EBAY ACQUIRES SNEAKER CON AUTHENTICATION BUSINESS

eBay has bought the sneaker-authentication business branch of Sneaker Con Digital for an undisclosed amount the online commerce giant announced today.

The acquisition is an extension of the ongoing collaboration between eBay and Sneaker Con, which has been critical to powering eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee. The service, which eBay launched in October 2020, offers full vetting and verification of select sneakers bought on the marketplace by a team of Sneaker Con’s industry experts. The Authenticity Guarantee has led to quarter over quarter category growth on eBay. In just over a year, more than 1.55 million sneakers have been authenticated globally on the site. 

“eBay has always been a vibrant community of enthusiasts, with deeply knowledgeable buyers, sellers and employees,” said Jordan Sweetnam, SVP and General Manager of eBay North America. “We partnered with Sneaker Con to launch sneaker authentication on eBay last year because the team shared our passion for the category – with best-in-class capabilities to deliver what our customers want most. The response to our authentication offering has been overwhelming, and this acquisition allows us to continue to transform eBay and bring a higher level of trust and confidence to every transaction.” 

Conceived in 2009, Sneaker Con has cultivated a global community of sneaker enthusiasts through its events, where people gather to buy, sell and trade footwear. Sneaker Con launched its authentication business in 2018 to complement the events business and provide authentication services to further support the sneaker community.

Sneaker Con’s events business is not part of the transaction, which closed on November 24, 2021.

eBay was founded in 1995. It had more than $85 billion of gross merchandise volume in 2020.