New initiative to stamp out fake sneakers as counterfeits rise

For Justin Michael, it was when he took $50 and painted up a pair of Nike Air Max.

"Combining my passion for sneakers and art, the community quickly became my safe place," he said.

"For the sneaker community, a shoe is more than just a shoe. It's a passion and a home.

"There's something amazing about sneakers bringing people together by showing how they may have gotten hold of a rare sneaker but are still chasing after it."

Now, his collection includes hundreds of shoes worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Mr Michael is part of a growing community of sneaker lovers in Australia.

Google search data shows a four times increase in searches for sneakers across the past decade.

There's big money in this for sellers. In January last year, a pair of Nike SB Dunk Low What The Dunk 2007 sneakers sold for $11,168. In June last year, A pair of Nike LeBron 18 Low x Mimi Plange Higher Learning sneakers sold for $12,424.

These prices have attracted droves of counterfeiters to the online space.

Over 112,000 counterfeit items, with an estimated value of almost $40 million, were seized by the Australian Border Force (ABF) in the 2023 financial year.

Now, Mr Michael is teaming up with eBay Australia as a "sneaker authenticator" in an attempt to prevent dodgy operators from taking advantage of customers.

"Especially when purchasing high-end sneakers, you want to know you are buying the real thing and getting what you paid for," he said.

"Genuine kicks that are manufactured by the brands you love are generally much higher quality and will last you longer. You can often tell when someone is wearing a fake by the poor quality of the shoe manufacturing.

"A lot of sneakers we see in the centre are rare or collectable and we want to preserve that special moment someone has when opening their fresh kicks for the first time, knowing they are authentic."

Mr Michael and colleagues will verify all sneakers sold for over $150 on eBay to stamp out the fakes.

He said this gives sneakerheads more time to think about what's on trend, and less about who they buy from.

"Right now, we're seeing brands like On Running, Salomon and ASICS popular right now with the GORPcore trend ahead of the Summer adventure season," he said.

"The Crocs x Shrek collab is very hot at the moment, can't say I am copping a pair myself but each to their own."

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