Release calendars are full of shorthand. FCFS, raffle, TBC, restock, early access, style codes, three different prices and four time zones. Once you know what each one means you can tell at a glance whether a drop is worth your time and how to approach it. This is the vocabulary Droplist uses on every product page, explained.
Release methods
FCFS, first come first served. Stock is sold to whoever checks out first. This is how general releases work and how most restocks work. Speed and preparation matter, and the more limited the shoe, the more you are competing with bots.
Raffle, also called a draw. You enter in a window, winners are chosen at random, and only winners can buy. Almost every limited release at boutiques and most brand app releases use this. Your odds depend on how many valid entries you make across retailers, which is what our raffle guide is about.
Early access. A retailer sells to a selected group before the public release, usually loyalty members, app users or people invited by the brand. Nike's Exclusive Access on SNKRS and adidas CONFIRMED invites are the best known examples. You cannot apply for it; you are selected.
Restock. Pairs going back on sale after the release, from cancelled orders, returns or a second delivery. Restocks are first come first served, unannounced and usually in a few sizes, which is why size-specific alerts are the only reliable way to catch one. Follow a shoe in the Droplist app, pick your size, and you are notified when a retailer we track has it again.
Marketplace. A resale platform such as StockX rather than a retailer. Droplist shows the marketplace link on every product so you can compare the resale price with retail before deciding whether to chase the drop.
Dates and status
Release date. The day the shoe goes on sale to the public. Raffles for it open earlier, usually the same week, and close the day before.
TBC or TBA. The brand has shown the shoe but not confirmed a date. It can be months away. Droplist lists these separately so they do not clutter the calendar, and moves them into the calendar once a date is confirmed.
Out now. Released and still available at retail somewhere. On the sneakers list these sit at the top until they sell through.
Released. Past its release date. Droplist keeps past releases online with their retailer list and resale link, which is useful for finding restocks and checking what a pair traded at. See released sneakers.
Times and time zones
Drops are scheduled in the brand's home time zone, which is why a European Nike launch is at 8am UK time and 9am in central Europe while the US launch of the same shoe is at 10am Eastern, 3pm in the UK. Retailer raffles close at the time the retailer says in its own zone. Droplist converts every time into yours in the app and lists GMT, central European, Eastern and Pacific times on the website, so the number you see is the number to act on.
Regions
Every retailer on Droplist is tagged with where it ships: GB, EU and US in any combination. A raffle tagged US only will not accept a UK address, and a growing number of EU shops exclude the UK because of customs charges since Brexit. The website filters retailers by region automatically based on where you are, and you can override it in the footer.
Prices
Droplist shows three retail prices for each shoe: pounds, euros and dollars. The UK and EU prices include VAT. The US price excludes sales tax, which is added at checkout and varies by state, so a $190 shoe costs more than $190 in most of the US. Resale prices, where shown, come from StockX and are the price of the most recent sales, not a fixed price.
Style codes
Every shoe has a manufacturer code, and it is the most reliable way to find a specific colourway. Nike and Jordan codes are a block of letters and numbers followed by a three-digit colour code, for example IM2211-001, where the last three digits change with the colourway. adidas uses a shorter six-character code. New Balance codes start with the model number, such as M990 or U9060, followed by letters for the colour. Retailers, resale sites and Droplist all search by these codes, and each product page on this site is at an address that uses it.
Retailer types
Brand stores. Nike, adidas, New Balance and Jordan sell direct through their own sites and apps and usually have the most stock.
Chains. Foot Locker, JD, size?, Footshop and similar carry most general releases and raffle the limited ones.
Boutiques. Independent shops such as END, Sneakersnstuff, Naked, BSTN and hundreds of smaller stores. They get small allocations of the most limited pairs and nearly always raffle them. Boutique raffles are where most people's wins come from, because there are so many of them.
Putting it together
A typical limited release on Droplist reads like this: a date, a price in three currencies, a style code, a resale price, and then a list of retailers, each tagged FCFS or raffle, with a region and a time. The plan writes itself. Enter every raffle in your region as it opens, tick them off, be ready for the brand's first come first served launch at its local time, and set a restock alert in your size for the weeks after. Browse what is coming on the upcoming sneakers page.
