StockX’s streetwear authenticators open up about finding what’s real in the age of fakes.
Jonathan Rodriguez picks up both a women’s and a men’s Nike Dunk Low Retro White Black sneaker (often called “Panda Dunks”) and turns them from side to side, then up and down. “So, can you tell the difference between the two?” he asks.
I squint at the screen, willing myself to spot even one missing detail. The truth is, I can’t. “This is why you’re the professional,” I say. Rodriguez laughs and assures me that I’d be able to spot the differences more quickly if we were doing this in person rather than on Zoom. I doubt it.
Rodriguez is a Sneaker Authenticator for StockX, an Equinox Circle partner and online marketplace that specializes in reselling sneakers, streetwear, and countless other collectibles. He’s spent half a decade with the platform; a self-professed sneaker obsessive, he came on board back when StockX had only two or three authentication centers in the United States. Today, the StockX team includes hundreds of authenticators around the world, and last year alone, authenticators stopped $30 million worth of fake sneakers from trading on the platform.
These days, Rodriguez can often tell the difference between a pair that will pass verification and a pair that will fail by touch alone. After holding hundreds of shoes of the same style, he knows when the weight’s spot-on — and when it feels off. But he’ll also examine other elements, including a shoe’s toe box consistency, paint chipping, and discoloration.
Beyond the expertise of its authenticators, StockX uses technology to verify every item it resells, such as sneakers, video games, and even Tina Turner Barbie dolls. The platform has single-handedly weeded out countless fakes through its meticulous verification process and even helped expose major counterfeit schemes.
“Anti-counterfeiting is, number one, about product knowledge,” says Paul Foley, StockX’s Head of Brand Protection. “We have the intelligence and often work with law enforcement to figure out who’s doing the counterfeiting. Is it someone who just visited Canal Street and picked up one [fake] item? Or is it truly a network of people trying to move many products? If so, we figure out what that network is and work with law enforcement and customs, attacking the networks to shut them down.”
I tell Foley it sounds like something out of The Italian Job. He laughs but doesn’t argue.
Here’s what Foley, Rodriguez, and Devin Patterson, one of StockX’s Streetwear Authenticators, say about how the team has transformed the collectible resale business into a world you can trust.
What’s your team’s background? Do they come in with verification knowledge or learn on the job?
Foley: “Many of our authenticators got into this because of their passion. They love the product, and they have a lot of knowledge. We make sure that knowledge is formalized and trained. We have brand protection managers who combine all the knowledge — the brand standards, the different release dates, working with our merchandising team on what's hitting the market — and create training manuals for all our authenticators.
Jonathan and Devin, what does the process look like when you’re verifying an item?
Rodriguez: “So, I'm based in New York, but I've been [with StockX] for almost five years. All I do is sneakers. We always want to make sure the quality is on point. We want to make sure the sizing is correct. We want to make sure the shoes are new because that’s all we do here.
“When it comes to ‘fakes,’ we look for inconsistencies. Maybe the brand logo is crooked or discolored — some are really, really bad. There are a lot of touchpoints. I even use smell — an authentic sneaker has a specific smell. The same shoe can have slight differences based on when and where it was produced. “That speaks to the importance of years of experience and our rich knowledge base. It’s like this historical but living catalog, so we’re constantly looped in.”
Patterson: “I’ve been with the company for a little under a year, but I’ve been buying sneakers since the wild, wild west days of Craigslist and eBay. As an authenticator, I look at everything from streetwear to PlayStation 5s to limited edition Tina Turner Barbie Dolls to Lebron James rookie cards. A big part of my job is knowing a brand's standard regarding production quality — even for things as mundane as the dustbag it comes in. So [as authenticators], we’re aware of inconsistencies and flaws, but also even finer things like design quality.
“Typically, when I receive a piece, I'll first look for whether it has been opened before — are there any signs of tampering? Then, I'll take a look at the main design feel. I’ll use all my senses — seriously, I’ll even check for a funky smell. When it comes to a lot of [the work we’re doing], like Rodriguez said, it's not so much about whether it’s inauthentic or authentic, but does it meet the StockX guarantee? We get our consumers brand-new products in the highest, most mint condition.” [Editor’s note: StockX does sell refurbished electronics, but all other items must be brand new and never worn.]
StockX has expanded far beyond sneakers. As Devin said a few minutes ago, you’re even verifying Barbie Dolls. Does the verification process change between collectibles?
Foley: “One of the things that we look at is what the brands offer [in terms of verification]. Major sneaker brands, they use embedded technologies like RFID and QR codes. So knowing the industry standards, we can use that to our advantage. So that type of thing will go across verticals — electronics and luxury designers."
For people who aren’t collectors, can you speak to why there's such a genuine concern about fraud and why verification is so vital in the sneaker industry?
Foley: “Most people know that counterfeiting is a problem in footwear, apparel, collectibles, and luxury. It's been that way for a long time. With the earliest marketplaces, they were still determining what they were getting into. There was no trust in it. Brands do a lot to protect their brands now. That being said, we have to be just as diligent as a marketplace to ensure that real product goes through and the fake product doesn't. That's why we were founded — to make a difference. That's why we verify every single item, and you know, in a 12-month period, we’ve rejected $90 million worth of products that don't meet our standards."
What is the wildest fake you’ve ever seen?
Rodriguez: “Well, I’ve been here for a while, so I’ve seen a lot of wild stuff. I would say some of the wilder ones I’ve seen are — I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Kanye West? Well, we had tons of issues when he came out with a Nike Air. [The] same goes for Travis Scott. Those are the top two that I see with the worst fakes.”
What do you think the future of verification looks like? What are you seeing as the evolution in the next couple of years?
Foley: “It’s definitely going to involve a lot more data and technology, including machine learning. If we can give [our team] more intelligence, more data points, it will make it easier for them to do their job. We have a lab in Detroit that's looking at the future technologies in incubation labs, such as different imaging. How can we look deeper into the quality of items and packaging to tell the difference in the verification process?
“And the next evolution against counterfeit, in particular, is partnering with brands. Individually, the brands can't do it alone. We would work with them to go after the most egregious counterfeit networks out there. We have a lot of intelligence and information that we can share, and that will make a difference.”
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