What Is an ACO Service? Auto Checkout Explained

ACO stands for auto checkout. An ACO service runs bots on your behalf: you give it your shipping and payment details for a release, and it tries to check out the item in your name, often charging a fee only when it succeeds. It's a way to get bot-level speed without buying and running a bot yourself. This guide explains how ACO works, how it's priced, what you hand over and the risks.

How ACO works#

1. You sign up for a release. The provider, often a cook group, posts a form for an upcoming drop.
2. You fill out the provider's form: personal details such as name, email, phone and shipping address, plus billing and card details. Some providers also ask for store accounts and proxies, and for sizes or limits.
3. The provider runs bots using its own setup, which one listing describes as its infrastructure and bot network.
4. If a task checks out, the order is placed in your name, charged to your card and shipped to you.
5. You pay the ACO fee for each success, on the provider's terms.

Who offers ACO#

ACO is usually offered through cook groups, and many paid groups include it free for paying members, such as Polar Chefs, whose Whop store lists free ACO with a channel for successes. Others offer free forms for general releases and paid ACO for high-demand drops. There are also standalone ACO services, some with waitlists.

How ACO is priced#

Paid ACO is mostly charged as a flat fee per successful checkout. Some providers charge a percentage of the retail price or a share of the item's resale value instead, and fees are often higher for hyped releases. The fee is usually charged once the order has been processed and shipped, rather than at checkout, though that depends on the provider. One provider also described a possible upfront fee on hyped drops to stop people from backing out. Before you submit, check:

• how the fee is calculated, and when it's charged;
• what happens if the store cancels the order after checkout;
• whether there's an upfront or deposit fee;
• the refund policy.

Our guide to cook groups explains how groups that include ACO charge for membership.

What you hand over, and the risks#

ACO means trusting a third party with sensitive details. Know the risks before you sign up:

• Your card details. The FTC advises against giving financial information in response to unexpected requests. Only submit card details through a provider's official form, never by DM, and consider a card with a low limit or a virtual card you can freeze.
• Your store accounts and proxies. Some providers ask for store logins and proxies. Anyone with your store login can do anything you can do on that account.
• Store rules. Retailers ban buying agents and bots in their terms. Target's terms ban using an unapproved buying agent or automated tools. Nike's terms forbid buying for resale and treat using technology to place multiple orders as misconduct, and Foot Locker says pre-orders placed by bots will be cancelled. Stores can cancel orders and close the accounts involved, and the order is in your name.
• Fees on cancelled orders. Most providers charge once an order ships, so a cancelled order usually isn't charged, but check the terms: it depends on the provider.
• Fake ACO. Scammers pose as ACO providers to collect card details. Our guide to bot and cook group scams covers the warning signs.

ACO vs running your own bot#

ACO suits people who want a chance at limited releases without learning a bot. Running your own setup costs more upfront but gives you control. Our guides to how sneaker bots work and sneaker monitors explain the other side.

Checking an ACO provider#

1. Is it part of a known group with a real track record, or a new account in your DMs?
2. Does it take payment through a platform with a refund and dispute process, such as Whop, rather than Zelle or crypto? Our guide to buying on Whop explains how that protects you.
3. Are the fees and terms written down before you submit anything?
4. How does it store your details, and can you remove them after the release?

ACO on OOSClub#

OOSClub cook group listings note when a group says it offers ACO, along with its plans and refund terms. Browse them on the cook groups hub.