How to set up eBay sneaker alerts for your pair in your size

Start with the style code

Every release has a style code, which sellers also call the SKU, that identifies the model and colorway. It’s printed on the label on the end of the box and on the size tag inside the shoe, usually on the tongue. Nike and Jordan codes look like DD1391-100; adidas codes are usually six characters, like CP9654; New Balance uses the model plus a color code, like M990GL6.

The code matters more than the name because one nickname can cover several shoes. The Nike Dunk Low “Panda” is DD1391-100 in men’s sizes, DD1503-101 in women’s and CW1590-100 in grade school. Search the code and you get the pair, and the size run, you actually mean.

Not every seller types the code, so make a second Spotter with the model and colorway name the way sellers write it.

Colorway names: official and nicknames

Brands give each colorway an official name, often just its colors in order, like White/Black. Sneakerheads use nicknames: Panda, Chicago, Bred, Royal. Sellers use whichever comes to mind, so cover both: one Spotter with the nickname, one with the code.

Retros complicate it further. The Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” has been released several times, and later versions such as the 2022 “Lost and Found” have their own style code and details. If one release matters to you, use its code or put its year or name in Must include.

Size: men’s, women’s and grade school

• Men’s and women’s sizes use different numbers for the same foot. On Nike and Jordan, the women’s size is usually 1.5 larger than the men’s, so a men’s 8 is about a women’s 9.5. Many listings give both.
• GS means grade school: big kids’ sizes marked with a Y, like 5.5Y or 7Y. A 7Y is close to a men’s 7, and smaller-footed adults often buy GS pairs, but materials and construction can differ from the men’s version, and prices differ too. PS (preschool) and TD (toddler) are smaller still.
• Half sizes matter. If you wear a 10, a 10.5 may not do. Sellers write sizes as Size 10, Sz 10, US 10 or 10M.

For a size-specific Spotter, put the size in Must include in the form you see most often, like size 10, and make a second Spotter for sz 10 if your size is a popular one. Add the neighboring half sizes, 9.5 and 10.5, to Exclude so those pairs stay out. If you want men’s sizing only, Exclude womens, wmns, grade school, big kids. Short abbreviations like GS are better spotted by eye than excluded, because two letters turn up inside ordinary words.

How Spotter Otter’s AI helps with sneakers

• Snap the box label. Take a photo of the label on the end of the box or the size tag inside the shoe, or upload a screenshot. Spotter Otter reads the style code, model and size printed there, uses eBay’s image search for clues, and writes a description for you to check before you start.
• Or say it in your own words. “Nike Dunk Low Panda, men’s size 10, new with box” becomes a search and a list of must-haves from Luna, Spotter Otter’s AI. You confirm them and set your maximum price, which is required.
• Sizes are read the way sellers write them. A must-have of men’s size 10 matches Size 10, Sz 10, US 10 or 10M, so you don’t need a Spotter for each. A listing that states a different size, like 10.5 or a GS 7Y, is left out; one that doesn’t give a size gets a Maybe, so you can check the photos.
• Paste a link to the pair’s page on a store that sold out, or to an eBay listing of the same pair, to start a Spotter for it.

None of this authenticates a pair. It decides whether a listing describes the shoe and size you asked for; the replica checks below are still yours to make.

What DS, VNDS and other condition terms mean

On eBay, sneakers are listed as new with box, new without box, new with defects or pre-owned. A Spotter’s condition setting of new or used follows eBay’s condition, so choose new for DS pairs and used for worn ones. A pair listed as new can still be one the seller tried on, so read the description.

Replica red flags

• A price well below recent sold listings for a pair that’s in demand, especially with many sizes “available” from one seller.
• Stock photos, or photos that never show the size tag, the box label or the insole.
• Words that give it away: replica, reps, UA (“unauthorized authentic”, which means fake), 1:1, mirror, top quality, or the name of a replica factory.
• A style code on the box label that doesn’t match the size tag or the colorway, or a box label size that differs from the tag.
• Shape and details that differ from retail photos: the toe box, the heel, the stitching, the logo’s position.

Exclude replica, inspired, custom to drop the listings that say what they are. Custom pairs are usually real shoes that have been painted or altered, and they sell as something different. For the rest, check the photos and ask for more: a size tag photo and a box label photo cost an honest seller nothing.

Authenticity Guarantee and price checks

eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee applies to eligible sneakers: an independent authenticator inspects the pair before it’s sent on to you, and eligible listings show the badge. Look for it when you open an alert. Purchases are also covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee if a pair isn’t as described. Spotter Otter doesn’t authenticate shoes; it finds listings and links you to them.

To set a ceiling, search the style code on eBay with the “Sold Items” filter on and look at sales in your size. The most common sizes and the very small or very large ones can sell at different prices from the middle of the run, and new and worn pairs are different markets.

Example sneaker Spotters