Is there any bastion left in the world safe from bots? Well, I fear to tell you, probably not. Where there’s money to be made, the bots are locked and loaded, ready to snatch the rug from under your feet as you’re about to checkout. By now, we’ve become accustomed to sneakers’ resale era - but no one expected Stone Island to be next in the firing line.

Once upon a time, bots were predictable. Thursday Supreme drop? Good luck grabbing that TNF jacket. New Air Jordan collab? Hold that L.

Nowadays, you can’t even grab tickets to see your favorite artist(s) in concert without racing an avalanche of bits intent on driving prices sky high - helped on their way by Ticketmaster, of course.

Stone Island falling victim to bots, though; that’s come as a surprise.

Technically, it’s not its first dance in the bot arena, thanks to its Supreme collaborations, but that experience unfolded via ‘Preme. At the time, that was and still would be a given. Stone Island’s site, though? A shocker, to be sure.

Earlier today, the latest iteration of Stone Island’s Prototype Research Series touched down online. Arguably one of, if not the best, pieces of outerwear that’s come from the annual series, the jacket was obviously going to be sought after, but a complete sell-out in under 10 seconds was unexpected.

Stone Island’s Prototype Research Series comes in limited quantities, with only 100 produced – a quantity bots make quick work of. In the past, they’ve sold out fast, but due to their price points sitting around €1000, they were reserved for those with the money to spare.

Bots having their way with Stone Island stock is more proof that nothing is sacred. If there’s a few quid to be made, you best believe scalpers are ready and waiting.