Luxury goods
Establish who you're dealing with before you meet, transact or grant access.
Watches, jewellery, designer pieces and collectibles move privately for sums that would buy a car. Authentication tells you about the object. ID Verified tells you who you're meeting, paying or shipping to, without telling you anything about authenticity or ownership.
✓ Trust Established
Mia is now a NoStranger.
You can now view the information Mia has chosen to share.
★★★★★ IDENTITY VERIFIED
Mia Alvarez
Approx. connection location: Wellington, NZ
Age
29
Gender
Female
First name
Mia
Last name
Alvarez
Identity Verified
These details were verified from a government-issued ID and checked against authoritative records, with a live face check confirming the person completing the verification matches the ID.
You only see what they chose to share. This code can't be used again.
The evidence
The counterfeit trade is measured in hundreds of billions
Published estimates from the OECD, EUIPO and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
USD 467bn
the estimated value of global trade in counterfeit goods in 2021, accounting for up to 2.3% of world trade, in the fourth joint OECD–EUIPO study published in May 2025.
OECD and EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025Top 3
handbags and wallets, watches and jewellery have been the leading commodities seized for intellectual property infringement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for three consecutive years, with an FY2023 seizure value of over $1.7 billion across those three categories at genuine retail prices.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, FY2023 IPR seizure statisticsThe distinction
Two entirely different questions get collapsed into one.
In a high-value private sale, there are always two things to establish: is this object what it claims to be, and is this person who they claim to be? They are unrelated, and answering one does not answer the other.
Authentication is well served. Brand service centres, independent authenticators, jewellers, auction houses and specialist grading services can assess a piece properly, and any serious deal should involve one of them.
Identity is where private deals stay improvised. Handles, forum reputations, photos in a chat and a plausible manner substitute for knowing who is on the other side, right up to the moment someone travels with a five-figure item in a bag.
NoStrangers does the identity half only. It cannot assess authenticity, provenance, condition or value, and it is not an escrow or insurance service.
Use both checks, from the people qualified to give them: an authenticator for the piece, ID Verified for the person. NoStrangers verifies the person, not the authenticity or ownership of the item.
How it works
How NoStrangers works in a high-value private sale
Before you travel, ship or transfer, and alongside authentication rather than instead of it.
Send a Trust Request
Once terms are agreed, send a unique code through the channel where you've been negotiating.
They verify and choose what to send back
The other person completes ID Verified, a live face check alongside their government-issued ID, and decides exactly what to return. A buyer may want the seller verified, a seller may want the buyer verified, and for a large sum both often do.
Then arrange inspection
Meet at a bank, dealer or jeweller for authentication and handover, with identity already settled.
✓ Trust Established
Mia is now a NoStranger.
You can now view the information Mia has chosen to share.
★★★★★ IDENTITY VERIFIED
Mia Alvarez
Approx. connection location: Wellington, NZ
Age
29
Gender
Female
First name
Mia
Last name
Alvarez
Identity Verified
These details were verified from a government-issued ID and checked against authoritative records, with a live face check confirming the person completing the verification matches the ID.
You only see what they chose to share. This code can't be used again.
Privacy
Verified, and discreet.
Only the match is shared. Your private information isn't. They don't see it. Neither do we.
Discretion is not a luxury in this market, it's a security requirement. Collectors have good reason not to broadcast their address, their holdings or their travel plans to prospective buyers.
Each person chooses what goes into their side of the Trust Request, and each sees only what the other chose to share. ID Verified does not mean exchanging identity documents with the other person, and it does not require you to disclose what you own.
More detail in our Privacy Policy.
When to use it
High-value moments worth verifying
A watch sale arranged privately
A five-figure piece, a buyer you met through a forum or group, and a meeting to arrange.
Jewellery viewed at home
Someone wants to see pieces in person, which means an address and a time.
Designer resale between individuals
A bag or garment sold directly, with payment requested before shipping.
Collectibles and memorabilia
Cards, coins, art, instruments or sneakers, traded within a community on reputation alone.
International shipping
You're posting something valuable to a person you'll never meet, in another country.
A buyer in a hurry
Urgency and unusual payment routes on a large sum are exactly when to slow down and verify.
Be clear
What a Trust Request establishes in a luxury transaction
The person, not the product. NoStrangers verifies who you're dealing with, not the authenticity or ownership of the item.
It can help you
- Establish that a live person completed the verification process.
- With ID Verified, establish who that person is, using government-issued identity documentation and a live face check.
- Let a buyer ask for the seller's ID Verified, a seller ask for the buyer's, or both verify each other before travel, payment or shipping.
- Sit alongside independent authentication as the identity half of your due diligence.
It doesn't
- Authenticate an item, or assess provenance, condition or value.
- Confirm ownership of the item, or that it is not stolen.
- Act as escrow, insurance or a payment protection service.
- Guarantee anyone's safety or honesty in a transaction.
FAQ
High-value sale verification questions
Does NoStrangers authenticate watches, handbags or jewellery?
No, and this distinction matters more here than anywhere else on the site. NoStrangers verifies people, not products. Authentication, provenance, valuation and condition are jobs for a qualified authenticator, brand service centre, jeweller or auction specialist.
Then what does verification actually give me in a luxury deal?
ID Verified. Before you travel with a watch worth more than your car, or invite someone to your home to view a collection, you can establish who the other person is, using government-issued identity documentation and a live face check, not just that they own the item or that it's genuine.
How should I combine the two checks?
Verify the person with a Trust Request, and verify the item with an independent authenticator. Deals go wrong in both directions: a genuine item sold by someone who isn't who they claim, and a real person selling something that isn't what they claim.
What about meeting to inspect a piece?
Verify beforehand, then meet somewhere sensible: a bank, a dealer's premises or a jeweller rather than a private address or a car park. Tell someone where you're going and when you expect to be back.
Is this useful for collectors selling between themselves?
Very. Collector communities run on reputation and long forum histories, which is a real form of trust but not an identity check. A Trust Request confirms the person behind the handle.
Do I have to reveal that I own valuable items?
No. Each person chooses what goes into their side of the request, and each sees only the other's selection. Verification is about identity, not an inventory of what you own.
Does a verified seller mean the item is genuine?
No. There is no connection between the two. A verified person can still be selling a counterfeit, mistakenly or deliberately, which is why independent authentication remains essential.
Related use cases
Verify the person. Authenticate the piece.
About 90 seconds for the identity half, before anyone travels with something valuable.