In the earlier days of the internet, before Facebook selling groups and places like StockX, eBay used to be the go-to place to find highly coveted sneakers. However, things quickly became dicey on the platform, with fake sellers popping up left and right with little to no recourse for anyone who got stuck with fake goods. eBay is trying to remedy those concerns with a new program called eBay Authenticate.
The service is currently in a pilot program and works as follows: sellers or buyers can opt-in to the program when they list or purchase an item. If they’ve opted-in, the item will be sent to a professional authenticator before being sent to the buyer. If it’s found to be a counterfeit, eBay will refund the buyer double the cost of the item.
Fees have not yet been announced for the program, but we imagine eBay will try to keep them low to encourage adoption. Part of the reason newer platforms like StockX are so popular is that they offer built-in authentication for all sneakers that are sold on their marketplace. EBay Authenticate will likely launch by the end of 2017.
Has anyone gotten a pair of fufu sneakers from eBay before?
[via eBay]