Experiences with StockX?

[bklner2014]

I just read about StockX on Purseblog, and would be curious to know if anyone's used this website to date? It's a buying and selling platform that has recently expanded its focus from hard-to-get sneakers to luxury bags. One of its selling points is that after a seller and buyer come to an agreement on price, the bag is then sent to StockX to authenticate before it is shipped to the buyer.

This was my first time reading about this platform and I'd be interested to learn more about people's experiences with this site! Here's the link to the Purseblog article. https://www.purseblog.com/introducing/stockx/

 

[BeenBurned]

I've never heard of that site (prior to reading the post) but I'm not sure that I would totally trust "the careful authentication process" they claim separates them and makes them different from other similar sites. TheRealReal, Poshmark, eastvaleluxe and other sites claim to have expert authenticators or have had items professionally authenticated and not all "authentic" items have been genuine.

I did a cursory peek at a few of their listings (Chanel, LV, Hermes) and none of the listings even had enough pictures for a buyer to see whether there are red flags, much less for an authenticator to vet them before buying!

Example 1: (One picture)
https://stockx.com/chanel-grand-shopping-tote-quilted-caviar-white-rose-ombre

Example 2: (4 pics, none with much detail)
https://stockx.com/chanel-shopping-tote-quilted-grand-black-caviar-goldtone

Example 3: (2 pictures)
https://stockx.com/louis-vuitton-neverfull-damier-ebene-gm-brown

Example 4: (1 picture)
https://stockx.com/hermes-birkin-togo-35-bleu-electrique-palladium

How is a buyer supposed to make an educated buying decision based on those listings?

JMHO.

 

[Notorious Pink]

I’d never heard of the site either, but I did sign up - to consider purchases for DSs. Looks really great when they stick to what they seem to know - sneakers and street wear. They seem to have a huge learning curve to go in order to become reputable for handbags.

 

[bababebi]

It is my understanding they use Entrupy to authenticate the items.

 

[bklner2014]

It is my understanding they use Entrupy to authenticate the items.

That's interesting! Based on what I've read about Entrupy here, is that an online authentication service (might have understood incorrectly). If so, I wonder why they would need sellers to ship the bag for authentication before sending to the buyer...

 

[Luvbolide]

That's interesting! Based on what I've read about Entrupy here, is that an online authentication service (might have understood incorrectly). If so, I wonder why they would need sellers to ship the bag for authentication before sending to the buyer...

Entrupy uses a computerized authentication process. They wave a magic wand around and the gizmo supposedly compares the bag in question to a dbase of bags. Problem (to me, anyway) is that there is no way to know whether the images in the dbase are of authentic bags or not. Garbage in, garbage out.

I am also skeptical of a self-described "careful authentication process". Plenty of people declare themselves to be authenticators but, in my view, are not qualified to be using that term to describe themselves. Who are these purported authenticators, what is their experience, do they specialize in a specific brand or claim some sort of vast knowledge of multiple brands?

I could call myself an authenticator and could consult all kind of "guides" to authenticating various brands, and in all sincerity make my best effort to do a good job. But I may not have ever even seen a bag from the brand IRL. I think most would consider me unqualified to do the authentication.

Sorry if this comes off as a rant!

 

[BeenBurned]

It is my understanding they use Entrupy to authenticate the items.

If they use Entrupy, they've proven that those of us who've questioned the accuracy of a computer authentication process have valid concerns.

I've heard through the grapevine that a StockX buyer of a Louis Vuitton Damier backpack had her purchase professionally authenticated after receiving it. The backpack was proven to be a superfake!

Beware!

 

[Tuned83]

I checked it out after reading the purse blog article. ruled it out as soon as I saw the lack of detailed photographs required to authenticate. A bit dodgy as they say in my part of the world .

 

[MyAwesomeFinds]

Yeah, there is also a feature that if someone has an offer out on a bag and you have one of those bags, you can accept the offer and send it in--site unseen to the buyer. StockX would still be reviewing the bag but still, I would not want to get a pre-owned bag I had not seen pics of beforehand.

Also they are acting as if it is such a differentiating factor that they pre-authenticate, but as others have pointed out, several other sites do that, including Poshmark, Vestiaire, etc.

 

[alliegetyourgun]

Hey babes. For reference, here is the bag I just bought from them. I received it in 4 days, and in my case the pictures online were of the actual bag I received. This replicators can’t get this bag right, (the bright red canvas) so I had virtually zero doubts this baby is real once I saw her in person. The bag has some minor scratches on the corners, and a decent sized scratch on the S lock. It came with dust bag only. I got her for $1995 no tax with a coupon code, so I’m pretty happy to be honest considering she’s limited edition, rare, and I was able to dodge the 2.5-3.5k price tag for this bag these days. So basically, if you’re seeking a rare bag, they may be a decent choice if you can get a good price and a coupon to boot.

