Not all sneaker cook groups are made the same, so determining value is tricky.
You could make a pilgrimage through various discord channels – bright-eyed in the beginning – hoping to find the right place to settle down.
But as time goes on, disappointment adds several layers of dullness to your almost-empty stare..
So here’s some tips so that doesn’t ever happen.
What’s a sneaker cook group?
Your sneaker cook group is the most important resource: a community of like-minded individuals who frequent a discord channel in the spirit of cooking sneakers. The moderators [should] have beefy knowledge of everything sneakers, and provide tool guides, advice, and share insights about the trade.
A good sneaker cook group will pay for itself very quickly, especially when you take advantage of features like group buys, auto checkout service, leaks, and other consequential perks like sharing experiences and leveraging expert support.
Your cook group will help you grow whether you use sneaker bots or cop manually.
The reasons you need a sneaker cook group
This list would be so much shorter if it were reasons you don’t need a cook group instead. (In case you were wondering, such a list could not exist)
Monitor drops and restocks
What sneakers do you buy? When are they released? These can be overwhelming questions, even for experienced sneakerheads. You can spend your time lurking twitter and sneaker forums but let’s get real – it kills the mood.
That’s why sneaker cook groups will save you and your buzz. They use high-end monitors to automate the task of paying attention to things.
All you need to worry about is checking your notifications from their discord chat.
Sneaker cook groups mainly use Zephyr monitors, which means most cook groups – smalltime or bigtime – get the same information for you. However, some are known to use multiple monitoring systems – which certainly gives them an edge.
There’s also something to be said about the organization and delivery of information, as timing and clarity are important when it comes to release dates. Unmatured cook groups can be a little less accommodating than those with service experience.
Back door connections
The best sneaker cook groups have inside connections. They’ve been around for awhile and have made partnerships with not only proxy and bot vendors, but also people who work in the sneaker retail industry.
Back in the day, you’d literally go to the backdoor of a sneaker shop to complete a shady transaction. Come to think of it, it’s still kind of like that..
Not all sneaker cook groups have back door connections or plugs, but that’s okay – it’s not a complete deal breaker.
Bot rentals
Bots thrive on different platforms at different times, so it would be a huge leg-up if you had a roster of various sneaker bots. One problem though – they’re hella expensive.
One option is to rent, and it’s good practice to test-drive a bot anyways. You can find bot rentals on marketplaces like Tidal, but it’s still not the most economical.
In a sneaker cook group, community members will often rent bots to other members, sometimes even free of charge. Mind you, this is only common in well-established and thus, more expensive cook groups. But for an extra $30 a month, it’s worth it. If not for better rates, then perhaps a free sneaker bot rental for a drop or two.
Leaks
Release dates and restock leaks come straight from sneaker retailers. Sometimes they’ll leak information on purpose, other times it’s more of a ‘back door’ kind of thing. (Like a snitch)
Either way, a good sneaker cook group will at least provide you with leaks that everyone else gets from ‘front-door’ informants.
Group Buys
Sneaker bots, proxies, and other tools you need to cop are expensive – so why not take some of the sting off?
Group buys are when a number of members in a cook group are given exclusive rights or deals on products and tools.
- Bulk proxies – Sneaker cook groups can buy a whole block of proxies to use amongst themselves for less cost.
- Sneaker bots – You can get first dibs on new sneaker bots or bot restocks so that you don’t end up paying a tremendous resale price.
The same goes for other tools that can seriously prime your game, that you may not even know exist. And if you did, they’d be sold out already.
Autocheckout
If you’re the hands-off type, you can hire someone to cop shoes for you. There’s no risk as you only have to pay for successful cops and all you need to do is wait for the sneakers to arrive at your doorstep.
This is also a great option for those who are new to the sneaker copping world, because you have experts doing the work for you.
Cop guides
Cook groups know their stuff, and will probably have better knowledge than anything you’ll find on a proxy provider’s blog.
