Nike SNKRS
FCFS
Also called first come first served, FCFS drop, straight release
FCFS stands for first come, first served: a release that sells in real time to whoever completes checkout first, with no entry window and no selection afterwards. Speed and a saved payment method decide it, which is the opposite of how a SNKRS Draw works.
In use: It was an FCFS release, not a Draw, so the pair went on sale at 8am and the last size sold about ninety seconds later.
The release type where speed is the whole game
FCFS means first come, first served. The product goes on sale at a stated time and keeps selling until the stock runs out. Nothing is pooled and nothing is decided afterwards, so the order in which people reach checkout is the outcome.
On SNKRS this is how less hyped releases usually go out, and it is how most Shock Drops behave. Wider general releases often stay available for hours or days, which is still FCFS, just without the pressure.
Why the distinction matters
Most of the advice circulating about SNKRS is FCFS advice applied to a Draw, where it does nothing at all. A fast connection, a practised thumb and constant refreshing are real advantages on an FCFS release. They are worth exactly nothing on a Draw, which selects at random once its window has closed.
So the first question on any release is which of the two you are looking at. SNKRS says so on the product itself: a Draw shows an entry window and a close time, an FCFS release shows a sale time and a buy button. Reading that one detail changes what is worth doing for the next ten minutes.
The comparison in full is in how Nike SNKRS draws work.