eBay have just launched a new site in the US, the , selling in-season designer fashion at full RRP. It’s launched with men and women’s clothing and accessories from 16 fashion labels, including True Religion, Billy Reid and Calvin Klein.
Front and centre is the promise of free shipping and guaranteed returns, which will be no surprise to anyone that’s current with eBay’s current drive towards “retail standards”.
What’s really unique is that eBay of course don’t compete with the brands, but other sellers do. Whilst you’ll be able to buy your in-season Calvin Klein shirts direct from Calvin Klein on the Designer Collective, you’ll also be able to buy last seasons brand new Calvin Klein shirts from a clearance seller as well as picking up a second hand pair of designer Calvin Klein jeans from a casual consumer who wants to clear out their wardrobe… and all in the same online shopping basket on eBay.
Of course what would have been nice is links from the Designer Collective to eBay searches for last seasons products from smaller sellers or curated collections by the designers of their favourite products on eBay – anything to help drive the traffic the Designer Collective garners to eBay proper.
Having said that, fashion aficionados are mad about their clothes and the chances are they’ll be logging on the the new Designer Collective. The more exclusives that eBay land, the more the fashionistas will be shopping on eBay and the more likely they’ll be to start browsing outside of the Designer Collective and that should be good news for all sellers.
