A sneaker authenticator plays a vital role for a sneaker resale business. Bridging the gap between buyer & seller, a sneaker authenticator decides whether an item is authentic or not. Although actual trends of sneaker styles might change every couple of years, the sneaker resale market doesn’t look like its going to slow any time soon. The business of reselling sought after releases is now worth an estimated $10 billion and is predicted to grow to around $30 billion by 2030. That’s a lot of transactions across the various resale platforms, some now household names, such as StockX, Klekt, Laced, GOAT & Ebay to name a few. The fact is the resale bug still exists, and will continue to surge, as the big sneaker brands like adidas, Nike & New Balance continue to keep distribution tight and releases in limited supply. Supply may have overtaken demand in more recent years for some silhouettes as the average sneaker consumer changes trends like we have seen with the Samba & the Spezial from adidas in 2024, but just like any other global market, some products come in & others go out. The sneaker resale market is no different, it just felt like the bubble had burst a little maybe because it was really still in its infancy. As an authorised stockist retailer looks to shift a brand at sale price to pay off an outstanding invoice, the resale market also moves and changes like any other “supply & demand” market. One of the key role roles in any sneaker resale business is a sneaker authenticator. So what does a sneaker authenticator actually do? Above: Authenticators keeping busy at the sneaker resale platform, StockX. Bridging the gap between the buyer & seller, a sneaker authenticator decides whether an item is authentic or not. It is the sole job of a sneaker authenticator to decide whether a sneaker is counterfeit, fake or in the words of Lefty Ruggiero “a fugazi”. A quick job search of the top resale platforms will find numerous authenticator roles across various regions and although these roles can sometimes be overlooked, an authenticator is just as important to a sneaker resale business as the CEO themselves. With millions of dollars put aside for training, research & development, from our own previous experience the authenticator job role can still be quite a hard one to fill. First of all sneaker knowledge is the key here. The authenticator needs to be clued on what’s popping and what’s been popping for the last 5 years – 10 years as old releases are still just as relevant when it comes to the sneaker resale market. Above: Ebay also introduced authentication for sneakers back in 2020. After the success of the authentication process at the likes of StockX & GOAT, Ebay also introduced an authentication process in 2020 as well as a training programme for new candidates looking to break into the sneaker authenticator role. As with any role it’s not just a case of 8 weeks authenticator training it’s also a lot of learning on the job. You’re only going to be able to authenticate a certain silhouette once you’ve actually had it in your hands. The usual EAN & style number checks are probably the first things to look for as an authenticator but after we spent several hours with the head authenticator at the PresentedBy store in London, spotting the real deal is getting harder and harder. Name any big industry in the world, and it’s probably faked at some level. Sneakers are no different, as hyped sneaker releases reached their highest for drops from Yeezy & Jordan in the pre-pandemic era the manufacturing of fakes also reached its highest level. With ridiculous margins on fake sneakers, and the potential they could pass as the real deal it was no surprise that the sneaker resale market experienced a boom in black market creps. Above: An authenticator checks the insoles of a YEEZY trainer for authentication. So what does a Sneaker Authenticator actually do? Well the first thing they will do is confirm the model is the correct model just like any packer would do for a authorised sneaker retailer. The next stage will be authenticating the style number which 99% of modern day sneaker releases have. For example the ‘Air Jordan 4 Thunder GS’ re-release from 2023 has the style code 408452-017 which will be referenced on the inner tongue and the box. This is obviously easy to fake, so the next stage will be checking the overall validity of the shoe box itself. Is the colour correct? Do the fonts match up? Does the EAN match up? Is the tissue paper the right colour? All these can be processed and checked against a genuine box. The next part is the actual sneaker itself. Maybe 15 years ago a fake could be spotted a mile off due to poor stitching and faulty glue but nowadays that’s a lot harder. Some authenticators will even smell the soles to see if an inferior glue has been used and also use a torch to look for any discrepancies across the stitching of the uppers & the sole. If something doesn’t look right, it probably is a fake. Above: Sean Wotherspoon with a pair of fake SW Nike Air Max 98 trainers. Just like some jobs specialise in a certain part of the role, it’s just the same for a sneaker authenticator with some specialising in certain SKU’s. From meticulously checking the laces, the stitching and the shoe boxes, some resale companies are also starting to roll out AI to help with the authentication process, capturing as much data throughout to strengthen the overall authentication process. Sneaker authentication databases can keep in check a resale companies reputation but unfortunably some sneakers still manage to slip through the net. The fact is a sneaker authenticator can have all the training and check boxes to “box off” in the world but counterfeit sneakers will still make it on to the busy rush hour runs of UPS & DPD. If a sneaker is not bought through “authorised” channels can you really ever 100% guarantee authenticity? That is why a sneaker authenticators role is so vital to the sneaker resale market. Above: Some crazy stats from StockX and their verification process. According to a press release from StockX which was released recently in June 2024, StockX rejected over 400,000 products through their authentication process which were valued at nearly $85 million. This was up 100,000 products compared to the previous year (as shown above) when StockX blocked 300,000 products as they did not meet their verification standards. Reasons for not making it through verification process included sizing inconsistencies, missing accessories, box damage, signs of previous wear & suspected counterfeits.See alsoFeatures·September 2, 2024Max Power: Everything You Need To Know About The PUMA Speedcat Trainer So what happens to the fake sneakers that are found by the sneaker authenticator? Policies may vary from resale platform to resale platform however StockX are pretty clear when it comes to their authentication policy stating, “StockX has no obligation to return items that do not conform to the description (including, without limitation, that the item is not new and unworn, is not the correct identified size, or does not include the original box), or are counterfeit (in which case, StockX may turn those items over to the proper authorities)”. If they find a fake, basically the seller isn’t getting them back. Sneaker fans may also be aware of the 2022 lawsuit between StockX and Nike in which Nike claimed they had bought several counterfeit sneakers from the giant resale platform over a two month period. The lawsuit led to StockX changing their famous ‘Authenticated’ tags to ‘Verified by StockX’. In an ever changing world of resale and counterfeit trainers no-one can 100% claim authenticity on every purchase if its not through the authorised channels, however a sneaker authenticator can do a pretty good job in keeping out the fakes! Are you looking to break into the world of sneaker authentication? Check out all the latest sneaker authenticator roles now at Sneaker Jobs.