The popular shoe brand, Crocs, dropped limited edition Cars-themed Lightning McQueen shoes in collaboration with Disney/Pixar that sold out immediately and trended on Twitter. Cars, the Disney-Pixar classic animated film, premiered in 2006 and received commercial and critical success, including an Oscar nomination for best animated feature film.
Cars, which delves into a world of anthropomorphic cars, follows a hot shot, conceited race car, Lightning McQueen, as he gets lost in a dilapidated town whose automobile residents remind him of what truly matters in life. The film was directed by John Lasseter, who directed other Pixar classics such as Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. It stars a long list of voices belonging to famous actors including Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, and Paul Newman (this was his last role). Due to its kitschy catchphrases, quaint characters, and heartwarming morals, Cars has developed something of a cult following amongst adults (even though it premiered as a popular film). The popularity of the film birthed an entire franchise encompassing three films, and fans are angling for at least one more.
Crocs, the often-memed yet honestly popular shoe brand, released a Cars inspired shoe that sold out in 45 minutes and trended on Twitter. The response on Twitter was mixed, although not necessarily about the shoes. Most Cars fans really wanted the Lightning McQueen clogs and were upset that they did not get a chance to receive a pair. Many fans even went to dramatic ends to express their grief over missing the drop. However, it seems that a lot of the shoes were bought by resellers and bots, shutting many true fans and real humans out of the sale. This didn’t go over well with the fans, especially considering that many of them waited for extremely long periods of time to try and buy a pair. Check out the fan tweets below:
This is not the first time Crocs has dealt with this issue. Last September, Crocs collaborated with Reggaeton popstar, Bad Bunny, to release a limited edition shoe that was also bought out by bots and resellers, leaving patient customers in the lurch. Crocs then hinted at releasing more shoes and tweeted about their distaste for bots, which many fans hoped was a sign that they would rectify the situation for the next release.
The culture of bots and resellers dominating the consumer market is an ever intensifying problem as e-commerce continues to grow. The problem is mostly popularized as being one of the most popular shoe brand releases, particularly Nike’s releases of their Jordan sneakers. However, the voracity of bots and resellers isn’t limited to shoes and clothing. Many have experienced the difficulty of buying original Hamilton tickets without the mark up of the resale prices, or been bought out of concert tickets by bots. Hopefully, for fans of all different industries around the world, e-commerce regulators will find a way to keep the bots at bay for good.