Is StockX legit? Yes, but bad reviews, controversy & questions abound

StockX is an online company that brings sellers and buyers together with an auction-like system.

The company acts as a middle-man. After a purchase is made, the seller ships the sold item to StockX for authentication.

If it passes authentication, the item is then shipped to the buyer and the seller receives the funds (minus fees).

Items sold through StockX often include high-end limited edition sneakers or other clothing. Handbags, watches, software, and other collectibles are also sold on the platform.

Is StockX Legit?

StockX is a legitimate (as in real) company.

It was founded in 2016. A story in the WSJ dated April 7, 2021, valued the company at $2.8 billion after a number of funding rounds, including $60 million of new investment in April, 2021.

Owler estimates that StockX has over 1000 employees and an annual revenue of $400 million.

StockX has a number of locations in the US and internationally. Its headquarters is in Detroit.

There’s been talk of an IPO.

But Is StockX Safe To Buy From?

When you asked if StockX was legit – you probably meant “is it safe to buy from?”

Consumer Press dug into reviews of StockX to find out:

On StockX’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile, consumers have giving StockX a rating of 1.15 out of 5 (lowest rating available: 1).

Users of Reviews.io have given StockX a rating of 1.30 out of 5 (lowest rating available: 1).

Users of TrustPilot have given StockX a rating of 3.5 of 5 (lowest rating available: 1).

Some sample reviews:

– Ordered a pair of sneakers and got them .. 3 days later get another pair and another charge .. I dont need two pairs of the same size and the same shoe .. customer service told me to put it back in their site to resell.. this is how they make their money .. found many unhappy customers that the same thing happened to.. scammers (Anthony B on BBB)

– Man! If no stars was a option if pick that. I work out of state and ordered the gamma 11 $675. I got a update from (shipping company) on the 17th of Oct saying “on the truck and out for delivery”. However, the package didn’t come that day. The next day the package says “potentially delayed” so I called and was told the hub was extremely backed up and my package would be delivered. Tuesday came no package, Wednesday I called again and (shipping company) opened an investigation to locate the package. Thursday, Friday came still nothing. Saturday when I called I was told the package was lost and was informed to contact stockx. Keep in mind the tracking still says “potentially delayed” at this point and contacting stockx… Let’s just say “good luck”. I reached out to stockx through text which is ridiculous and stockx opened an investigation and said through text they see where it says potentially delayed. The next day I woke up I got a message saying the package was delivered but was predated for the 18th. I called (shipping company) and contacted stockx immediately. Long story short stockx denied my claim keeping my money and still no shoes. I had to open a claim through my bank in order to get refunded. Stockx emailed me about the claim asking to remove the claim or my account would be suspended. My account is suspended and I’ll never shop on stockx again. Buyers beware of the 3 day rule stockx has in place. I’ve brought a ton of shoes off stockx and never thought this could happen to me. Customer service is everything and * failed miserably in this area. No way you can take someone’s money, no shoes received and think the customer will be satisfied. Save your money and find another platform to buy from. Not being able to speak to a live person when issues arise is extra frustrating (Jarell Payne on BBB)

– I ordered some Jordans from Stockx but when the order arrived the box was empty. So I basically bought air. How does something like this happen? Stockx doesnt have a number either which makes it worse. I cant believe they stole my shoes and sent the box only. It has to have been Stockx. (Bently W on BBB)

– StockX is a very deceiving company, I bought a pair of shoes as a Christmas gift, I was told the seller had two days to ship them, 6 days later I was told the seller had issues so they found a new seller. Now I have to play this waiting game all over again. If your seller can’t complete their sale then they should be banned from selling on your website. The buyers money should automatically be returned ASAP, instead of holding onto their money for multiple weeks while we wonder if our item will show up or not. (William Gallagly on TrustPilot)

– Other than the fact that these shoes are ridiculously over priced, the app is pretty good and easy to look around in, if you live in the UK please expect to wait over 3 to 4 weeks for your shoes (personal experience) (Carlos Roxo on TrustPilot)

– I think StockX is the best. They care enough to actually verify your purchase and that everything is included that should be. Shipping was faster than estimated. Great job guys (Tracy Hayes on TrustPilot)

