Image: Adidas.com
With some shoes sold for up to £5,000, eBay’s authentication center helps to guarantee that the sneakers sold in the online marketplace are the real thing. Shoes sold for more than £100 are processed through this center, with thousands of shoes passing through the facility daily. eBay’s authenticators pass sneakers through a rigorous process focussing on the packaging, build quality, and other characteristics that differentiate counterfeit trainers from authentic products
The center carries out processes that allow eBay to offer an authentication guarantee for shoes sold on the marketplace. Although not affiliated with brands sold on eBay, this process helps buyers view this online marketplace as somewhere they can buy sneakers with confidence. With authenticators approaching inspections from a range of standpoints reviewing boxing, fonts, stitching, and logs, amongst other characteristics, a tag is placed on authenticated sneakers.
This then means that collectors can resell shoes, potentially worth thousands of pounds, on eBay using this guarantee of authenticity. As the market for collecting limited edition sneakers has grown exponentially, the market for fake or bootleg sneakers has grown alongside this. Analysts have estimated that the market for counterfeit sneakers is worth over $450 billion, an unfortunate fact that online marketplaces such as eBay and StockX have to work to address.
Speaking to the BBC, Talulah, the center’s lead authenticator, demonstrated the authentication process with a Yeezy Boost sneaker. Kanye West designed these shoes in collaboration with Adidas before the company parted ways with the controversial rapper in a split rumored to have cost the brand $250 million. Aside from testing the font and packaging, Talulah explained the authentication process includes smelling the trainer, as there is a noticeable difference in the smell of real and fake shoes as a result of glue and other manufacturing processes.
As sneaker reselling continues to grow, online marketplaces are taking steps to differentiate themselves from competitors. Trusted authentication processes are a significant part of this, adding value to transactions for buyers. eBay has reported that their online marketplace sees a new sneaker sale every one and a half seconds demonstrating the scale of the resale market. At no extra cost to buyers, this authentication process helps establish eBay as a trusted marketplace for high-value collectors’ sneakers.
Image: Adidas.com
With some shoes sold for up to £5,000, eBay’s authentication center helps to guarantee that the sneakers sold in the online marketplace are the real thing. Shoes sold for more than £100 are processed through this center, with thousands of shoes passing through the facility daily. eBay’s authenticators pass sneakers through a rigorous process focussing on the packaging, build quality, and other characteristics that differentiate counterfeit trainers from authentic products
The center carries out processes that allow eBay to offer an authentication guarantee for shoes sold on the marketplace. Although not affiliated with brands sold on eBay, this process helps buyers view this online marketplace as somewhere they can buy sneakers with confidence. With authenticators approaching inspections from a range of standpoints reviewing boxing, fonts, stitching, and logs, amongst other characteristics, a tag is placed on authenticated sneakers.
This then means that collectors can resell shoes, potentially worth thousands of pounds, on eBay using this guarantee of authenticity. As the market for collecting limited edition sneakers has grown exponentially, the market for fake or bootleg sneakers has grown alongside this. Analysts have estimated that the market for counterfeit sneakers is worth over $450 billion, an unfortunate fact that online marketplaces such as eBay and StockX have to work to address.
Speaking to the BBC, Talulah, the center’s lead authenticator, demonstrated the authentication process with a Yeezy Boost sneaker. Kanye West designed these shoes in collaboration with Adidas before the company parted ways with the controversial rapper in a split rumored to have cost the brand $250 million. Aside from testing the font and packaging, Talulah explained the authentication process includes smelling the trainer, as there is a noticeable difference in the smell of real and fake shoes as a result of glue and other manufacturing processes.
As sneaker reselling continues to grow, online marketplaces are taking steps to differentiate themselves from competitors. Trusted authentication processes are a significant part of this, adding value to transactions for buyers. eBay has reported that their online marketplace sees a new sneaker sale every one and a half seconds demonstrating the scale of the resale market. At no extra cost to buyers, this authentication process helps establish eBay as a trusted marketplace for high-value collectors’ sneakers.
