StockX Removes Authenticity Guarantee on Resale Items

Twitter users have been asking why online marketplace reseller StockX has removed the words ‘verified authentic’ from the green, coin-shaped tag it attaches to items sold on its platform.

The company responded to these queries with a statement confirming that it had changed the name of its verification process, and that ‘verification’ had become the new ‘authentication’.

StockX has a clearly defined policy of authenticating every item it receives for resale, whether it be sneakers, clothing, luxury bags or watches. Once authenticated, the item is affixed with one of StockX’s tags which serves as a guarantee seal.

Except that the company has now replaced the word ‘authenticate’ with the word ‘verify’, both on its website and in its communications.

‘While product authenticity remains core to our analysis, our verification process is a better reflection of our broader value proposition that we provide customers by reviewing all products sold on StockX,’ explained the company.

‘We look at a range of indicators before sending a product onto a buyer and there are a number of reasons why a product may fail to meet our elevated standards of excellence, including incorrect size, missing accessories, a damaged box, a manufacturer defect, signs of previous wear, and of course, if the item is fake.’ During the first nine months of 2022 alone, over 240,000 products, worth more than

$70 million, were rejected, advised the company. The rejections were mainly due to manufacturing defects, which topped the list at 24%, followed by damaged boxes (20%), used products (16%) and fake products (14%).

StockX’s response to the Twitter enquiries did not, however, go down well with some users.

‘If you can’t guarantee the product is authentic and you’ll only promise to do the best you can then that’s a problem,’ wrote one user.

Another added, ‘this is word salad nonsense. You didn’t say anything. You’ve made your practice less transparent and instantly more suspect’.

The name change follows an allegation from Nike, earlier this year, that it had been able to purchase four pairs of fake Air Jordan sneakers from StockX’s Vault NFT collection. This allegation (among other reasons) may have prompted the company to dial down its claims of authenticating every item received for resale, so as to avoid any future liability.

Counterfeit tags

Another reason for the change may relate to the problem of the tags themselves being counterfeited, which happened when the tags started gaining recognition as a guarantee of authenticity.

Indeed, a quick Google search reveals that even the new tag (which is plainly marked with a big ‘X’, without the words ‘verified authentic’) can be freely purchased from Alibaba.com, for just a few dollars.

There is even an online guidance service, Legit Check App, which shows people how to authenticate the StockX tag. The app usually gives guidance on how to check the goods themselves. But it now includes a step-by-step guide on authenticating the thing that should actually be authenticating the goods, just by being attached to them.

The Legit Check App advises buyers to carry out ten different checks on the tag. These include checking if the tag is scuffed, making sure the tag is always attached to the left sneaker, testing whether the tag cable-tie can be untied and reattached, making sure the colour of the coin is grass-green, and comparing the thickness of the coin.

There is also a QR code on the back of the tag, but this is only used for StockX’s internal purposes, so a scan of the code will not be useful for authentication.

However, Legit Check App did advise that if, upon scanning the code, the user is taken to the StockX website, this means the tag is definitely counterfeit, since no genuine tag would do this.

These guidelines beg a few questions.

First, who on earth would be prepared to go through all of these steps just to ensure the tag was real, especially since most of the steps would undoubtedly lead to ambiguous results and confusion on the part of the buyer – unless they had a second, genuine tag close to hand that could be compared to the one under examination. But who would have that?

Second, why not just equip the tags with unambiguous, counterfeit-resistant security features? After all, we are talking about the protection of high-end goods, many of which carry a heavy price tag. So, wouldn’t it be economically viable for StockX to invest in security features for its tags?

Doesn’t bode well for authentication providers

Unfortunately, we cannot find any reference by StockX to the use of security features, either on its tags or on the products it verifies. Considering that the company is one of the leading online resellers worldwide, this does not bode well for the authentication solutions industry.

Instead, StockX employs a multi-step authentication (sorry, verification) process that involves human inspection and AI- enhanced machine learning technology (see Authentication & Brand News™, June 2022). The company handles tens of thousands of items per day, split between 300 authenticators at 11 authentication centres, each checking over 50 touch points per product.

When someone buys an item off StockX’s website, the seller of that item ships it to one of the company’s verification facilities in the US or overseas. If it passes inspection, the item is tagged and sent to the buyer by StockX, and if it fails, it is returned to the seller, thereby removing the company from any liability.

Although StockX employs AI technology as well as human inspectors during the verification process, it actually places more importance on humans. ‘No amount of technology is going to be able to tell you if there’s an acceptable manufacturer’s defect, if a pair has been used, or if it is a re-release years later,’ said StockX co- founder Josh Luber.

In a demonstration video on the StockX website, an expert shoe authenticator explained: ‘I have authenticated over 100,000 shoes in my career and today we are going to do an authentication breakdown for the New Balance 990 V3 Joe Freshgoods,’ (note that he still uses the word ‘authentication’).

He then proceeds to check that the box label is not too glossy, the box lid doesn’t carry any dents, the cloud design on the lid is the correct colour, the sneakers carry the correct style code, the stitching is straight and continuous, the insole fits properly (a big giveaway for fake shoes), and the printing on the insole is readable and clean (fake pairs will have blotched, spread out and unreadable printing).

‘Another way to ensure authenticity is to feel the laces and hollowness throughout,’ he advised. ‘New Balance is currently the only brand that does its laces like this. We also want to make sure that the shoe has the correct smell. It should have an earthy smell to it, whereas a lot of the fake pairs smell like burnt plastic.’ 

So, as far as StockX is concerned, attributes such as hollow laces and an earthy smell are key to identifying an authentic product, rather than relying on security features.