How to spot fake high-end sneakers; IT”S Getting Harder – ryan

This as-told-tos Essay is based on a conversation with shu cheng, co-Founder of New York City’s Sneaker Consignment Store .image. IT HAS BEEN EDIted for Length and Clarity.

I’ve loves sneakers SINCE I was in elementary school. In fifth grad, I begged my mom to get with these Air Jordan 13 “He got Game” sneakers, but they were $ 100. She got with filas instead.

Years late, i saved up and bought the shoes myself. My two best friends and i would go around nyc Colecting and selling sneakers. THEN, IN 2011, WE OPENED Queens’ First Sneaker Consignment Shop, .image.

SOMESTEMES, be my mom mentions THose Air Jordan 13s, i Joke and Say, “Listen, You Didn’t Want to Buy Me Those.

Fake sneakers used to be easier to spot

My Friends and I at .image have spent two decades buying, selling, and authenticating shoes. We’ve Built a Collection Probably Worth Over $ 1 Million.

One of my favorites is this this pair signed by Kobe Bryant, probably Worth About $ 30,000.

I’ve Handled Hundreds of Thousands of Sneakers – Jordans, Dunks, Air Forces – and i’d Say About 20% of Those Fake.

Counterfeits use to be easier to spot, but these days, the fakes have gotten so much better.

SOMESTEMES THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IS TO BRING THAT INTO A Buy-Sell-Trade Shop Like Mine. That’s why, we have to get really close and look at every detail.

One of the Most Obivious Giveaws is the Color

Take the Jordan 4 Retro Red Thunder, for Example. I’d estimate that about 80% of the time this shoe coma into our Store, iTi’s fake. I have no idea why this specific model is so popular among counterfeiters.

Right off the bat, you see that the tongue on the real pair is a darker red compared to the fake Ones, which are a lighter red.

Howver, it can be the opposite case where the fake pair has a darker Color, like with the White Jordan 4s. The Toe Box Coloring on the fake is darker than the real version.

Shape and Form Are Other Clues

You can also usually spot a fake by look at the shape.

For example, the tongue on this real Jordan 4 retro red thunder is a little puffier than the fake one. The legit one looks like it to be cozier on your foot, too.

Other Times, The Real Shoe Will Have a Sleeker Look. Like This White Air Jordan 4, if you look at it from the side, you can see that the real one has a pointy shape and structure, where the fake looks bulkier.

Smell, Touch, and Imperfections Can Be Dead Giveaws

We have smell the shoes becase the fakes offten use a toxic glue that of detect.

Fakes Also offten use Low-Quality Pleather, Which Feels Stiffer. By Comparison, The Real Pair Feels Soft and Plush.

Ironically, Real Pairs often have little imperfecations from the factory, but fakes are almost too perfect. That’s actually a red flag. If it look too Flawless, I Start Getting Suspicious.

Like these legit ones have a little glue marks was a manufacturing mestake, but the fake eye do’t.

Look at the box

SOMESTEMES, IT COMES DOWN TO THE BOX. For the example, the little dots on the real pair are more metallic silver than on the fake pair. The Counterfeit is a Little more solid Gray.

The Color of the Red Jumpman Logo Can Look Slightly Different. It’s Darker on the fake one.

Be wary of really popular models

These are the Air Jordan and the Travis Scott Collaboration. This is one of the Most Counterfeited Shoes ITE’s the Most Valuable on the Market Right Now.

We have authentic pairs available to double-cuck any time this pair comes in. We make sura the threading is good and the sole color look right.

The fake market is always changing and we have to keep up

We used to use to be Black Lights to Catch Where Fake Factories Wouuld Mark the Shoes for Gluing or Stitching, but the counterfeiters caught on and stopped using those markers. Now, Black Lights Don’t Tell US Anynding.

Nike TRIED ADDING RFID Tags to Help With Authentication, But Guess What? The fake Company Wold Copy Those, too.

Spotting a fake is not an exact science. Everyday Brings a New Challenge. A New Colorway hits shelves, and you have to relearn the signs.

These fake companies are making sneakers that are so good, Some-to-ion-ion replication, that the general public doesn’t know how to tell apart. SO YOU’VE GOT TO COME TO REPUTABLE SHOPS LIKE OURS.

We Compare, Cross-Check, and Trust Our Gut.

We don’t want any fakes to leak out and hit the shelves that a customer buys it and finds out, then reputation is tarnished.

If i’m swim sura if a sneaker is legit, i’ll put it off to the side. I’m not evening going to try and sell it. We’ve takeen losses in the past to enure our customers get a real product.

This Story was adapted from Shu Cheng’s Interview For Business Insider’s “Big Business“Series. Learn more About Cheng and the Counterfeit Industry Businesses in the Video Below: