In February, we told you to stay tuned, since e-commerce giant eBay announced that it would soon launch a white glove authentication service. (Read: Is That Birkin Real? eBay Launches Authentication Program) As of yesterday, that service is here, and PurseBop has all the details.
eBay Authenticate™ is a game-changer for all you fashionistas out there who love to buy and sell handbags online. As we all know, using the internet to buy luxury is a risky business. We’ve written again and again that double and triple checking a bag’s authenticity is an absolute must. (Read: How to Spot a Fake Designer Bag 101 Guide and 10 Useful Tips for Buying Pre-Owned Bags) Though eBay has bags galore—a woman’s handbag is purchased every 13 seconds in the US according to Market Insider—the service has always relied on perhaps more trust than many of us are willing to give. Now, eBay has found a way to solve this problem.
Photo courtesy: Markets Insider
How does eBay Authenticate™ work? Well, sellers with handbags and wallets valued at $500+ can use the service, as long as the goods are Balenciaga, Burberry, Céline, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Goyard, Gucci, Hermès, LV, Prada, or Valentino. All they have to do is send in the handbag with a prepaid shopping label, and the industry experts do the rest—photography, listing the bag, selling it, and shipping it to the buyer.
Sellers then receive 80% of the final selling price. While it’s easy to view this as a “loss” for the seller, the seller will certainly gain more potential buyers as a result of the comfort of authentication. And there’s a special deal right now to popularize the service—sellers receive 90% of the selling price if they send in the bag before January 31, 2018, and the service will temporarily accept handbags valued at $250+.
Photo courtesy: eBay
And let’s not forget the buyer! eBay Authenticate takes a lot of the traditional worry and stress of purchasing on eBay off the buyer. It even has a 200% guarantee, whereby each verified bag is backed by a guarantee of double the purchase price. (Let’s think about this…would you have been comfortable scoring a Birkin or Constance if it hadn’t been officially verified? We can’t say we would.) This really does seem to be true game changer for both buyers and sellers out there.
“We’re making it even easier for our buyers to shop quickly and confidently for luxury handbags,” said Laura Chambers, Vice President of Consumer Selling at eBay. “With tens-of-thousands of high-end handbags currently available, eBay is primed to boost customer confidence in selling and shopping for an amazing selection of designer merchandise. We also believe our sellers will love this service, as it provides them with a white-glove service when selling luxury handbags. We’re looking forward to expanding this program to other brands and categories next year.”
Photo courtesy: CNET
What do you think of this latest development to combat counterfeit goods and reestablish trust on online marketplaces? Would you be comfortable buying a bag on eBay now, or are you still a bit wary? Would you consider selling through eBay? Let us know below—this is an incredibly interesting topic to us!
Read related articles below:
How to Spot a Fake Designer Bag 101 Guide
10 Tips for Reselling Your Bag Online
Fashion in the Age of Technology
10 Useful Tips for Buying Pre-Owned Bags
Is That Birkin Real? eBay Launches Authentication Program
Luxury News Bulletin: Handbag Crime
Keeping you in the handbag loop,
Your PurseBop
XO
Updated: October 17th, 2017
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