What is eBay's Authenticity Guarantee?

When you think about the resale industry, sites like GOAT, Grailed, and StockX probably come to mind. With that said, the biggest sneaker marketplace actually isn’t any of these, in fact, with a sale every 1.5 seconds, eBay reigns supreme as the world’s biggest and most successful reselling platform. Last year, a whopping six million pairs were sold on the e-commerce giant, and as of now, almost half a million shoe listings are live. If that wasn’t enough already, it looks like eBay are set to take another massive chunk of resale game with their brand new Authenticity Guarantee, and here’s what it means.

If you can remember, back in 2019, eBay completely eliminated selling fees for any sneaker sold at $100 or more in US. This means that you can sell your sneakers for free on the site - a massive USP considering competitors will charge you a selling fee, on top of a luxury tax, as well as shipping. As amazing as this was, counterfeit shoes continued to plague the site, with many innocent buyers being scammed out of their hard earned cash. There was absolutely no way that eBay could keep track of every single purchase and ensure that the sneakers being sold were the real deal. That’s where their new Authenticity Guarantee comes into play.

Just like StockX’s verification process, eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee will check that sneakers are 100% authentic before a sale goes through. While this is just limited to pieces priced at over £100/$100, not only does it include brand new collectibles, pre-owned shoes will also be permitted as well. The service will be carried out by an independent team of industry experts, initially covering some of the most popular brands and styles before expanding to every single model and silhouette by early 2021.

"Authentication has become an expectation for today's consumers in categories of high passion and high value, and this program makes eBay the most attractive platform for enthusiasts in these categories," says Jordan Sweetnam, SVP and General Manager of eBay North America. "eBay operates the world's most diverse sneaker marketplace - with the widest selection and best prices - and by removing any uncertainty with the buying process, our community can buy and sell with total confidence."

While this program is brand new for sneakers, this is actually the e-commerce platform’s second time doing it, after announcing the Authenticity Guarantee for watches sold over $2,000 back in September.

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eBay has teamed up with some industry leaders from the sneaker community to ensure their authentication process addresses all the needs and wants of their customers.

Through teaming up with SneakerCon in the US, eBay has created a new state-of-the-art facility that offers a robust checklist of product specifications and processes to ensure accuracy and efficiency. After it’s been fully checked, an eBay tag is attached onto the shoe.

The small print doesn’t state how long this entire process will last, but with the millions of listings currently on the site, it’s safe to assume that it’ll add a few days to the transaction, if not more.

Overall it takes about 5 days for eBay to authenticate. Once you buy or sell a pair of trainers on eBay they will first be sent to be authenticated. Once they receive the item, they are given two working days to inspect and verify the item and after this the item will be shipped to you with standard 3 days delivery.

If you ask any sneakerhead, one of the main reasons why they use eBay in the first place is because of how quick and safe it is. The Authentication Guarantee guarantees that every order will be authentic and legit, however it does sacrifice the speed of your order.

However, that extra step and extra time is totally worth it to ensure the products you receive are 100% authentic.

This is an area of contention as the eBay terms and conditions specifically state that sneakers need to be ‘collectible’, but what exactly does this mean? It’s a grey area that still has yet to be defined, as the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. For instance, if you love yourself a pair of GRs but they’re not deemed as “collectible”, will they still be covered under the program? This also begs the question why these sneakers have to be over £100 before they can be verified. There are thousands and thousands of listings live right now with shoes priced below this margin, so does eBay not care if these are real or fake?

The eBay Authenticity Guarantee is now available in the UK and is set to completely transform the sneaker industry as we know it. What do you think of this new program? Would you make use of it? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to keep it locked at The Sole Supplier for the latest and greatest sneaker news and releases!

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