs the product link as soon as the product is added. It’s then pushed through to the Tier Zero Monitor in Slack, you click the ATC link for your desired size and you’re immediately pushed into the checkout process.

Combine Monitors with Pre-Cart

The majority of sites we monitor are Shopify based. SSENSE, SNKRS, Tres Bien, Converse are an example of sites that are NOT shopify based. All of these Shopify websites will include ATC size links to speed up the checkout process. If you pre-cart (read our guide here) for the site before release and then use the ATC link this will skip every portion of check out and bring you directly to the payment screen. Sometimes this doesn’t work properly based on site security and settings but it is a viable tactic for releases.

How Add To Cart Links Work

The purpose of an ATC link is simple, it skips the process of you picking your size on a website and adding a product to cart. By clicking the link it takes you directly to check out. You can test this process out using the link below.

TEST ATC LINK

Navigating the different monitors.

As a member of Tier Zero, you’ll see access to a handful of different monitors.

• Canada – all keyword products from storess in Canada (Livestock, Haven, Capsule etc)
• SNKRS – the Nike SNKRS app (essential for Shock Drops)
• SSENSE – all sneaker products that hit SSENSE page (Off-White, Nike, Yeezy etc)
• Worldwide – all keyword products from shops around the world (US, Europe, etc)
• All Products – every single product/item from Canada and Worldwide will be posted here including clothing and accessories

Like any release, being aware of where the shoe/product is dropping will be an advantage to being able to successfully cop. For instance, if you know the Off-White x Nikes are dropping on SSENSE, stay close to the monitors, but also login to your account ahead of time. Using all of these guides together is your best chance for success.

Please note that sometimes stores will name their new releases something odd that has nothing to do with the product. Because monitors work based on keywords there will be times when a product will not show up in Canada or Worldwide but instead be in All Products. KITH is notorious for doing this.