Most detection looks at what a listing says: the price, the photos, the description. Inventory signals look at what the seller does. A legitimate seller's stock moves the way real supply chains move: gradually, with restocks tied to plausible timelines. A counterfeit operation's stock moves the way fakes move: a new seller account lists thousands of units of a popular product overnight, because the factory shipped a container and the whole point is to sell through before anyone looks closely.
That contrast is the signal. Inventory velocity, how fast a seller's available stock appears, grows, and depletes, is one of the hardest things for counterfeiters to fake, because it is driven by their actual logistics. They cannot drip-feed stock the way a real distributor does without slowing the only thing their operation is optimized for: speed of sale.
The classic tell is the instant catalog: an account days or weeks old listing deep stock across dozens of SKUs, including products from unrelated brands. Real sellers build catalogs over time; counterfeit sellers deploy them. A new account with 5,000 units of your bestseller and 3,000 units of three competitors' bestsellers did not build that inventory through normal distribution.
Watch restock behavior too. Legitimate sellers restock in cycles and occasionally run out. Counterfeit sellers restock instantly and never seem to run dry, because the constraint is not supply but how fast the listing survives. A listing that jumps from "only 3 left" to 2,000 units overnight, repeatedly, is showing you a supply chain with no real warehouse behind it. Similarly, watch for synchronized stock moves across seller accounts: five accounts all gaining identical inventory on the same day is one operation wearing five names.
Depletion patterns carry information as well. A genuine viral product sells down in a curve. A counterfeit listing often sells in bursts tied to ad spend or review manipulation campaigns, then gets abandoned when the account is burned. Listings that go from thousands of units to zero and never restock, while a near-identical listing appears under a new seller name, are the lifecycle of a disposable counterfeit operation.
Marketplaces expose more inventory information than most brands use. Stock counts, "only X left" thresholds, seller tenure, and the age of the listing are all visible or inferable. Track them over time for your top SKUs: a simple weekly snapshot of which sellers list your products and at what quantities builds the baseline that makes anomalies visible. The anomaly is only obvious against a baseline.
Combine inventory signals with the other detection layers. A new seller with deep stock, a too-low price, and stock photos instead of originals is not three weak signals; it is one strong case. Inventory velocity is most powerful as a corroborating signal that turns "suspicious listing" into "documented operation," which is the threshold where enforcement moves faster.
Do not wait for the perfect case. A seller showing instant-catalog behavior on your products warrants a test buy immediately, because these operations are built to disappear. Document the stock levels with timestamps, capture the full catalog, and note linked accounts showing synchronized moves. Speed matters more than completeness here: the listing you are watching has a short expected lifespan by design, and the evidence you capture now is the evidence the filing will use.
Peeling is the polyurethane surface separating from its backing in flakes, usually from hydrolysis and age. Cracking is the surface splitting along flex lines while staying attached, a sign of brittleness. Peeling is terminal in that spot. Cracking can be slowed.
Polyurethane breaks down with heat and humidity over time, even unworn. Warm, sealed storage accelerates hydrolysis, so a jacket can come out of two years in a closet with its coating already failing.
Small edge lifts can be glued cosmetically, but peeling across a panel cannot be restored, because the surface layer itself is disintegrating. Money spent on products for a peeling panel is usually wasted. Replacement is the honest answer.
Flex it at a seam and watch for bubbles or lifting, run a fingernail across a hidden edge, and ask how used pieces were stored. A dense coating on a tight woven backing generally outlasts a thick spongy one.