 

[bklner2014]

Hey babes. For reference, here is the bag I just bought from them. I received it in 4 days, and in my case the pictures online were of the actual bag I received. This replicators can’t get this bag right, (the bright red canvas) so I had virtually zero doubts this baby is real once I saw her in person. The bag has some minor scratches on the corners, and a decent sized scratch on the S lock. It came with dust bag only. I got her for $1995 no tax with a coupon code, so I’m pretty happy to be honest considering she’s limited edition, rare, and I was able to dodge the 2.5-3.5k price tag for this bag these days. So basically, if you’re seeking a rare bag, they may be a decent choice if you can get a good price and a coupon to boot.

Thanks for sharing your review, and glad to hear you had a positive experience! Sorry if I missed this, but just curious to know if you submitted your bag for professional authentication after receiving it?

 

[alliegetyourgun]

Thanks for sharing your review, and glad to hear you had a positive experience! Sorry if I missed this, but just curious to know if you submitted your bag for professional authentication after receiving it?

Nah, I’m not going to bother. I now only buy preowned bags that I know inside out, have handled in person in store or from friends, and have good knowledge about the fake versions for reference. I’ve seen the fake version in person as well, the canvas is duller and the red isn’t anywhere as vibrant. Also if you search the fake purse forums you’ll see that this is considered a unicorn bag that the fake factories cant get right. But mainly...My last experience with authentications was pretty bad, I got 3 paid authentications (with reputable people and companies recommended here) all which proved to be quickie one glance jobs, at least in my case. All three came back as authentic, no red flags stated by any of the three. But as soon as I asked for clarification on details I found to be off about the bag from my own neurotic research, two of them recant and go “oh yeah... upon further research, it’s a high quality fake.” This was 8 days later. So since I lost $1k on a bag that 3 different trusted services authenticated, I really only trust in person authentication now, or bags I feel VERY confident in self-authenticating as I said before. I thought of sharing my experience on the forum, but as I said these are prominent authenticators, and I knew all I would do is cause alarm for the dozens if not hundreds of women in this forum that bought bags on their word as well.

 

[bklner2014]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I don't have an intimate knowledge of any specific brands, so this means I'll have to rely on professional authenticators if I were to go the preloved route. Sorry you lost $1k on a bag due to issues with authenticators. This is a major red flag. Maybe I should continue to buy from the boutiques for peace of mind!

Nah, I’m not going to bother. I now only buy preowned bags that I know inside out, have handled in person in store or from friends, and have good knowledge about the fake versions for reference. I’ve seen the fake version in person as well, the canvas is duller and the red isn’t anywhere as vibrant. Also if you search the fake purse forums you’ll see that this is considered a unicorn bag that the fake factories cant get right. But mainly...My last experience with authentications was pretty bad, I got 3 paid authentications (with reputable people and companies recommended here) all which proved to be quickie one glance jobs, at least in my case. All three came back as authentic, no red flags stated by any of the three. But as soon as I asked for clarification on details I found to be off about the bag from my own neurotic research, two of them recant and go “oh yeah... upon further research, it’s a high quality fake.” This was 8 days later. So since I lost $1k on a bag that 3 different trusted services authenticated, I really only trust in person authentication now, or bags I feel VERY confident in self-authenticating as I said before. I thought of sharing my experience on the forum, but as I said these are prominent authenticators, and I knew all I would do is cause alarm for the dozens if not hundreds of women in this forum that bought bags on their word as well.

 

[Evia]

I hadn’t heard of this site until I read about it on the blog. I’d never accept a sellers “assurance” about authorisation as being enough, and the idea that you could get something that you haven’t even seen pictures of seems bonkers to me. Everyone’s idea of what constitutes “excellent” condition is going to vary, and I’ve seen bags described by resellers as excellent that look well used to my eye. Not sure what purseblog is doing advertising this at all, let alone why it’s being given such a big fanfare Presumably it’s all about the money

 

[bklner2014]

I hadn’t heard of this site until I read about it on the blog. I’d never accept a sellers “assurance” about authorisation as being enough, and the idea that you could get something that you haven’t even seen pictures of seems bonkers to me. Everyone’s idea of what constitutes “excellent” condition is going to vary, and I’ve seen bags described by resellers as excellent that look well used to my eye. Not sure what purseblog is doing advertising this at all, let alone why it’s being given such a big fanfare Presumably it’s all about the money

I'm not sure why either, but I started this thread to learn more about actual user experiences. So far it's been very educational to learn that they use Entrupy to authenticate (which is a red flag as I've learned from the other threads shared in this sub-forum), but also good to learn from one buyer so far that she's had a positive experience. I enjoy doing this kind of research in advance, as some day I might want to buy a preloved bag, and it helps to be equipped with more rather than less knowledge on reliable companies to buy from!