StockX is a website used by millions but just imagine that you have been looking at a pair of shoes online for weeks–possibly years–and finally, you have been able to save up enough money to make this big purchase. You place your order and track the shipment. When it finally arrives, you are so excited! It was everything you could ever want, and more. But as you look more closely, your excitement is replaced by anger; the shoes you bought are fakes, just copies of the real thing. Unfortunately, this experience has become more and more common, and one of the biggest sources of disappointment is one of the biggest reseller platforms online, StockX.
StockX is a website founded in February of 2015. Based in Detroit, Michigan, StockX began as a place where people could buy and sell luxury goods, most importantly, sneakers. But at this moment, as noted by Lauren Deppen of FashoinDive, Nike and StockX are locked in a legal battle over the flood of fake sneakers on the platform. She asserted that, “The athletic wear giant [Nike] is accusing StockX of using insidious false advertising, including StockX slogans such as “100% Authentic” and “Always Authentic. Never Fake,” after discovering counterfeit Nike products on the platform.”
Reatil Dive reported that in an effort to restore credibility, StockX removed the “100% Verified” tags that had previously been placed on every shoe sold through their platform in November of 2022, shortly after Nike filed their lawsuit. StockX also recently instituted a return/refund policy.
If customers are not happy with a product, they can return it for a full refund. The company has also changed the appearance of products on their website. When looking at a shoe on StockX, there used to be a badge in the top left corner that said “100 percent authentic.” This badge, and all other references to authenticity, has now been removed.
How has all of this shifted customers’ perception of the company and affected the status of StockX in the sneaker community? When talking to someone who has bought sneakers off StockX he said “it feels nad knowing that him or his friends could be getting fake shoes.”The short answer is that StockX has lost the trust of sneaker community. Consumers feel betrayed, resellers of authentic shoes feel cheapened by association with the scandal, and many sellers have moved to other platforms like GOAT. YouTube is full of videos commenting on the lawsuit and the response by StockX. While there are still enough casual buyers out there who do not know about the scandal to keep StockX afloat, few serious or informed sneaker buyers are willing to trust that what they see at StockX is authentic or worthwhile.
Sources:
“Stockx: The Stock Market of Things.” StockX: The Stock Market of Things – Case –
Faculty & Research – Harvard Business School, www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=57618#:~:text=Founded%20in
%202015%20b
y%20Dan,luxury%20and%20limited%2Dedition%20sneakers. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.
Deppen, Laurel. “Nike’s Counterfeit Legal Dispute with Stockx Heats Up.” Fashion Dive,
20 Nov. 2024, www.fashiondive.com/news/stockx-nike-lawsuit-counterfeit/733477/.
James, Dani. “Stockx Removes ‘verified Authentic’ Tags.” Retail Dive, 14 Nov. 2022,
www.retaildive.com/news/stockx-removes-verified-authentic-sneaker-tags/636472/.
Sneaker News. “Official Retailer Images of the Air Jordan 4 ‘White Thunder.’” Sneaker
News, 23 Aug. 2024,
sneakernews.com/2024/03/16/air-jordan-4-white-thunder-fq8138-001/.
(source for image)
Interview- with anonymous source
