The year 2022 was marked by a legal battle between two giants: Nike, the American manufacturer of sports shoes and clothing, and StockX, the famous sneaker resale platform. Nike filed a lawsuit against StockX, accusing the platform of selling counterfeit shoes and having a faulty authentication process. Recently, court documents revealed that 38 pairs of fake Air Jordan 1s were sold to a reseller through StockX.
According to a report from Nice Kicks, influential Twitter account @Sockjig shared exclusive information about the Nike x StockX deal. The affected collector/reseller allegedly purchased a large number of Air Jordan 1 University Blue, Mocha and Hyper Royal on StockX when market prices were down, with the intention of holding on to them and reselling them later. Of the shoes purchased, 38 turned out to be counterfeits. Court documents show that StockX had nevertheless approved the authenticity of the shoes in question.
Exclusive: I spoke to the collector/reseller involved in the Nike x StockX case.
— sockjig (@sockjig) March 17, 2023
He bought many University Blue, Mocha, and Hyper Royal Jordan 1s on StockX when the market price had dropped with the intention of holding and flipping later. 38 of them were fake. pic.twitter.com/UFwcLy9S1X
Since the November 2022 scandal, StockX has removed the term "authenticated" from its pages. Following the discovery of the 38 pairs of fake Air Jordan 1s, Nike representatives met with the retailer in July to verify the allegations. The customer ultimately returned all counterfeit pairs to StockX and received a full refund.
StockX's current policy does not allow returns, exchanges or swaps once an order has been placed. However, customers can still resell the items on the platform if they change their mind. Following Nike's allegations of selling counterfeits, StockX issued a statement defending its commitment to protecting customers and combating the proliferation of counterfeit products.
StockX denied Nike's accusations and pointed out that many Nike employees, including senior executives, use the platform to buy and sell products. The dispute between the two companies continues, highlighting the challenges global markets face in ensuring the authenticity of branded products.
