Journal
Deadstock, VNDS and why the box label matters
The sneaker vocabulary, and the one thing we check before anything else.
Deadstock means unworn, with the original box. VNDS, very near deadstock, means tried on or worn once, with no visible wear. Used is everything else, and the report says how much.
The box label
The label on the box carries the style code, the size and the colourway. It has to match the shoe. A missing or swapped label does not make a shoe fake, but it does make it worth less, and we grade and describe it that way.
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More from the journal
Buying signed jewelry at auction
Signatures, numbers, hallmarks and lab reports: how a jewel earns the word 'signed' in our catalogue.
Graded cards: the slab, the grade and the population
What PSA 10 means, why the population report matters, and how we photograph a slab so you can check it yourself.
Hermès leathers and the blind stamp
Togo, Clemence, Epsom and Swift, and how the small stamp inside the bag dates it to the year.