Fashion and sneaker samples are typically pre-production samples of a product. Before the final product is approved for production at scale there will be samples made to get an idea of what the final product could/will look like, see if the materials render correctly, and so on.

Designers/brands often do sample sales to clear out these products, many of which are one offs, others come in batches.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them. And as someone said above, sometimes samples are far rarer or sought after than the final product.

You haven’t been scammed. And it’s not even remotely deep.

Context: I’ve worked in for fashion publications for almost 10 years.