All self-depreciating aside, you’ll have the kind of 1-on-1 help from cook groups that you wouldn’t be able to get here or any other webpage.
In other words, you can ask questions about what you’ve read, and someone will be there to answer you.
The guides and tutorials are pretty identical from one cook group to another. The enhancing factor is the support behind the literature – which brings us to the last point.
Community
It’s always best to keep an open mind and sample different cook groups before making any commitment. Some will feel like family, and others will make you want to run away from home.
Look for a cook group that you can spend time and grow with. If you see a bunch of shit-talking and abusive language while scrolling up through the chat – it may be a good sign to pass.
How to choose a sneaker cook group
It’s important to choose a sneaker cook group that suits your style – what you plan to do and how you plan on doing it.
For example, if you just want to buy a pair of shoes now and again, a more expensive membership may be overkill. Or if group buys don’t matter to you because you’re really set on auto checkout services, you’ll just want someone who can really cook.
You also have to think about whether or not you want to rent sneaker bots or if you plan to buy your own.
There’s a lot to consider, but maybe it just comes down to money.
How much can you spend?
Sneaker cook groups range from free to hundreds of dollars. The free ones are not going to be that good, and have little value to offer. After all, they need to buy tools and pay people to keep the members fed with the best sneaker copping nutrients.
There are some basic cook groups in the $20-40 range that will get you started.
They share many features that more advanced groups have so it may be a good place to get your footing. You may even find that it’s all you need.
The more expensive groups aren’t always better. Like I said, a lot of what you find in these groups is the same. However, some cook groups have more and better inside information, group buys, and just prove time and again that their members are rolling.
What’s your goals?
If you want to be a prolific sneaker reseller, there’s no doubt about it – find the best sneaker cook group you can, and find a way to get in. This will make the biggest difference for you, and in the shortest amount of time.
If you just want to cop some sneakers for your personal collection, and can’t afford a steep membership rate – you’ll be fine with a less prestigious cook group.
Best Sneaker Cook Groups 2021
Cook group suggestions usually come with some obvious bias – which is okay if the perspective lines up with reality – but from what I’ve seen, they don’t.
Below are the top sneaker cook groups that come from a wide range of feedback, and have no ties whatsoever to this blog.
Juiced
Juiced has been around for some time.
You’ll need to be on a waitlist to join this community, but it’s worth it. They cater to sneakerheads, and also have leaks and monitors to help you cop tech, trading cards, and other valuable flips.
Notify
Another long-standing presence is Notify, who also has had many other cook groups recycle their brand name.
They offer information services beyond sneaker reselling – like art, sports cards and betting. It’s only natural if they’re sold out when you check – but keep checking! You can follow their Twitter for membership restocks.
Hidden Society
Hidden Society is a pretty exclusive cook group – members are few and profits a plenty.
Needless to say, it’s hard to get your foot in the door with these guys.
The membership resale value is high, but you’re very likely to make that back quickly and proceed to crush.
You may want to keep your eyes on them if you want to wait for a restock.
Honorable Mentions
How to buy a sneaker cook group membership
It’s pretty straight forward right – go to their webpage and pay.
Which would be the case if most of the best sneaker cook groups weren’t completely sold out. Don’t throw in the towel just yet though. You can find membership resales through websites like Botmart and Tidal, but the real action happens on the Tidal Marketplace discord server.
Once inside, you’ll notice that it’s quite a bustling place, with lot’s of menus and channels to get lost in. For a shortcut, just use the search bar.
For example, if you want to look for Hidden Society memberships for sale – simply enter WTS Hidden Society membership.
You can do this for anything you want to buy or sell. If you don’t already know, WTS = willing to sell and WTB = willing to buy.
A word of warning.. be wary of people selling anything through discord, and use a middle man service to mitigate the risks.
Once you’ve got your sneaker cook group membership and settle in, they’ll be a lot of talk about proxies.
If you want to bring some knowledge to the table, you can start now and learn about residential and ISP proxies.
Best of luck!
