There was a brief period at ComplexCon where I was introduced to an app that would help me acquire the N.E.R.D. NMDs. This app is called Frenzy.
Frenzy is not an app to buy sneakers at resell prices. In fact, there is no reselling at all. Frenzy is an app where you can buy items from particular brands and stores in location and/or global-based drops, as well as what they call curated discounts. In location-based drops, certain stores drop exclusive items in certain locales, and in global-based drops, stores will drop something available to the masses worldwide. The Curated Discounts work a different way. In those, the items on are initially on sale for 10% off the original price. The more people view and share the sale, the bigger the discount on the item. Most items will be 40-50% off when enough people have looked at the item.
A lot of stores had exclusive drops for those attending ComplexCon. (The location was the Long Beach Convention Center). Billionaire Boys Club and A Bathing Ape were some of the premier brands to use the app to drop exclusive goods at ComplexCon. It was here that I became somewhat intrigued by Frenzy. Sonny and I had just missed the Adidas drop for the N.E.R.D. NMDs, and we were told that Frenzy would have the shoe available in the coming time that day. So, we both signed up and got ready to try and purchase.
Here is how Frenzy works (after creating an account): for purchasing items, you must have Apple or Google Pay. This is what helps Frenzy streamline to drop process. So, when you are about to make a purchase, you simply enter the drop from the main menu, select the size of the item you are trying to purchase, and then you simply press the big black “Pay with (Apple/Google) Pay”. After that, if you get a notification on the app saying that you got the item, then you are charged then and there, and you’ll get a notification from the brand about your purchase, for confirmation. On the other side of that, you could go through all that, and still get charged, and not cop the item. Why? Because Frenzy still charges you, even if you don’t get to cop the item, to still try and make a transaction. Rest assured, that if you didn’t get a chance to cop, you will be refunded. I tried to get those rare NMDs, and after I didn’t get them, I was really bugging as to how I still got charged, only for Apple Pay to tell me moments later I was refunded of the money charged to get those sneakers.
This is what sets Frenzy apart from the rest in a multitude of ways. First, it pays to be a real gunslinger on your phone. You need to be quick on the transaction if you want to cop. There is no waiting room, or random selection, or draw. It is a massive free-for-all, and for the most exclusive things that do drop on the app, that transaction time is mere seconds. Early bird gets the worm here. As it is not a reselling app, once the item is sold out or not on the curated discount, chances are that the item is gone for good, and you won’t be able to get that item on Frenzy again, unless there is a restock drop. Second, there is not, from what I can tell, a lot of room for navigating and fancy options or settings or things of the sort. Frenzy is a very basic, easy (although unintentionally limiting) app to have a chance to purchase dope things. Once the drop is over or sold out, you missed your chance. If you’re quick and alert, you win.
So, knowing all that and having read more of the FAQs for Frenzy during and after ComplexCon, I decided to give it a try with two items: the first, a BBC Mophie powerpack that dropped during ComplexCon. The second, a pair of Pharrell Williams NMDs from the most recent pack that dropped. Now, for the aforementioned NMDs. The Mophie powerpack was sitting on the app for hours during ComplexCon, and it was something I bought to feel better about taking the fattest L on the N.E.R.D. NMDs that had just dropped. The Pharrell NMDs, which are not the same as the N.E.R.D. pair, I copped the following weekend after ComplexCon. Now, Frenzy, so far, seems to check out, and people used it at ComplexCon to cop some really rare stuff. So, having made these two purchases so far, I want to see if these items are indeed legit and if Frenzy is really a new and easier avenue to cop kicks. After I was successfully able to purchase the Pharrell NMDs, I got an email notification from the store selling them (as promised) that I bought them, and that they were going to be shipped soon. The BBC Mophie, on the other hand, has not been mentioned in any email or notification since I purchased.
So, with one purchase in question, and another on the way, is Frenzy legit? Wait and see what unfolds on Part II.
Leave a Reply