Tech startup wants to eradicate fraud in the secondary luxury goods market

London-based tech company uses an algorithm to provide valuation methods for pre-owned luxury goods.

With the secondary market for luxury goods expected to be worth 2.75 billion GBP by 2025, Verado’s launch earlier this year might come as good news for buyers and sellers in the space. Verado is a verification technology expert. It is also an online platform that enables people to buy and sell authentic, high-quality, pre-owned luxury goods at the best price.

Its proprietary technology analyses hundreds of thousands of data points from across the web. It then uses its own database of historical transactions to provide in-depth, dynamic market insight. This enables the company to formulate the most competitive listing price for items, without guesswork. It’s a unique model in that its competitors — online and offline second-hand watch and luxury goods dealers — still use manual valuation techniques. However, this can be prone to human bias and unable to dynamically reflect changes in the market. Verado’s algorithm-driven method gives sellers the means to list their item on its platform at the most lucrative level. Additionally, it gives buyers the peace of mind that they’re getting a great deal.

Without a showroom or commission-incentivised salespeople, Verado is also able to provide listing prices free from markups (for buyers) and markdowns (for sellers). Instead, the company charges a transparent fee of between 0 and 5 percent of the final purchase price to the seller. To cover the cost of professionally authenticating purchases through its inspection process, up to 10 percent of the final selling price is charged to the buyer. This pricing structure enables both sellers and buyers to save around 10-20 percent when they trade through Verado.

Takeaway: Consumers want to feel confident that they’re selling and buying cost-effectively without having to shop around for the best deal. We have already seen a device that can spot fake luxury goods, and a blockchain system that stores diamond IDs to prevent against fraud. What other solution could help customers trust the origin of the products they buy?