The team at StockX had a busy 365 days rejecting counterfeit products.
The marketplace released its latest “Big Facts” report on Thursday, titled “The Verification Report 2024,” two days before World Anticounterfeiting Day. This report, StockX explained, offers a look into what’s happening on the platform across sneakers, apparel, accessories and collectibles.
“Unfortunately, the quality of counterfeit products has improved at lightning speed. Fakes used to be easy to spot, and now they can go unnoticed by the untrained eye,” StockX head of brand protection Paul Foley told FN. “But we’re one of the few marketplaces in our space that verifies every product we sell, and we’ve been extremely committed to increasing our investments in counterfeit prevention. StockX has continued to integrate new technology. For example, we’ve incorporated RFID scanning into our verification process. We’ve also built machine learning models to help predict which products and people are higher risk, and we’ve sought out partnerships with industry brands to further our knowledge.”
He continued, “We also have a policy in place, the StockX Buyer Promise, that gives customers extra peace of mind. This is our guarantee that our buyers have our support in the unlikely event that StockX makes a mistake — we ship the wrong order, we incorrectly verify an item.”
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StockX stated in the last year alone, from June 1, 2023, to May 31, it rejected more than 400,000 products, collectively valued at nearly $85 million, because they did not meet its verification standards. The 400,000 rejected items is an increase of roughly 100,000 products compared to the same period last year, StockX stated.
There are several reasons why a product would fail its verification process, StockX explained, such as sizing inconsistencies, missing accessories, box damage, signs of previous wear and if it suspects the item is fake.
The No. 1 reason products were rejected during its verification process, according to StockX, was signs of previous wear, accounting for 29 of the rejected products, followed by suspected fakes at 19 percent.
The product category most susceptible to counterfeits on the marketplace over the last 12 months, according to StockX, was apparel, followed by sneakers. According to the report, apparel accounted for 54 percent of all suspected fake products, with sneakers accounting for 33 percent.
As for the sneakers faked the most during the aforementioned period of time, leading the way was Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 “Zebra,” which was followed by the Adidas Campus 00s “Core Black” at No. 2 and the Air Jordan 4 Retro “Black Cat” at No. 3.
Foley noted the diversity of the sneakers faked over the last 12 months caught his attention, and said the landscape that used to be more focused on luxury and the most expensive products “has shifted a bit.”
“We’re seeing a pretty broad range from a brand representation standpoint,” he said. “I think there’s this idea, or that everyone assumes that the most counterfeited sneakers are the most rare, the most exclusive and the most expensive. In actuality, what we’re seeing is that the most counterfeited sneakers all trade for around $200 or less, which puts them at a very accessible price point relative to previous years. This data underscores the fact that no product or brand seems to be immune to counterfeiters.”
He continued, “As a comparison, we released a report in February 2021 that revealed the most popular fakes. At that time, they were the Jordan 1 Retro High x Off-White ‘Chicago,’ the Jordan 1 Retro High x Travis Scott and the Jordan 4 Retro x Off-White ‘Sail.’ All three of those sneakers were reselling for well over $500, and today they are trading for more than $1,000.”
As for the StockX shoe category, the most faked style was the women’s Ugg Classic Ultra Mini Boot “Chestnut,” followed by the women’s Ugg Classic Mini 2 Boot “Chestnut” and the women’s Ugg Classic Ultra Mini Boot “Antillope.”
In terms of slides, three Adidas Yeezy looks secured the top three spots: Adidas Yeezy Slide “Bone” (2022/2023 restock) was No. 1, followed by Adidas Yeezy Slide “Onyx” (2022/2023) and Adidas Yeezy Foam Runner “Onyx” (2022/2024).
Foley said he believes current counterfeit trends will continue into the foreseeable future, and noted StockX is prepared to face them.
“We’re going to see a diverse sampling of brands, and the products that are being counterfeited are going to be more general release and accessible products,” he said. “Looking ahead, we plan to continue to build on the investments we’ve already made with expanded use of technology, additional brand relationships, and, when necessary, the support of law enforcement.”
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.
