How to spot fake sneakers and buy safely online

Counterfeiters focus on models with high demand and high resale value. These include above all the Air Jordan 1 and 4, Nike Dunk, Air Force 1, Yeezy models, New Balance 550 and 2002R, and limited collaborations. Current trend models such as the adidas Samba or Gazelle also increasingly turn up as fakes as soon as they become scarce. Classic standard models in basic colours are less affected, because the price gap to the original is small.

The quality of fakes ranges from obviously poor to surprisingly close to the original. That's why it pays to combine several checks rather than relying on a single detail.

A limited model offered well below the usual market price is the most important warning sign. Retailers and private sellers know the value of sought-after sneakers very well – genuine bargains on popular colourways are rare. Compare the price with other offers and with the price history. For standard models, on the other hand, discounts are normal and no cause for concern.

Conversely, a high price doesn't automatically protect you from fakes. High-quality copies in particular are deliberately priced just below the market price to make the offer look credible. The price is therefore a filter to make you pay attention – the real check is done via the seller, the photos and the details. Be especially careful if a seller puts you under time pressure, for example by mentioning lots of other interested buyers.

Don't just look at the shoe – look at who is selling it and how the listing is worded:

Every Nike, Jordan and adidas sneaker has a style code – at Nike in a format such as "DD1391-100", at adidas usually two letters and four digits such as "B75806". It appears on the inside label in the tongue and on the sticker on the box. Both must match, and the code must match the colourway. A quick search for the code shows you what the original looks like.

Also look for clean printing on the label, a plausible production date and the same size on both label and box. Counterfeiters often use the same code for several colourways or print labels with blurry lettering.

Once you have the shoe in your hands, workmanship details help. Originals have even stitching without loose threads, clean glue edges and materials that suit the model – suede feels soft and has a nap, smooth leather smells of leather. A strong chemical or glue smell is a warning sign, but not proof on its own. With many Jordan and Dunk models, fakes also differ in details such as the heel shape, the height of the toe box or the position of the Swoosh.

Compare the shoe with high-resolution photos from official sources. Differences in proportions often stand out faster in a direct comparison than individual details.

Choose a payment method with buyer protection, such as PayPal Goods and Services (not "Friends and Family"), a credit card or a marketplace's own checkout. Bank transfers abroad or payments by gift card offer practically no protection. On eBay, many higher-priced sneakers go through an authenticity check by independent inspectors before the shoe is sent to you; whether this applies to an offer is stated directly in the item description.

If you buy from a commercial retailer in Germany, you have a 14-day right of withdrawal and the statutory warranty. If a shoe sold as genuine turns out to be fake, that counts as a defect – you can withdraw from the purchase. With private sales, the warranty is often excluded, but fraudulent misrepresentation can still be challenged.

If you order from outside the EU, customs carries out random checks on parcels. Counterfeit branded goods can be seized and destroyed – and the money you paid is then usually lost.

Act quickly and document everything:

We show offers from several sources and can't physically inspect every shoe. We filter offers with clear red-flag terms such as "Replica" or altered spellings of it out of our topic pages. Used goods are hidden by default. Even so: for sought-after models, always check the seller, photos and style code yourself before you buy.

Besides counterfeit shoes, there are entire fake shops that never deliver at all. Typical signs are professional-looking sites with extremely low prices on sought-after models, often promoted through social media ads. Warning signs include a missing or incomplete legal notice (Impressum), payment in advance as the only option, newly registered domains with unusual endings and reviews that can only be found on the shop's own site.

Germany's consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentralen) offer a fake-shop finder that lets you check a shop's address before you buy. If in doubt, buy from well-known retailers or directly from the brand, even if the price is a little higher.

For limited models, there's often no way around resale platforms and marketplaces. Platforms with their own authentication first send the shoe to an inspection centre before shipping it to you. This reduces the risk considerably, but doesn't replace your own check when unboxing. Read the terms carefully: some platforms rule out returns for change of mind once authenticity has been confirmed.

With private classified ads, collect in person where possible and check the shoe on the spot. Don't agree to payments outside the platform, even if the seller offers a discount for it.

Some sellers include certificates of authenticity or proof of purchase. A receipt from an official retailer with a matching date, model and size is a good indication. Self-issued certificates without a verifiable inspection body, on the other hand, carry little weight, as they're just as easy to fake as the shoe. If in doubt, ask who carried out the check and verify that the organisation actually exists.

Go through these points before you click "Buy" on a sought-after model: