There’s a lot of copycats in the realm of luxury merchandise. This arguably makes it very difficult for online shoppers to buy with confidence with so many sneaky and deceptive sellers seeing this arena as a high-profit opportunity. When it comes to the world of shoes, a new aims to put customer and honorable seller concerns to bed. When a seller lists a pair of eligible shoes, eBay will show an on-page “blue check mark badge.” Once sold, one of eBay’s authenticators will verify the sneakers and then forward genuine shoes to the buyer with an an NFC tag that will showcase all the authenticity details when activated. Continue reading to learn more.
eBay Sneaker Authenticity Guarantee verifies shoes at no cost
eBay has pulled together third-party shoe authenticators in an attempt to curb non-genuine sneaker resale on its platform. At launch, eligible shoes are limited to “new Jordan and Yeezy sneakers listed in the Men’s or Women’s Athletic Shoes Categories.”
Once sold, instead of shipping directly to a buyer, sellers send shoes to one of eBay’s designated authenticators. From there they will verify shoes are genuine, and that every detail was accurately presented in the listing and return the item to the seller, if not.
Only new shoe sales are eligible for the eBay Sneaker Authenticity Guarantee. Sellers must list items as “New with box,” “New without box,” or “New with defects” in order to qualify for inspection. Shipment and verification is free of charge for both the seller and the buyer, making this program a slam dunk for both parties.
Perhaps the craziest part of all this is that eBay will not even charge final value fees. For those unfamiliar, this can cost up to 10% on most items, helping to heavily incentivize the use of the this program. It’s unclear if this discount will only be available for a promotional period or if eBay plans to keep it around permanently.
9to5Toys’ Take
From my point of view, there’s not much to dislike about the new eBay Sneaker Authenticity Guarantee. It’s free for sellers and buyers alike, allowing what could be a sticky situation to be carried out at no additional cost to either party.
Naturally, one might ask what eBay gets out of this. At first it could seem a bit outrageous for eBay to fully pay for verification and not even charge final value fees, but by doing this it could potentially become the de facto place to sell luxury sneakers. At any point it can start collecting final value fees again that could result in a lot of money in the long run.
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