12 Facts You Need to Know About StockX

Photo of an Adidas sneaker
 

By Tricia McKinnon

The resale market is one of the fastest growing segments of retail. One of the reasons it has grown so fast is that platforms like StockX make it easy for consumers to put up their coveted merchandise for sale in a secure and transparent manner. 

Resale is not a new concept, in the past people sold their sneakers on eBay and still do and before that through their own personal networks. But when StockX launched in 2016 it made reselling goods even easier. So easy that many people have transitioned buying and selling sneakers as a hobby into their own full-time business. 

Traditional retailers are not sitting back watching this market grow. In 2019 Foot Locker invested $100 million in resale platform GOAT, its largest investment ever at the time. But StockX is seen as the leader of the pack and here are some of the reasons why.

1. StockX was the first sneaker resale platform to reach unicorn status (a $1 billion valuation). It achieved this in less than three years and now it sells over a billion dollars worth of merchandise annually. Part of StockX’s success is due to the popularity of streetwear and StockX’s creation of a trusted resale marketplace where goods are authenticated reducing the risk of counterfeit products or fraudulent payment. Most recently in 2001 StockX was valued at $3.8 billion.

2. The sneaker resale market is growing quickly. In 2019 it had an estimated market size of $6 billion and it is projected to grow to $30 billion by 2030. The fastest growing sneaker brands on StockX in 2022 were Saloman, Hoka and Rick Owens. The top traded silhouette on StockX in 2022 was the Nike Dunk Low. The top apparel brands on StockX in 2022 were Fear of God, Supreme and Nike.

3. A number of heavy weight investors have invested in StockX including GV (formerly known as Google Ventures) and Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce. 

4. With over 12 million lifetime buyers, over 40 million lifetime trades and over 1.5 million lifetime sellers on StockX, StockX is one of the largest resale marketplaces for sneakers in the world. 

5. In 2019 sneakers made up approximately 75% of the merchandise sold on StockX. StockX’s remaining sales go to other categories including handbags, streetwear, and watches. “There is a growing interest in “alternative assets,” such as fashion, art, gaming consoles and designer pieces, which can be used while appreciating in value over time,” said Deena Bahri, StockX’s chief marketing officer. “We also understand that as our consumer grows, the investment changes over time and many graduate to higher-priced items as they move onto the next job or decade in their lives,” “However, I wouldn’t say we’re trying to become a one stop-shop. Our North Star is to trade in culture, which is constantly changing among consumers. Our retention strategy is about constantly staying relevant to our core consumers. Ultimately, the goal is to continue blurring the line between resale and retail.”

6. The name StockX is meant to convey that StockX is a “stock market of things”, a marketplace where users buy and sell items like rare sneakers and luxury clothing. Similar to a stock market, goods on StockX are traded like commodities where product prices are determined by supply and demand.  

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7. StockX founder Josh Luber hopes that one day the static pricing found in retail stores will be eliminated and instead will be set based on supply and demand using dynamic pricing the way merchandise prices are determined on StockX. For example, a pair of Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1s retailed at $175 but sold for $800 on StockX.

8. StockX has a young customer base with 70% of its users under the age of 35. The platform is also very popular with Generation Z with approximately 60% of male Gen Zs reporting that they use the platform. But in recent years StockX has seen growth in the 45+ and female demographic segments.

9. One of StockX’s keys to success is its authentication process. After a sale is made on the platform the seller has to send the goods to one of StockX’s authentication centres before the goods are shipped to a buyer. The authentication centres ensure that merchandise is not counterfeit so that buyers do not get taken advantage of. “While we can’t give away all of the components of our ‘secret sauce,’ our authenticators are trained to go through, on average, 50 different checkpoints to determine authenticity and verify that a sneaker meets our deadstock condition standard,” said Derrick Register former VP of global operations at StockX. “The multi-step authentication process includes tactics such as box construction review to ensure the texture is correct or the tissue paper is the right color, product checks for stitching or gluing inconsistencies and verification of the font color and size tags and receipts, among many other things.”

10. StockX expanded its presence offline by opening its first ever physical store in New York City in 2019. “As primarily a web business, it’s great to be closer to our customers and engage with them. We’re excited to have New York as our first location” said Luber. StockX now has four locations.

11. 25% of the items sold on StockX are sold for less than retail price. This often happens when there is too much supply in retail stores and instead of waiting for the inventory to go on sale consumers can find what they are looking for on StockX.

12. StockX makes its money through transactions fees. Sellers are charged a 9% transaction fee which decreases as the seller sells more merchandise.

Tricia McKinnonTrends7 Comments