StockX Values Human Verifiers and RFID Tags to Tackle Counterfeiting

In April, StockX, the online reseller (primarily of sneakers), released its first ‘Brand Protection & Customer Trust Report’, offering a view into its anticounterfeiting and fraud prevention activities in 2023.

The StockX platform uses verification experts (human ones) to look for a range of indicators when physically analysing products. In addition to checking for authenticity, the experts look for sizing inconsistencies, missing accessories, box damage, defects, and signs of previous wear.

Since the company’s inception in 2016, these experts have reviewed more than 55 million items and turned away more than $600 million worth of products that failed to meet the company’s verification requirements. Sneakers that were suspected to be fake accounted for about 13% – or $80 million – of that total. In 2023 alone, the company rejected more than 325,000 products – collectively valued at more than $82 million – because they didn’t meet StockX’s verification standards.

A key highlight from the brand protection report includes StockX’s three-pronged approach to verification, combining high-touch human identification, expert knowledge, and the latest technology.