eBay Upgrades Consignment to Include Luxury Apparel

Alexandra Harrell
·2 min read

When eBay entered the luxury consignment sector last September, 22 pre-loved shirts, six pairs of pants, six dresses and eight coats were sold every minute on the website.

As demand for pre-owned luxury continues to mount, the marketplace is expanding to introduce consignment for luxury apparel, further establishing itself as a contender in the luxury resale sector.

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The e-commerce platform announced Monday that it will accept new and used luxury garments from brands like Balenciaga, Dior, Prada and Versace, among others. Users will have access to “expert sellers” who will list and sell the luxury items on their behalf.

Kirsty Keoghan, global head of pre-owned apparel for the company, said the new program will help eBay keep pace with a growing secondhand market.

“Those in the know have been shopping and selling luxury apparel on eBay for decades, but as the preference for shopping pre-loved continues to gain momentum and become more of a first choice than a last resort, we’re doing more to simplify and improve the resale process for both sellers and buyers,” Keoghan told Sourcing Journal.

As was the case for handbags—which launched last year—eBay consignment handles all aspects of the resale process, from photography to pricing to ensure the listing is “compelling and competitive.”

Sellers using the consignment program fill out an intake form before being provided a prepaid and insured shipping label. EBay and its consignment partner, long-time luxury seller Linda’s Stuff, then handle the logistics of listing the product. Once the item sells, the consignor receives a percentage of the sale, which varies on the final selling price. The commission comes in at 60 percent for items under $1,000, 75 percent for garments between $1,000-$5,000, and 80 percent for everything over $5,000.

New or pre-owned good-condition apparel items must come from eligible brands, like Adidas, Alexander Wang, Bape, Burberry, Chrome Hearts, Commes Des Garcons, Fear of God, Givenchy, Gucci, Kith, Off-White, Palm Angels, Rhude, Supreme and Vetements, among others. The new luxury consignment program focuses on men’s and women’s clothing, bags, wallets, belts and more.

For reference, the apparel brands with the highest average sales price growth in 2023 compared to 2019 included Balenciaga, Bape, Fendi, Gucci and Vetements.

Keoghan said entering luxury consignment serves as a continuation in eBay’s interest in circularity. The company has existing programs—called Certified by Brand and Imperfects—in the UK market, aimed at keeping excess inventory out of landfills.

“Consignment is one of the many things eBay is doing to champion the circular fashion economy,” Keoghan said. “Ideally, with the expansion of consignment to include luxury apparel, we’re able to tap into the consumers who have hesitations about selling and buying on the secondary market by making the resale experience incredibly streamlined and easy.”