StockX Report: Resell Market Suffers From Fakes

StockX, the global resale platform for sneakers, streetwear and collectibles, in its latest “Big Facts” report, provides insights into the product categories that are the main targets of counterfeiters and their authenticity checks that “fakes” (i.e. counterfeit products ) are identified and withdrawn from circulation.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the counterfeiting industry has grown into a stable $500 billion (more than €460 billion) market.

From June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023, StockX rejected nearly $90 million worth of products for not meeting verification standards, including nearly $30 million worth of sneakers.

Reasons for rejection

In total, StockX auditors did not allow almost 300,000 products to be traded on the online platform; on average, around one million products go through the verification process every month.

In addition to fakes, which account for a fifth (20 percent) of rejected products, there are other reasons for product rejection, such as manufacturing defects (27 percent) or damaged packaging (13 percent). In more than ten percent of the cases, it is a used (13 percent) or the wrong product (12 percent) or the wrong size (11 percent). The remaining four percent are for other reasons.

Most counterfeit sneakers and apparel

What are the products that are most often counterfeited? StockX also announced this: In the above-mentioned period, the sneakers were the Nike Dunk Low Retro White Black Panda (2021), followed by the Adidas Yeezy Slide Onyx or Nike’s Jordan 1 Retro Low OG SP Travis Scott Reverse Mocha and the Jordan 1 Retro High Dark Mocha and the Adidas Yeezy Slide Pure (Restock Pair).

In apparel, luxury streetwear label Fear of God’s Essentials Hoodie Stretch Limo and Essentials 3D Silicon Appliqué Pullover Hoodie in black were most imitated, followed by the Butterfly T-shirt in white, which celebrates the collaboration between rapper Juice Wrld and streetwear Label Vlone spawned.

The most counterfeited bags and accessories

For luxury handbags, the Telfar Shopping Bag Medium in black was the most faked, followed by the Goyard Saint Sulpice Green in canvas/calfskin and Prada’s Re-Edition Nylon Shoulder Bag in black.

For accessories, Supreme’s New Era Box Logo beanie from the FW21 collection in black led the way, followed by Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack for Fragment Zippo lighter and the Trekking Convertible Backpack and Waist Bag in black from Supreme and The North Face.

What can brands, retailers and resellers do?

The counterfeiting industry is just that – a separate industry that makes billions from “fakes” that keep getting better and better. For platforms like StockX, that means investing even more in verification.

In the last twelve months, the company has therefore opened three new authentication centers in Mexico City, Tokyo and Berlin, where experts check the authenticity of products using a special process developed by StockX.

Support from new technologies

Technology like RFID and QR codes can also help: “While you’ll never completely take over the process, integrated technologies like these provide StockX with additional informational value that can be leveraged as part of the process,” says StockX.

Machine learning is also used in the verification process and has already proven its worth, for example to predict which products and people pose a low or high risk. “It also ensures that even the smallest details are taken into account during the review process,” explains StockX.

It is important for consumers to ensure that they are getting their products from reputable sources who will also take back the product in case of counterfeiting or any other reason. StockX has set up a “buyer promise” for this purpose, with which the platform undertakes to correct errors and thus protect buyers.

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