Being Human
Related Articles
If you are hunting for affordable or limited edition sneakers, you may have stumbled upon KicksCrew. The website seems to be offering sneakers at an affordable price. However, many have been scammed by sneaker websites, so they normally worry if KicksCrew can be trusted. Is KicksCrew legit?
KicksCrew is legitimate. It is a business with sustainable revenue, with solid policies to protect its customers. KicksCrew also has a large following on Instagram and generally has great reviews on Trustpilot. KicksCrew also has a meticulous process to authenticate every sneaker they sell, which helps with customer confidence.
In this article, we discuss if KicksCrew is a legitimate business, as well as how its business works. We also explore how they authenticate their sneakers to avoid fakes and discuss the pros and cons of purchasing sneakers from KicksCrew.
What Is KicksCrew?
KicksCrew is a Hong Kong-based online sneaker store focusing on selling extra inventory or overstock items from original manufacturers. It offers popular, collectible, and exclusive sneakers verified to be 100% original or your money back. It is looking to physically expand into the US.
Kickscrew is an online sneaker store based in Hong Kong, officially the Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Johnny Mak (CEO) and Ross Adrian Yip (COO) started KicksCrew in 2008 with the goal of making sneakers easier for everyone to buy.
At first, the Hong Kong-based company was a reselling business that worked with most direct-to-consumer platforms like Amazon, eBay, Tmall, and JD. As the company’s community and fanbase grew through the brand’s channels, the company switched to a direct-to-consumer model.
It launched its Shopify store in 2021, which led to exponential growth.
Kickscrew does not sell used items. Instead, they source and offer overstock and extra inventory of shoes from makers. Kickscrew guarantees their shoes to be 100% real, from legitimate retailers, or your money back.
Right now, Kickscrew has stores in Hong Kong and ships worldwide. Their flagship boutique is known as Asia’s biggest sneaker store. They also have many shops around Hong Kong, which is kind of like Asian pop shop.
You may find many kinds of sneakers, from everyday releases to rare collectibles and exclusives that are hard to find. There is also a wide selection of popular streetwear items.
A Forbes article about Kickscrew indicated that it is currently working on expanding its presence in the United States. A new headquarters and warehouse are planned for Los Angeles to give the company a domestic footprint in the US.
How Does KicksCrew Work?
Purchasing from KicksCrew is rather similar to buying from eCommerce sites. You select shoes and then make payment during checkout. KicksCrew will process and ship the shoes to you from Hong Kong by air, which will take 1-2 weeks. If unsatisfied with the shoes, you may request an exchange or a return.
You purchase shoes from KicksCrew, similar to purchasing from any online shop; go to their website, register an account, and browse their offerings.
You then indicate your size of choice by referring to their size guide; make payment during checkout, and KicksCrew will process your order. They do not offer layby or BNPL payment services (Buy Now, Pay Later).
KicksCrew ships worldwide from their stores in Hong Kong, which means it may take some time before the shoes reach you in the United States. KicksCrew commonly ships the shoes by air, using tracked shipping. The shipping fee is added on top of your purchase and is not included in the shoe price.
This means you should be able to track your package’s journey from Hong Kong to you. You should receive your package around 10-15 working days if all goes well. As of now, KicksCrew may be using either one of these courier services depending on your location:
- Aramex
- UPS
- DPEX
- FedEx
- DHL
- SF Express
- SpeedPost (EMS)
If you are not satisfied with the shoes, KicksCrew does have a rather strict return policy. You have 7 days to request a return, and KicksCrew refunds 85% of what you paid, with a 15% deduction as a ‘processing fee.’ You also need to foot for the product’s shipping back to KicksCrew.
Suppose you would like to exchange your shoes. In that case, you may also do so within 7 days of package arrival, provided that the verification tag from KicksCrew on the sneaker is still intact. You may need to foot the returning and reshipping fee. These rules are fair and minimize the losses on both the customer’s and KicksCrew’s part.
