eBay Australia has expanded its sneaker Authenticity Guarantee service to youth sneaker sizes.
Since launching the service in 2021, eBay's Sneaker Con authenticators have verified 1.5 million pairs of sneakers globally.
Recognising the growing market, eBay has expanded the service to smaller youth sizes across brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Reebok, Puma and Converse.
eBay Australia senior manager, authentication and collectibles Alaister Low said the expansion may make it easier for adults to get their hands on popular styles.
"We’re really excited to roll out Authenticity Guarantee to youth sizes so sneakerheads big and small can get in on the action.
"Youth (Y) sizes or Grade School models (GS) aren’t just for kids.
"Adults who wear a US women's size 8.5 or smaller may be surprised to know they can cop their favourite styles like Air Jordans for less with youth sizes often cheaper than their adult counterparts.
"New sneaker drops sell out quickly and youth sizes are also usually more readily available for people that want the latest styles but miss out on popular adult sizes.
"As a guide, buyers can find their youth size by subtracting 1.5 from their US women's size," he said.
The expansion of the service to youth sizes comes after the business recently welcomed luxury brands Gucci, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton to the service.
Sneakers authenticated by the service have various aspects of the shoe assessed including logo placement, stitching and even undergo a ‘sniff test’.
Genuine pairs are then shipped to the buyer with a unique eBay NFC (near field communication) tag containing an encrypted digital authentication certificate.