Current culture marketplace StockX have released their first-ever Brand Protection & Customer Trust Report, offering a view into the anti-counterfeiting and fraud prevention work the marketplace focused on in 2023. The report covers key areas related to StockX’s investments in product verification, brand protection relationships, and its efforts to combat bad actors. The platform plans to release the report annually to provide further transparency into the work the company is doing to protect both consumers and brands.
One of our core values as an organization is to be a champion for our customers by, amongst other things, staying on the cutting edge of verification, investing in talent, constantly evolving our technology and systems, and increasing transparency into the process. This report points to how we’ve doubled down on that commitment to the customer and on our efforts to work directly with brands whenever we can. As the lines blur between resale and retail, collaboration between the two means market growth that delivers benefits for both sides and allows us to create a safer ecosystem for everyone to trade what they love.
– Scott Cutler, CEO, StockX
Since its inception, the StockX platform has been anchored by a robust verification program designed to fight fraud, curb counterfeiters, and deliver a consistent customer experience. StockX verification experts look for a range of indicators when physically analyzing products. In addition to checking for authenticity, verification experts assess for sizing inconsistencies, missing accessories, box damage, defects, and signs of previous wear. Since the company’s inception in 2016, StockX verification 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 protected buyers by rejecting more than 325,000 products — collectively valued at more than $82 million — because they didn’t meet StockX’s verification standards.
Key highlights from StockX’s first-ever Brand Protection & Customer Trust Report
Enabling StockX’s workforce with technology
StockX’s three-pronged approach to verification combines high-touch human identification, expert knowledge, and the latest technology. In December 2022 the company integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) scanning into its verification process. StockX has built a database leveraging the global RFID standards established by GS1, the industry governing organization. When an RFID tag is scanned, if it fails StockX’s RFID process, it’s flagged as having a higher risk of being counterfeit. Since rolling out the program, StockX has scanned more than 6 million RFID labels upon receipt. Tens of thousands of those items were flagged and ultimately failed verification due to RFID and other inconsistencies. As a result, numerous customers were protected from receiving products that fell short of StockX’s verification standards.
Combating bad actors
The company continues to develop new processes and partner with industry leaders to proactively block bad actors from defrauding shoppers on its platform. In 2023 StockX unveiled a new fraud review process for sellers. Before a seller places an ask, StockX now uses advanced Machine Learning models as well as expert third-party fraud models to analyze hundreds of user and transaction data points and determine if the ask should be allowed on the marketplace. This key check helps protect buyers and legitimate sellers from fraudsters. In 2023 alone, StockX blocked nearly 850,000 bad asks from being added to the marketplace and suspended over 9,000 suspected fraudulent sellers before their asks could be added.
Holding fraudsters accountable
StockX is leveraging technology to track and hold bad actors accountable through account suspension. To assess consumer behaviors, the company now employs advanced Machine Learning fraud modeling and detection techniques to monitor account activity and customer profiles. One specific detection technique StockX has ramped up in the last year is tracking malicious bot activity at the point of log-in and across the full user journey. Collectively, these tools help protect accounts from unauthorized access and allow StockX to suspend accounts engaging in fraudulent activity. In 2023, on average, StockX automatically suspended more than 250 accounts every week for identified fraudulent behavior. The company also enforces automatic suspensions for sellers who sell high amounts of products that fail StockX’s verification process as well as sellers who reach excessive levels of order cancellation due to failure to ship products.
Partnering with law enforcement
When necessary, StockX has partnered with law enforcement and works with authorities at the local, state, and federal levels to support knowledge sharing and active investigations. In late 2022, following a known robbery at a brand’s distribution center, StockX took proactive measures to temporarily halt the trading of sneakers that were directly connected to the crime in question. In December 2023, the company also worked with state agents to help carry out a significant seizure of counterfeit products in Michigan. These public-private relationships have provided valuable data and repeatedly resulted in favorable conclusions to complex investigations.
Giving shoppers peace of mind
Although StockX has always provided safeguards for its buyers, in early 2023 the company unveiled the StockX Buyer Promise, which provided a new streamlined process in the unlikely event that it makes a mistake. Since launching the policy, StockX has reviewed claims from customers in over 100 countries and territories. While approved claims represented less than 0.3% of total StockX trades in 2023, the company was able to provide meaningful support to buyers around the world by issuing full or partial refunds.
StockX say that they have invested millions of dollars to keep its customers safe and fight the proliferation of counterfeit products. Through 2024 and beyond, the company plans to build on those investments with the increased application and use of technology, expanded brand relationships, and ongoing partnerships with law enforcement.
