As the worldwide marketplace for secondhand luxurious gadgets surges, authentication has grow to be the defining issue separating credible platforms from the remainder.
The resale marketplace for style and luxurious gadgets is increasing at an annual fee of 10%, thrice sooner than the firsthand market, in keeping with a report launched Oct. 9 by Boston Consulting Group and luxurious resale platform Vestiaire Collective.
The report initiatives the worldwide resale market might attain as much as $360 billion by 2030, from about $210 billion in the present day.
With extra consumers shopping for pre-owned designer manufacturers, belief has grow to be paramount. “As counterfeit manufacturing turns into more and more subtle, even luxurious manufacturers themselves generally fail to detect fakes, in some instances, unknowingly repairing counterfeit gadgets,” mentioned Jaewha Choi, CEO of South Korean on-line market Bunjang.
Horror tales abound on-line of individuals paying hundreds for pretend Hermès luggage or a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches with swapped components. Some counterfeits are so convincing they’re dubbed “superfakes,” reportedly made with supplies from the identical leather-based suppliers as the unique manufacturers.
Purchaser beware
Nevertheless, because the resale market expands, authentication has grow to be a rising concern. The secondhand trade has lengthy operated underneath the rule of “caveat emptor,” or purchaser beware.
To counter more and more practical “superfakes,” resale platforms are pouring assets into verification. Singapore-based on-line market Carousell opened its first brick-and-mortar retailer for luxurious gadgets in downtown Singapore this yr, permitting sellers to have their gadgets graded by one of many firm’s appraisers earlier than itemizing them for resale.
The verification workforce inspects not solely the fabric of a bag but additionally particulars like stitching and stamping, Tresor Tan, Director of Gross sales, Advertising and Shopper Relations at Carousell Luxurious, informed CNBC.
“On the finish of the day, it is our repute at stake as properly,” Tan mentioned. “And due to that confidence, we additionally supply our patrons a money-back assure on authenticity.”
The corporate has constructed a proprietary database masking nearly 500 product types, and higher-valued gadgets undergo a number of checks. In instances the place the authenticity is doubtful, the gadgets is not going to be listed, Tan mentioned.
South Korea’s Bunjang has additionally adopted in the identical vein, creating its personal proprietary authentication system that mixes conventional visible inspections with scientific tools and synthetic intelligence “educated on a whole bunch of hundreds of information factors,” Choi informed CNBC.
Bunjang claims a 99.9% authentication accuracy fee in figuring out real items, and its verification system can constantly study and adapt to counterfeiting strategies by leveraging AI.
Belief fuels gross sales
Each Carousell and Bunjang mentioned verification has boosted enterprise.
Bunjang mentioned luxurious items now make up greater than 1 / 4 of its platform’s $1.1 billion in annual gross merchandise worth. Transactions and complete worth for luxurious items rose 30% yr on yr within the first half of 2025, Choi mentioned.
Carousell’s Tan didn’t disclose particular figures however mentioned the luxurious phase has seen “very sturdy curiosity” and has recorded “nice development.”
This development that started with Carousell’s 2012 launch as a web based platform finally led to the opening of its first bodily retailer.
“When somebody is shopping for and promoting a $100,000 watch on the platform, it undoubtedly catches our consideration,” she mentioned, saying that customers wished Carousell’s oversight in high-value transactions.
Together with its verification course of, the shop additionally affords a money-back assure for its merchandise. Tan mentioned that whereas costs could not all the time be the bottom available in the market, the shop goals to supply “truthful worth.”
“We could also be, say, $200 costlier than what another person is providing, however [consumers] will nonetheless in the end weigh the completely different choices for $200 financial savings,” she mentioned. “Am I higher off with a little bit of assurance?”
Subsequent wave of luxurious customers
Affordability is the highest cause for purchasing secondhand luxurious gadgets, cited by 80% of respondents, in keeping with BCG’s report.
But it surely’s not nearly saving cash. Consumers are more and more drawn to uncommon or discontinued collections which can be now not stocked in shops, Samantha Virk, Chief Advertising Officer and U.S. CEO of Vestiaire Collective, informed CNBC.
“These motivations are getting stronger throughout the board as in comparison with surveys in earlier years, exhibiting that secondhand procuring is changing into a deeply ingrained a part of how individuals interact with style in the present day,” Virk mentioned.
Youthful consumers, with their restricted spending energy, desire to purchase, get pleasure from and rapidly resell gadgets, Bunjang’s Choi mentioned.
“This outstanding development displays a basic shift in how Millennials and Gen Z, the subsequent wave of luxurious customers, understand and interact with luxurious items.”
