EXCLUSIVE: EBay Launches Authenticity Guarantee for Streetwear
EBay’s hold on luxury resale keeps getting stronger. The global commerce platform, which has been authenticating luxury handbags since 2021 and acquired Certilogo earlier this year, is expanding its Authenticity Guarantee to streetwear beginning Thursday.
As a whole, eBay’s luxury categories have had roughly double-digit annualized growth from fourth quarter 2019 to fourth quarter 2022, which the company states have been increased with its Authenticity Guarantee driving confidence and new programs like Certified by Brand that is delivering a wider selection of luxury items.
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With Authenticity Guarantee being added to streetwear all eligible streetwear bought and sold in the U.S. will be vetted and verified by eBay’s team of professionally trained authenticators who will use detailed physical inspection and advanced technical equipment in eBay’s new state-of-the-art facility in New Jersey. The total streetwear authentication process includes a multipoint inspection by in-house experts, proof of authentication and verified returns.
Items from brands including Aimé Leon Dore, Fear of God, Supreme, Off-White, Palace and Stone Island, Bape, Kith and Vetements, and sold for more than $200 will be eligible. By the end of September, eBay will launch additional eligible brands including Adidas, Alexander Wang, Balenciaga, Burberry, Cactus Plant Flea Market, Chrome Hearts, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Eric Emanuel, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Jordan, Louis Vuitton, Nike, OVO, Palm Angels, Prada, Rhude, Versace and Visvim.
EBay’s focus categories — sneakers, watches, handbags, jewelry, trading cards and motors — are authenticated and continue to outpace the rest of the marketplace, Charis Marquez, vice president of global fashion at eBay, told WWD. “Expanding Authenticity Guarantee to cover streetwear is a natural evolution for both our sneakers business and our fashion category at large. It not only underscores how trust drives the marketplace, but it signals that we’re serious about our apparel business.”
According to Garry Thaniel, global GM of sneakers and streetwear at eBay, there was loud and clear feedback from eBay’s community who had experienced the platform’s seamless shopping experience with sneakers and wanted the same for streetwear. With the launch of the Authenticity Guarantee for streetwear, eBay is delivering on that ask.
“Streetwear is as much in eBay’s DNA as sneakers,” Thaniel told WWD, sharing that eBay has had pieces from nearly every notable streetwear drop that’s ever happened (whether in 1993 or 2023). “Collectors, hypebeasts, enthusiasts — people have been coming to eBay to buy and sell pioneering streetwear brands like Stussy and Supreme since the mid-’90s, and demand has only increased as more and more shoppers turn to the secondary marketplace to find the drops that they missed.”
Thaniel points to the platform’s data which found searches for “streetwear” on eBay are up nearly 100 percent year-over-year globally and searches for “Supreme” which occurred more than 30 times per minute in 2022, to show that “enthusiasts know that eBay has the best selection.” And now, “they’re getting the peace of mind that authentication provides.”
Moreover, when discussing what eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee means for streetwear, Thaniel said he sees the community as being in the center of the Venn diagram where luxury fashion and sneakers intersect. Collection drops have always created a perception of scarcity and urgency, and this is why so many great brands have been built on these limited-number releases. It’s also because of this that the appeal of streetwear — even in its earliest days — is about cultural currency.”
It’s an “if you know, you know” mindset, he said, as opposed to having the wealth to buy luxury goods. Moreover, Thaniel acknowledged that authentication is a game-changer for a massive set of consumers who make up the community, saying that “the barrier to entry that was once the pinnacle of streetwear is shifting because of the access that the secondary marketplace provides.”
Marquez told WWD that Authenticity Guarantee will continue to expand globally and include more focus categories.
“We introduced authentication for kids’ sneakers in both the U.K. and Germany, and there is more on the roadmap,” Marquez said. “As our focus categories continue to grow, we’ll continue to listen to our buyers and sellers to understand how we can continue to strengthen the marketplace experience.”
While Authenticity Guarantee is not operated in partnership with any brands, eBay’s new Certified by Brand program is partnering directly with brands to scale their presence in the secondary market. Marquez told WWD that the programs are complimentary to one another, giving shoppers access to a wider selection of coveted and collectible luxury goods.
Brands participating in Certified by Brand include Alor, Le Vian, Lika Behar Collection, Perrelet and Roman+Jules. Other Certified by Brand storefronts will be joining the platform soon from ADPT (All Day, Purpose, Terrain), Alberto Milani, Badgley Mischka, Diana M., Ernst Benz, I.Reiss, Judith Ripka, Konstantin Chaykin, Rpaige, Vianney Halter and Zodiac Watches.
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