– The worst, after buying a pair of sneakers from this website, I asked for a refund or exchange. They do not offer any help only to rebuy your sneakers for a lower price. Feeling like I have no choice anyway, I sent them the sneakers, few days after, they send me a email telling me they will charge me $15 to send me back the sneakers because the box was broken. I have pictures that the box was already broken when I received it with day and hours. This website is THE WORST. They is no costumer service to talk too that can clearly help. (Estelle Kania on Reviews.io)

– When i tried ordering on my laptop it said error occurred so then i tried on my phone and it worked. but now on my account in pending orders I see two pairs! how was did it go through two times when it fully said “error”!! i did not even get purchase confirmation emails! your virtual agent keeps asking me for a postal code and does not work !! please HELP! worst online shopping experience EVER (Arita on Reviews.io)

– I think the company is the worst I ever dealt with. My daughter ordered shoes for her birthday. Company delivered shoes to the wrong address and refused to give us our money back. Told us we had to file police reports and jump through all types of circus hoops when the only thing we did wrong was pick Stock X to order the shoes from. They wanted us to run around and do all the foot work that they themselves should have been doing since the fault was theirs and not ours. The knee slapper was when they told us to search around our neighborhood and look for the shoes. Lol. The company that delivered the shoes took a picture of them being dropped off for proof. The picture was the wrong address. Lol. We then went to the address to ask for the shoes back and it almost caused a huge problem between us and the family residing at the address because they had the shoes and didn’t want to give them back. Regardless, why should we have to go out and deal with that when we didn’t do anything wrong. How can you just drop a package off wherever you want, that somebody paid for, after you agreed to deliver to the address on file, then tell the customer to go around and look for it. $400 down the drain during a pandemic. I would never order from this company and would never suggest them to anybody. Ever. Finally when we got all the paperwork together they told us it was to late to be refunded any money. Lol. How is it to late to refund me my money for something you never delivered to me. Lol. Disgusting business ethics. Never, Ever , shop with this company. (Vince S. on BBB)

Of course, people are more likely to leave a negative review when they are unhappy than a positive review when everything goes well.

That said, in the reviews we surveyed, there were some common themes:

1) The Refund Policy:

StockX’s refund policy is that there are no refunds. They don’t offer or accept returns, exchanges or swaps. This is clearly stated on their FAQ.

If you don’t want or like what you received, their suggested solution is to resell the item though StockX.

Of course, that means you have to pay for it, ship it back to them at your cost, pay seller fees, and hope that it sells for enough to cover your costs.

2) Accidental Orders:

There are a disturbing number of buyers that say they placed an order and got an error message, so they tried again – and ended up with two orders.

And guess what, there are no refunds. Buyers that this happened to say they were billed twice, and that they were not able to reverse it or get the second purchase refunded.

3) Empty Boxes?

There are also a few reviews that say they received empty boxes, or did not receive anything, and were told to file a police report and a claim with the shipping company.

4) No Customer Support Number:

Most of StockX’s customer support is through a chat bot and some live chat. There is no phone support.

5) Even Regulars Had Issues:

A number of reviewers stated they had made previous purchases through StockX and initially liked them, but then ran into problems, were unable to resolve them through the company, and ended up leaving a negative review.

What does StockX have to say about these issues?

Well, nothing at all…

Consumer Press sent an email to StockX’s press contact asking about 1) the negative reviews, 2) what the most common misunderstandings new users of StockX had, 3) and what tips they have for new users to assure a satisfactory experience when buying through StockX.

StockX didn’t respond.

According to our email tracking program, the email was opened within two minutes of being sent, and was opened multiple times afterwards, but they never replied.

Data Breach Controversy

In 2019 StockX sent an email to users requesting that they reset their passwords due to “system updates”.

After questioning from journalists and users, StockX admitted that they had been alerted to “suspicious activity” on its site and said that’s why they asked users to reset their password.

But that wasn’t the whole truth…

After an investigation by TechCrunch, StockX finally admitted that the records of millions of its users had been hacked, exposing names, scrambled passwords, user profiles and other information.

According to InputMag, for months after the hack, numerous StockX users reported unauthorized purchases on their accounts.

InputMag said that StockX customers were frustrated in their attempts to resolve the unauthorized purchases, only able to reach the chat bot for customer service and being refused refunds.

The Big Question

How does a company with tons of negative reviews, poor customer service, and a history of attempting to mislead customers over a data breach – receive $60 million in new investment, have an estimated $400 million in annual revenue, and a valuation of $2.8 billion?

We’d love to know your thoughts – post them in on our comments section.