How Do KicksCrew Authenticate Sneakers?
KicksCrew authenticates its shoes by purchasing stocks only from original retailers. They then check every pair of shoes using a verification checklist of over 100+ items. Every pair also comes with an RFID tag that traces the shoes back to their original retailer. Once verified, every shoe receives a physical verification tag.
KicksCrew checks and authenticates every pair of shoes with an in-house professional team. Their work is backed up with the help of artificial intelligence technology, such as machine learning. They detail their verification process on their website.
Legitimate Source
KicksCrew only buys overstock of extra inventory from verified brand retailers and high-end boutiques worldwide. This policy alone greatly increases the authenticity of their products.
Verification Checklist with 100+ items
KicksCrew’s own professional in-house team will not start to verify the authenticity of the shoes, pair by pair. The verification is done using a checklist of over 100+ items. The checklist includes inspection on areas such as:
- Box
- Material
- Color
- Stitching
- Tag
- Size
- Any visible defects, e.g., scratches, oxidation, stains, or dirt
- Packaging
- Accessories
- And many more.
Shoes that pass the checklist will be tagged with KicksCrew’s verification tag. This means the shoes have been inspected. If you receive your shoes with the tag still intact, it also means that no tampering has been done to the shoe after it has been inspected.
100% Boxfresh Packaging
KicksCrew also inspect and ensures that the shoes come 100% Boxfresh. This means the shoes come with all the original packaging, accessories, and additional items as if they come straight from the shoemaker.
RFID Tag
Every pair of KicksCrew’s shoes comes with an RFID tag, which allows you to track the shoes’ origin back to their original retailer. This is similar to how you can trace Japanese Wagyu beef’s authenticity and proves that KicksCrew only sells genuine shoes from genuine retailers.
Is KicksCrew Legit?
KicksCrew is a legitimate business. It is a registered business entity in Hong Kong and has a legitimate revenue source. KicksCrew also has a strong Instagram presence, positive Trustpilot, and an influencer review on Youtube. It also takes the verification process of its shoes very seriously.
Strong Instagram Presence
KicksCrew has a very strong Instagram presence, with over 1 million followers. It takes some time to reach such a number of followers, which means KicksCrew should have been around for a long time and performing at high standards to achieve such a number of followers.
When you look into their posts, they generate thousands of likes, loves, and comments, which means the high number of followers is likely not fake.
Legitimate Revenue Source
Scams often rely on an unsustainable method of generating revenue, relying on a Ponzi-like revenue system. In a Ponzi system, companies use money from new customers to pay for older customers. These entities eventually collapse, leaving the masterminds rich and the victims out of their money.
Although KicksCrew does not announce its balance statement, it makes money legitimately. It does this by sourcing overstock and extra inventory at a lower price and then selling it on its website for a profit. It is a classic, predictable and legitimate way to operate a business.
Positive Trustpilot Reviews
One of the best ways to check a business’s trustworthiness is to look at reviews made by its customers. One of the best way to check customer review for a business is through websites such as Trustpilot.
When looking at KicksCrew’s Trustpilot rating, the overall review point is 3.9 out of 5. About ⅔ of the review is 5*, while up to ⅕ is 1*. This is a little higher than usual, but it is good that KicksCrew responds fast to 1-star comments and tries to work with their customers to resolve their issues.
Positive Influencer Reviews
If you look at KicksCrew’s presence online, you may notice it is very well reviewed by sneaker influencers on many platforms, be it Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. The reviews are generally positive and help to lend credence to KicksCrew’s business as legitimate.
Strict Verification Process
KicksCrew authenticates its shoes by purchasing stocks only from original retailers. They then check every pair of shoes using a verification checklist of over 100+ items.
Every pair also comes with an RFID tag that traces the shoes back to their original retailer. Once verified, every shoe receives a physical verification tag. Such a process helps to lend credence to KicksCrew’s business and helps it to be more legitimate.
You May Like These Articles As Well:
