eBay aims to invest in luxury fashion resale

For all fashion enthusiasts, the eBay platform has long been a useful means of searching for second-hand luxury items, despite the fact that, in the fashion industry, the site has always been considered less well stocked and simpler than others such as Vestiaire Collective or TheRealReal. For this reason, the company has now decided to invest more in the resale of luxury accessories and clothing with the launch of a service that will connect users with expert retailers. In a statement, eBay explained that the initiative will be «removing logistical barriers to entry into the secondary marketplace and bolstering eBay as a preferred destination for luxury and fashion consignment.»

For now, handbags are the only items present on the revamped platform, and the only brands that have debuted there are Prada, Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton, but it is believed that more brands and different categories will be added in the coming months. The luxury investment program also deals with the implementation of an authenticity guarantee, a crucial factor for the success of a resale platform that in recent months has been joined by apps such as Vinted. The consignment service will specifically collaborate with experts in luxury items, using their knowledge to «directly address common barriers to resale,» explained Tirath Kamdar, global general manager of luxury at eBay, referring to how often users of resale platforms are faced with imitations - or dupes, for the experts. For now, eBay is still in its infancy with the launch of the new platform, but it seems to have all the right prerequisites to achieve the same level of recognition as its plausible competitors.