这是一个卖二手运动鞋的网站，最近刚成为独角兽

StockX将自己的风格定义为“物品的股市”。在7月完成C轮融资后，其价值已经达到10亿美元。现在，已经成为独角兽公司的StockX一共筹集到了1.6亿美元资金。它的投资者同样投资于新百伦和斯凯奇等公司，而让这些投资者挠头的一个问题就是“StockX是什么？”

StockX成立于2015年，创始人是约什·鲁伯和亿万富翁、Quicken Loans董事长丹·吉尔伯特。它的名字完全借用了华尔街术语，业务则是转售运动鞋、潮牌产品、手提包和腕表。买家对某一特定商品“出价”，卖家则设定“卖价”，同时显示的还有每一年的最高和最低价。当一件商品的“出价”和“卖价”一致时，就会自动触发交易。

StockX是一个交换场所，投机者可以在这里检验物品真伪。但随着这家公司的成长，它需要强化检验能力。目前这个过程基本靠手——StockX上的投机者用数十种标准来鉴别假货，包括产品包装、针脚，甚至是味道，他们还会通过短信来提醒其他投机者。山寨运动鞋制造商一直在改进和调整工艺，而承诺验明产品的公司和越发逼真的山寨货卖家的这场猫鼠游戏也将继续下去。

二手运动鞋市场目前每年的价值为20亿美元。StockX尽管拥有最大的规模，但不是唯一的参与者——Goat、Grailed和Kixify等公司也都推出了类似的交易平台和鉴别服务。但要说到给最热门的运动鞋打分以及库存问题，StockX则是当下的领跑者。（财富中文网）

本文另一版本登载于《财富》杂志2019年8月刊，标题为《10亿美元的运动鞋帝国》。

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

StockX, the company styling itself as the “Stock Market of Things,” is worth $1 billion after its latest ¬Series C round, which closed in July. Now that it’s a “unicorn,” with a total of $160 million raised, the company has investors in New Balance and Skechers alike scratching their heads, wondering “What is StockX?”

Cofounded in 2015 by Josh Luber and Quicken Loans billionaire Dan Gilbert, StockX has fully appropriated Wall Street lingo to resell sneakers, streetwear, handbags, and wristwatches. Buyers place “bids” on specific items, sellers set “ask” prices, and historical highs and lows are shown in 52-week increments. Purchases are automatically triggered when a “bid” and “ask” are aligned for a specific product.

StockX serves as a clearinghouse, with inspectors on staff to verify the authenticity of the item. But as the company grows, it will need to ramp up its verification efforts. Currently, this process is largely by touch, as StockX inspectors identify fakes using dozens of parameters, including product packaging, stitching, and even smell, alerting other inspectors via text message. Manufacturers of fake sneakers are constantly improving and adjusting their processes, and this cat-and-mouse game will continue to be played by companies promising to verify products and those selling increasingly passable fakes.

The sneaker resale market is currently worth $2 billion per year, and though it is the largest player, StockX is not alone in pursuing it. Other companies, such as Goat, Grailed, and Kixify, all offer similar marketplace and verification services. But when it comes to scoring the hottest sneakers, inventory matters, and right now, StockX is leading the pack.

A version of this article appears in the August 2019 issue of Fortune with the headline “The Billion-Dollar Sneaker Empire.”