As the worldwide marketplace for secondhand luxurious objects surges, authentication has turn into the defining issue separating credible platforms from the remaining.
The resale marketplace for trend and luxurious objects is increasing at an annual charge of 10%, 3 times quicker than the firsthand market, in line 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 right this moment.
With extra buyers shopping for pre-owned designer manufacturers, belief has turn into paramount. “As counterfeit manufacturing turns into more and more refined, even luxurious manufacturers themselves generally fail to detect fakes, in some instances, unknowingly repairing counterfeit objects,” mentioned Jaewha Choi, CEO of South Korean on-line market Bunjang.
Horror tales abound on-line of individuals paying hundreds for faux Hermès luggage or a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches with swapped elements. 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
Nonetheless, because the resale market expands, authentication has turn into a rising concern. The secondhand business has lengthy operated beneath the rule of “caveat emptor,” or purchaser beware.
To counter more and more reasonable “superfakes,” resale platforms are pouring assets into verification. Singapore-based on-line market Carousell opened its first brick-and-mortar retailer for luxurious objects in downtown Singapore this yr, permitting sellers to have their objects graded by one of many firm’s appraisers earlier than itemizing them for resale.
The verification crew inspects not solely the fabric of a bag but in addition particulars like stitching and stamping, Tresor Tan, Director of Gross sales, Advertising and Consumer Relations at Carousell Luxurious, informed CNBC.
“On the finish of the day, it is our popularity at stake as properly,” Tan mentioned. “And due to that confidence, we additionally supply our consumers a money-back assure on authenticity.”
The corporate has constructed a proprietary database overlaying virtually 500 product kinds, and higher-valued objects undergo a number of checks. In instances the place the authenticity is unsure, the objects is not going to be listed, Tan mentioned.
South Korea’s Bunjang has additionally adopted in the identical vein, growing its personal proprietary authentication system that mixes conventional visible inspections with scientific gear and synthetic intelligence “educated on tons of of hundreds of knowledge factors,” Choi informed CNBC.
Bunjang claims a 99.9% authentication accuracy charge in figuring out real items, and its verification system can constantly be taught 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 whole 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 posh section has seen “very sturdy curiosity” and has recorded “nice development.”
This development that started with Carousell’s 2012 launch as a web based platform ultimately 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 gives a money-back assure for its merchandise. Tan mentioned that whereas costs might not all the time be the bottom out there, the shop goals to supply “truthful worth.”
“We could also be, say, $200 dearer than what another person is providing, however [consumers] will nonetheless in the end weigh the totally different choices for $200 financial savings,” she mentioned. “Am I higher off with a little bit of assurance?”
Subsequent wave of luxurious shoppers
Affordability is the highest cause for getting secondhand luxurious objects, cited by 80% of respondents, in line with BCG’s report.
But it surely’s not nearly saving cash. Buyers are more and more drawn to uncommon or discontinued collections which can be not available 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 folks interact with trend right this moment,” Virk mentioned.
Youthful buyers, with their restricted spending energy, favor to purchase, take pleasure in and rapidly resell objects, Bunjang’s Choi mentioned.
“This exceptional development displays a elementary shift in how Millennials and Gen Z, the following wave of luxurious shoppers, understand and interact with luxurious items.”
