These guys need to take it to the next level - defeat the bots by burning them and drop web presence entirely. This is a brand that would benefit from stealing the popup idea - random times and places only insiders know about, so dropping web sales despite being anathema on HN might actually build the exclusivity of their brand.
That or take it back out of band in a way bots can't easily overcome like 2fa tied to a device the customer can't or won't give up. I.E. Sell a supreme watch that generates FIDO codes from an enclaved 2fa seed. I suppose you'll need to manually trigger inputs as well just to prevent someone parking a webcam on their watch. At some point you'll add enough delay the quoted 19 seconds for 38 orders will become impossible. You don't need to add too much complexity; just enough to make it impractical for the bots to compete with customers.
You could also add randomness by making people accept one use codes for grab bags of items. They'd have to preregister for whatever items they might want but then it's accept or reject the offer in a timed window. Up the risk factor enough and perhaps a human will want to make a decision rather than leave it to a bot.
And one more idea: co-opt and co-brand: sell a line of botmaker branded gear sold by the winner of a botting contest. Take input from botters on how to raise the bar.
That or take it back out of band in a way bots can't easily overcome like 2fa tied to a device the customer can't or won't give up. I.E. Sell a supreme watch that generates FIDO codes from an enclaved 2fa seed. I suppose you'll need to manually trigger inputs as well just to prevent someone parking a webcam on their watch. At some point you'll add enough delay the quoted 19 seconds for 38 orders will become impossible. You don't need to add too much complexity; just enough to make it impractical for the bots to compete with customers.
You could also add randomness by making people accept one use codes for grab bags of items. They'd have to preregister for whatever items they might want but then it's accept or reject the offer in a timed window. Up the risk factor enough and perhaps a human will want to make a decision rather than leave it to a bot.
And one more idea: co-opt and co-brand: sell a line of botmaker branded gear sold by the winner of a botting contest. Take input from botters on how to raise the bar.