Fake Fridays: Sneaker_Junk.ZA
It’s Friday so that means we are taking a look at a new scam store, this week back to the Instagram scammers. Enter: Sneakers_Junk.ZA. Yes, that’s their name and they live up to it.
With a decent following of over 15k followers on Instagram, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking the store was legit. They definitely try to trick you into thinking that. They state in bold text “Authentic sneakers” with ‘Verified’ right underneath. Taking a closer look at the products and the prices they offer, you’ll soon learn authentic and verified are two words that should not be used in the same sentence as Sneaker Junk ZA.
While the photos might look legit, they aren’t photos of the stock this fake store deliver. All these photos are stolen from authentic sellers and influencers, so they can get your money with a “legit looking” photo and then ship you a bad fake. And if you ask for a refund? Tough luck, Sneaker Junk states NO REFUNDS in their bio. And if you want to go to their page and warn others via their comment section? No luck either, they have disabled all comments on any of their posts. This means that no negative information can ever spread on their profile, allowing new victims to be tricked everyday. No refunds and no comment section are other big hallmarks of fake stores and some of the biggest red flags there are. How could a page with 15k followers have no comments on their profile?
Due to the fact that Sneaker Junk only take EFT payments and orders via WhatsApp, there is no way to get refunded. Any money sent to them is the store's forever, whether they deliver a fake or don’t deliver anything at all. They do state they offer exchanges if you aren’t happy, but they only offer other fake products they stock. So if you think you’ve been sent a fake and ask for an exchange, you’ll just get sent another fake in a different model or colourway.
Let’s take a look at some examples. How about some Jordan 4 UNCs for R1600. If that’s not a good enough deal, how about 2 pairs for R2500? These laughable prices really are so far from reality we don’t know how they get away with it. When they the AJ4s UNC dropped they retailed for R3500 if you could get your hands on one. And due to the low supply and high demand, they resell for around R7500 today. So how can Sneaker_Junk.ZA sell 2 legit pairs for less than a real one retailed for? They can’t. If they were real, they would sell them for as much as possible. If real, they also wouldn’t have unlimited supply and be able to offer a ridiculous bulk deal.
Next, the extremely popular Air Max 1 Patta. These dropped at the end of the year for R3k retail (you may remember photos of the crowds at the raffles in JHB and CPT). The hype was real. Pairs were extremely hard to get. And those that did and wanted to flip them, could for around R7k+. And then you have Sneaker Junk offering them for R1600, almost half of retail and a quarter of the market value. The more you scroll, the more obvious fake prices you see. Every post is pushing fake sneakers. Below retail for a hyped pair = RED FLAG. Bulk deals on hyped releases = RED FLAG.
If you were doubting whether Sneaker Junk will actually deliver anything after you give them your hard earned cash, they try to win you over with photos and videos of courier packets being booked out. These could prove that they do deliver some products and we haven’t seen any reports that they ghost you completely after you pay. That being said, the product in these packets is most definitely Fugazi. Real stores also ship sneakers in another box to protect the shoe box, they don’t just throw it in a courier bag and call it a day. Another big red flag.
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There is no reason for a store to disable their comments on all of their posts. It is done to hide any unhappy customers that could scare of potential new victims. If a store was proud of the service they offer, they would allow people to let the public know via their comments section. No comments and a lot of followers should always be a concern.