StockX's New Verified Sellers Program Skips In-House Authentication to Deliver Sneakers Faster

Today, StockX announced the launch of Verified Sellers, a new program that allows a small, select group to ship items straight to their buyers. This process is an attempt to deliver products faster by skipping the platform's time-consuming authentication process.

According to StockX CEO, Greg Schwartz, most of the 35 million people that use the after-market platform every month want one thing: fast delivery. "That's what [we're] optimizing for," he told Complex. The bulk of the business will continue to fall under the current in-house authentication process at one of StockX's global verification centers, as items available via the Verified Sellers program will only make up less than 1% of the company's overall volume.

Who's allowed to be a "Verified Seller?"

Bulk sellers who've met StockX's standards of shipping timeliness and reliability will pilot the Verified Sellers initiative. The company will enforce stricter policies for these users—including background checks and regular audits. To begin, this select group of sellers must also go through training specifically relating to product listing guidelines.

One such risk that Schwartz and team run with this new program is more fake sneakers being sold on their platform. StockX is currently fighting litigation brought forth by Nike on this very issue, which stemmed from trained members in the Detroit-based brand's many authentication centers passing inauthentic sneakers as legit. Wouldn't skipping this step only amplify the problem?

"If we get this right, it shouldn't," Schwartz told Complex. "And we're going to be auditing [Verified Sellers] to make sure that's the case."

If, for whatever reason, a buyer believes they were wronged, the CEO has promised to make amends via the StockX Buyer Promise, a process that's been criticized across social media throughout the years.

The Verified Sellers program kicks off on Thursday, April 3. Items sold through it will be available through StockX's current Express Ship option, which also consists of some "flex," pre-authenticated products shipped directly from the company's authentication centers. Buyers will be notified about where their items are being shipped from after checkout.

The process remains anonymous and doesn't include additional fees for the direct seller-to-buyer procedure.

To check out sneakers you could flip on StockX, visit House of Heatº's dedicated Jordan Release Dates Calendar.