For every size and colourway combination, there’s one specific code.
For instance:
There is one certain barcode for Pharrell Williams NMD, red colourway, in the US10 size.
Then, there’s another one barcode for the same Pharrell Williams NMD, red colourway, in the US11 size.
And so on. All these numbers are unique.
Think of it this way: Fake manufacturers will not waste time and money (especially money) on buying every single size of the shoe they replicate.
They would do that if they would want to geet this unique code right for every fake they produce.
What they do, in fact, is they probably buy a few authentic pairs…
And focus on the shoe rather than the box.
At the end of the day, people wear the product, not the box.
How do we authenticate through the barcode test, then?
→ We will be checking whether our barcode matches other authentic barcode labels on the market.
We’ll explain below how to do that easily.
This will always be reliable
I don’t think the barcode will ever be right on the fakes, as there’s no point for fake manufacturers to invest time and money in this extra small detail.
If anything, this serial number is the last 0.5% in the process of perfectly replicating authentic shoes.
Sometimes, though, the barcode is correct on the fake shoe box.
Aa broken clock is right twice a day.
If the fake manufacturers bought a retail US9.5, the replica US9.5 will have the correct code.
But the rest of the size run will not.
What our barcode scan function does is it generates a Google search for the UPC/EAN product code.
Here’s where the reader has to judge:
If there are some or a lot of confirmations on Google for that code (thus, the size-colourway combination), the box is authentic.
However, it doesn’t mean the shoe is definitely legit.
Anything is possible, including a scammer taking the original box and swapping them with fake shoes.
There are also some other points on the checklist that need to be verified — see our app for the curated library.
Want the expert's advice? Let us legit check for you.
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About the Author
Ch Daniel is the co-founder and co-CEO of Legit Check By Ch, one of the world's leading companies in product authentications. Daniel's experience: 8+ years in the luxury industry, 7+ years in the authentication industry, 10+ years of business development. Currently, Daniel is overseeing the development of new products of Legit Check By Ch.